By Jake Greer, NFTY in Israel Participant, Bus 9
When I was told that I need to pack a bag, fill up my camelbak, and put on my hiking shoes because I was going to spend the next 3 nights in the desert I was really scared. The desert experience is asking a lot out of a 16 year old – or at least it seemed that way before we started. However, the simple fact is that the desert has been full of great bus 9 moments.
When climbing the rocks in the Red Canyon most the group would climb around finding the best way to our destination. “The canyon once had a large river and a waterfall in here,” said our guide, Mor. We climbed down the dried out waterfall as a group. Being the smallest group seems like it would be a bad thing, but for us the only downside is the smaller bus that takes us around Israel. Our group was the perfect size for the desert and the experience brought us together as a family. At the end our family went back to the Red Canyon and cleaned off the writing left behind by tourists that harm other peoples experience with the canyon.
The dunes were an amazing experience. For the kids from Texas and Oklahoma dunes don’t come every day. We took the most of this moment, we rolled, ran, and tumbled down the dunes. The desert was a lot of fun especially since Friday night was Shabbat, so Shabbat Shalom from the desert!
