Gobi Desert Caravan

Location: China, Inner Mongolia,
Gobi Desert

The rhythmic movement of a bactrian camel train through vast dunes, with long, late-afternoon shadows is an enduring memory of the Gobi. Our expedition of 13 Westerners, 33 camels and 11 Chinese and Mongolian staff, hiked or rode for 15 days! These huge dunes were like mountain chains, with summits 1600 feet above their base, ridges, gulleys, cliffs, fresh-water springs and lakes. One day we crossed 5 passes! This painting was inspired by a photo by C. Eilers, who due to his great physical condition was one of the few who could keep up with the pace of the camels. Two nearly identical paintings are in private collections of the trip members.

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