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January 2006 Newsletter
Howdy all and Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Hanukkah, happy holidays, whatever you do or don’t celebrate, etc...
2005 has been a great year for the camels and me. A couple of film productions, a second trip to Washington, D.C. for the Smithsonian- really satisfying, substantive work overall.
Fuel prices affected us all, for sure, and for me it was felt primarily in the number of treks I guided: 3. In years past, I’ve guided 20-30 treks.
A large part of the low number, of course, is due to my taking folks off the camels and truly trekking, packing the camels and having guests hoof it. I’d be a fool to think otherwise, but the economic aspect can’t be overlooked either. I got plenty of calls for one or two guests to go out, but with diesel fluctuating between $2.50 and $3/gallon, this type of trip just didn’t make sense and I said, "No" to quite a bit of work this year because of it. Considering it’s anywhere from 370-600 miles to some of my trek locations, I feel pretty good about this. It’s funny, there was a time I’d go out at the drop of a hat, but I really just have to examine each trip and evaluate it on it’s own financial merits nowadays. Trish, my wife, says it’s about time.
One thing I have decided, though, is to offer short, overnight treks here at our farm in Central Texas. I’ll be able to keep the costs down with no hauling expense and I’ll be able to spend more time with my kids. The 400 or so acres will never be confused for desert (it’s pretty green ‘round these parts), but some trial runs have really been fun. You never quite appreciate what’s in your own backyard, but trekking right here at home has such a unique, different feel that it’s really made my work new and exciting again.
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Around here, it’s Christmas and that means the camels take off their pack saddles and get all dolled up to carry multitudinous Magi into a bevy of Bethlehems in various Nativity dramas across Texas. The first paying camel job I ever had was a Live Nativity and it truly warms my heart to see the kids' reactions to the camels. Tonight we actually work our 20th and final production this season, which began November 30 in Dallas. Arguably the most famous camel trek of all time, noblemen from the East seeking the newborn king of the Jews, was reenacted in such locales as Odessa, Duffau, Waco, Ft. Worth, Whitney, Waxahachie, Dallas, Austin and even here in our little hometown of Valley Mills.
Highlights included 3 performances in Odessa’s Ector County Coliseum where my 2,050 pound Bactrian camel, Gobi, had to make a nightly appearance on the floor of the arena that normally plays host to concerts and minor league hockey. Gobi’s earlier indoor appearance at Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas included a ride up an outdoor hydraulic lift so that he could get to the church’s freight elevator that would take us down to the fellowship hall in the basement. Umm...it was a big elevator, but Gobi’s nose was in one corner and his tail was in the opposite corner. Splattered around the walls were varying shades of green, produced by vegetable matter both fully and partially digested, then expelled from both ends of said camel.
Most of the other productions were simply Living Nativities, where the camels and donkeys stand around, looking like, well, camels and donkeys. Not much effort on the animals’ parts, but a couple of the jobs were in freezing weather. After 12 years of doing this, though, I’m no idiot and I can tell you exactly where to place your hands on a camel to keep them warm. Call or email for details.
Total mileage put on truck and trailer hauling camels in 2005: 15,983.
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Texas Camel Corps email recipients John, Elsie, Sabine and Julie are packed and ready to go to Egypt/Sinai in January and this trip looks like it’s going to be even better than previous adventures!
How did this group come together you might ask? John trekked with me in the Big Bend region of Texas this fall; Julie and her friend Missy were out there in the spring; I met Sabine 3 years ago when I was in D.C. for my first Smithsonian Folklife Festival and Elsie and I met when the camels and I were in Ft. Davis, Texas in October of 2004 celebrating the 150th anniversary of the US Army frontier fort along Limpia Creek. I’m excited to share with these folks the personal relationships I’ve been blessed with and am equally thrilled that these trips mean an economic "shot in the arm" for the Bedouin families with whom we stay.
This trip will offer a day with my friend Ibrahim exploring the geological wonder of Colored Canyon, 4 days on camelback with my friend Saleh in the Sinai desert, a hike up Mt. Sinai and, best of all, we’ll get to spend more time with all these wonderful people who have opened their homes and their lives to our group. In Cairo we’ll spend 2 days with my good friend Adel visiting the Pyramids of Giza, the Egyptian Museum, Khan el Khalili market, Al Azhar mosque and the camel market of Birqash.
My thanks to these 4 folks for joining up and putting their faith and trust in me and my Bedouin "family". I promise to update upon our return in early February.
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Finally, I hope that each of you receiving this is in good health and I offer my warmest holiday wishes to all. Your interest in my camels is not taken for granted and I hope to continue the adventures as 2005 turns to 2006.
Doug
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