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July 2006 Newsletter
Howdy folks! June has come and gone and we’re truly in the throes of summer. That means tourism and camel trekking die a quick death, but it’s good news for my kids: I get to see virtually every softball and tee ball game! This week finds both my daughters in the regional playoffs, so my time is spoken for every night.
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As far as camels go, I did have a Vacation Bible School program in Waco, Texas on June 13th. I took camels Richard, Gobi and Ibrahim and they placidly posed for pictures for the few hundred kids. In fact, they were SO sedate that one mother asked if they’d been drugged! I’m sure there are unscrupulous camel (and horse) folk in the US who’d do that, but with good training and lots of prayer, mine usually do pretty well in public. I jokingly told the gal, "If you had to deal with dozens upon dozens of young children, wouldn’t you seem defeated, too?!"
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I did spend 10 days in Arizona, working for VisionQuest (www.vq.com). As soon as I arrived, the chief administrator asked that I get every youth in the program, of which there are 58, up on a camel. I knew I had my work cut out for me, but some of them had already been on a camel and I knew that there were others who had no desire whatsoever to do so. This brought my number down a bit, but in the end, I still had about a dozen or so who didn’t make it. There’s always July...
The girls in the Madalyn program of VQ went out on an overnight camping trip on camelback and we had a great time! I took 5 camels, one of whom is 6-year old Marianne, a sweetheart of a camel, but still green in the experience department. She’s such a sweet camel, though, and I decided to put a little fighter named Corsica on her. They bonded so well and did such a great job. This is the kind of thing that keeps me coming back month after month to VQ. Watching the two of them was so beautiful.
Another youth in the program, Stephanie, is someone I’ve known for a while and she couldn’t care less about riding a camel. When she found out that she either rode or would walk the distance from the ranch to the base of the Swiss Helm Mountains, she decided to ride. She’d made it abundantly clear that she was afraid of the camels, but not 3 minutes into the ride she told me, "Doug, you make this so fun!" That was priceless and, again, rejuvenated me for the rewarding work I do out there.
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This week, after softball playoffs end, I head to Lubbock, Texas to pick up the newest member of the Texas Camel Corps. This yearling Bactrian male has come into my life thanks to my friend Kenny Ellis and I’m excited to see our little herd grow to 6. Currently named Caesar, I’m considering Aga Khan ("Supreme Ruler") or Tak-la-ma-kan (after the Northwestern Chinese desert of the same name). Usually I wait until I get to know the camel and then they "tell" me their name. Any suggestions, though, from email land will be considered!
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July also brings two gentlemen from Puerta Vallarta to the farm on the 15/16 for consultations on setting up a camel trek in the mountains along Mexico’s Pacific Coast. Will update as things develop. For those who recall last month’s email, Jim Hale and the American Camel Company’s camel exportation to Jamaica is moving forward slowly. Various permits have been obtained by the Jamaican buyer and as soon as the other myriad of hoops are jumped through, we’ll be headed to the Caribbean for 30 days to train camels and the resort staff.
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I’d like to welcome Mr. Michael Asher to our email group. Where to begin in describing this interesting, accomplished camel man? From his website (www.lost-oasis.org): Michael’s a distinguished, best-selling author. His 18 books - including travel works, novels, and biographies of T.E. Lawrence and Wilfred Thesiger - have been translated into 10 languages including Arabic and Chinese. In 1996 he was elected a Fellow of Britain's prestigious Royal Society of Literature. He has presented three documentaries for Channel 4 TV, including films on Lawrence of Arabia, explorers Burton and Speke, and more recently the controversial 'The Real Bravo Two Zero', about the ill-fated SAS operation in Iraq. Michael Asher's Lost Oasis Expeditions offers small-scale, expert-led, real adventure expeditions in remote desert locations. Michael and I have become acquainted through email correspondence that originally was centered around camel health and we are currently brainstorming some reciprocal arrangements in the camel trek field. Please take the time to check out his website and delve into his writing. Many of his works are on my bookshelf.
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Finally, I’ve got a group together for Egypt/Sinai in January, ’07. It’s full, but I’d like to try and operate another on the heels of their trip if there are any interested folks. I need 4 guests minimum to make it run. Groups this size also are more easily welcomed into people’s homes and tents! Many of you have been receiving this newsletter for a while and know how much I care about the two families who have taken me (and subsequently our groups) in. These trips are not necessarily moneymakers for me. Rather, the families of Adel Hamza and Saleh bin Suleiman are the real benefactors. What they give back is true wealth in the form of hospitality, warmth and friendship. I also have a tentative group put together for March. If they come through, I’ll also open dates before or after their trip in case the January dates don’t work for you.
As always, I appreciate your interest in my camels.
Doug
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