I had my first desert flight yesterday. It is challenging flying over such a barren landscape. There are very few references to indicated how high or fast I am flying. The instruments, therefore, become almost as important as they are when flying in the clouds. It is barren but beautiful over the desert. The sand takes all kinds of interesting shapes that change with the shadows. We also see the occassional lizard and camels as we fly along less than a hundred feet from the sand.

I really appreciate all of the encouragement I get from those of you who read this. I apologize for not replying to everyone personally. I simply dont have much time to use the public internet terminals here. I will do my best to write back to everyone eventually. It is great to know that so many people care.