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 fter breaking into a daily routine our plan is to travel as fast as possible to cover as much distance as we can before the July temperatures hit us. We are traveling in summer because the Gobi Desert experiences temperatures of minus 40 F. degrees and cold Siberian winds during the long polar winters.  Occasionally we see gazelles race away kicking up dust while small gray lizards scurry out of our path.
A few wild donkeys raised their heads for a startled look at us before whirling away to the south. We marvel at these animals and their ability to live in such a dry inhospitable place. The Gobi is not a desert of sand dunes such as we trekked cross in the Sahara, especially in the western Gobi. We will cross no rivers and oasis will be rare. There should be an occasional well, often dry, but the wells are not marked on maps.
The Gobi is a desperately dry place and the people and their herds who live here are true survivors. At this point we dare not think too much about all the hot miles and sand storms that lay ahead of us. We have been traveling through scrub desert. Dry and sometimes thorny bushes no more than two feet high cover this section. They are obviously plants that don't require much water.
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