September 5th, day 13- Israel trip

September 5^th, 2016- Day 13
We headed out that morning from the Sea of Galilee and drove several hours south to the Negev Desert. On our way, we followed a gigantic army tank, and we saw a young boy leading his camels with his donkey… you don’t see that everyday in America. You know when you are really close to Jordan when you get a text from Verizon saying “Welcome to Jordan.” Along the road there was so much green and produce which was so exciting to see. We stopped off to Qumran caves where a shepherd boy found the dead sea scrolls and where a community of Jews lived. It was so hot so we didn’t stay there long but it was fascinating going there. Then we drove to Ein Gedi, a gorgeous park with mountains and beautiful falls where David hid from Saul and where he wrote many of the Psalms. We had a blast there!!! Our family all walked under the falls, hiked a little, got wet again, and hiked some more to the huge falls. We went through caves that had moss and then tada! There were the huge falls! We couldn’t go in certain areas but the ones that you could go in were a blast! We had so much laughter and it was nice to get wet after being sweaty. Then we drove a bit more and arrived at the Dead Sea! There was so much salt there it was sitting on top of the water in big clumps. We changed into our swimsuits. Then it was so fun and strange just floating on top of water. You don’t get to do that everyday! Our family then plastered mud on ourselves that we had purchased  to experience the healing effects of the mud/salt mixture. After washing it off, your skin is very smooth. We had so much laughter that very busy day. It was a blast! Then we went to a new friends house, had an incredible Israeli spread of food for dinner outside on their veranda and went to sleep early. It was such a memorable day.