That night we stayed in our first ger. There were four--three for the family and one for travelers. The entrance to a ger always faces south and the Mongolian custom is to first meet the family in their ger before going to yours. Entering with your right foot, walking clockwise, visitors sit on the left. Families are made up of extended members and usually one of the women will offer milk tea and biscuits. Always accept with your right hand. When leaving the ger, continue to walk in a clockwise direction.

Since it was spring, many of the nomadic families were transitioning between their winter and summer gers. Everyone helps assembling the new ger. When completed, a rope representing the intestines of sheep is woven between the orange slates and the ceiling. This insures there will be an abundance of food throughout the coming seasons.

Nomads in this aimag (region) raise goats and sheep. It was getting dark as we waited for the father to return from herding. When he finally came down from the hill, he was carrying a newborn goat.

Mongolians eat a lot of meat because of its availability and high fat content that fuels the body during the extremely cold winters. Some Mongolian families follow the religious custom of shaving a child's head when he/she is close to three years old. The family's daughter had just had her head shaved.

In addition to cooking, Mongolian women share many of the same chores as the men. They work very hard as they herd goats and sheep while hauling water up from a well for their flock.

The nomads in this region are camel herders. They use camel dung in place of wood for cooking and heating. Nowadays many nomads travel the desert using motorcycles and they also use them as well for herding their camels. As we were driving, we saw one of these "road warriors" on his motorcycle, and he drew our attention because he was wearing a dell, the traditional Mongolian costume, talking on his cell and wearing a baseball hat.

We met an 85 year old woman--unusual because of the harsh nomadic life. Life expectancy in Mongolia is around 65. We watched a young girl collect the dung using her bare hands and a bucket.

The Mongolian government pays and provides education for nomadic children. The next morning, we drove the nine year old daughter to a small town to go to school. She would board there for the week.

To understand the true history of this region, read about Roy Chapman Andrews, an American explorer who in the 1920s ventured into the Gobi Desert, an unchartered area. He went there to find out something about the origin of man, but instead discovered a treasure trove of dinosaur bones. He is allegedly the real person that the movie character of Indiana Jones was patterned after. Today, the fossils can be seen at the Museum of Natural History in Ulaanbaatar.