To Gobustan National Park

Up early and on the road before breakfast, we had a rough ten hours of driving over REALLY bumpy and frost-heaved roads. We stopped to shop for the next two days and then made a quick breakfast alongside the "road."

We continued to descend in altitude as we headed for the coast of the Caspian Sea. The terrain changed dramatically from high boreal forest to rolling grassland punctuated with farms; the Caucasus mountains all the while to the north.

Cloudy with scattered showers started our day and continued well into the afternoon. We stopped for lunch in a small village, taking a chance with a local cafe. The soup was delicious, as was the BBQ lamb. We purchased meat for dinner from the local butcher. He had two more lambs in the trailer waiting their turn.

Back on the road we continued east following the ridge line of the mountains. We got lost twice, stopped to ask for directions, and still couldn't find the right road. The ride today was a killer-possibly the worst yet with endless potholes and uneven payment. All of us were exhausted from being tossed around. Taking off our seatbelts actually helped...if that makes any sense. Being strapped in and thrown around hurt as the belt cut into our waists and shoulders.

After ten hours we had traveled about 150 miles with another 60+ to go. It was late so we opted to pull over and wild camp instead of pressing on to our original destination. It was cute watching the lads try to ask if we could camp in a farmer's field using sign language and a brochure showing tents. No luck. We moved on and checked out a vacant restaurant along side the highway-not far enough from the road to be safe. Next up was a pasture some distance from the highway. There was no one home in the farmhouse so the lads headed out across the pasture were some shepards were tending their flocks.

They said we were fine and later the "land baron" showed up with his approval. We shared some vodka with him and his two daughters each got one of the moose lapel pins. We had a nice evening and a great meal. The camp for tonight was in a pasture surrounded by sleeping cows, sheep, goats, and buffalo. Perfect after a long day on the road. The land owner joined us for another vodka and gave us some cheese. It was great fun.