Chicken Joe Saw the Light?

Chicken Joe had a slightly profound moment while hiking when he turned the corner and saw the "burning bush" at St Katherine's monastery.  He was overcome with the power of the moment and began speaking in tongues, unfortunately all he could muster was some crowing and a few wildly scattered clucks.  To a human this would sound like normal, but to the other birds in the area, he was proclaiming a cacophony of drivel and was later stoned for blasphemy.  Poor Chicken Joe!!

MOUNT SINAI July 2008

There is no preparation in the world that can prepare someone for a walk up the camel-trail at Mount Sinai.  6-Kilometers to the fourth rest stop.  You travel up a worn down, rock-infested track and pass donkeys and camels and all kinds of pilgrims.  There are places to rest and you move at your own pace.  You finally reach the top of the camel path and you still have about 300 feet up to get to a cut in the rock.  After passing the cut, there is a bowl shaped basin in the center of the mountain.  If you opted at the beginning to climb the Steps of Repentance, you would have cut your climb in half, but doubled the workload.  The steps lead directly, thru a cut on the front of the mountain, to Elijah's Basin.  The basin is the bowl in the middle of the peaks.  This is where we stopped for a bedouin dinner and to bed down under the stars for the night.  We were treated to a feast of soup, chicken and rice and salad.  There was an evening stroll to the side of the cliff to see the monastary at night and the lights below.  St Catherine's is an Orthodox monastary that has lasted at Mt Sinai since the 14th century AD.  After a relaxing meal, we read the Old Testament to the firelight.  After a restful sleep by the light of the full moon, we were awakened at 4 am to continue our trek up the cliff to the summit.  We went up after a throng of pilgrims.  They had arrived overnight.  They had trekked up the mountain by flashlight to get to the summit by morning.  We fell into the conga line that snaked to the top.  We were up there about 25 minutes before a beautiful sunrise.  If you ever get a chance to scale to this height, you should, by all means do it.  If you think the walk up is tough, try coming down the steps in the morning.

Change of Command Ceremony

We had the chance to participate in one of the Army's finest traditions while here.  Recently, the Commander of the US Forces here in MFO was changed.  The ceremony included stirring speeches, dignitaries, and the coolest marching band from the Fiji Battalion.  We stood in the 110 degree heat with the wool beret.  As hot as it was, watching the pass in review, the presentation of the colors, and the changing of control of the unit colors was a pretty moving experience.  Everything choreographed to the timing of the orders and the music.  Presenting arms to salute the flag and all the officers, and watching our Troop colors being presented was impressive.  There was even some pre-designated marching and a color guard made up of soldiers mostly from Troop-A.  Another nice perk from the ceremony was that we got the rest of the day off.  I went to bed and actually slept for 12 hours straight.

Rum Runners Aviation

The Rum Runners are the Aviation Company that is here on South Camp.  They provide aviation support with the Blackhawk's.  They also have a really nice club that they just built.  The Dirty Bird is a small bar and patio right on the side of a hill behind the barracks that has a really cool mast and pirate flag.  They serve a number of fun drinks, and during the 4th of July fireworks, we could hang out and relax for a while in the chaise lounge chairs.  For fun, they have built two championship beer pong tables, and they also have a nice, padded lounge area behind the bar.