First of Four Nights Camping

Mick M. getting ready to leave next morning

Pat and Isaac washing dishes (first and last night of roster)

To the one side it was all open lands

Murray and Mick T. having dinner and tea

Sunrise from my tent

Pat showering in the morning (between 5:30-6:00 am)

View coming back from washroom break (found small bush in the middle of totally open area)

Let's get out of Dodge (Off to 4 Nights of Camping)

After leaving Almaty, we stopped at a gas station for Joe's left front fork seal that was leaking. It would take about two hours to fix so after fuelling up, Leo and Joe (along with all the rest of the crew) set out to work at the side of the gas station to fix the seal problem. Carmen began preparing lunch as it was about 11:30. I had zipped up the highway to get some bread (or clep as it is referred to here). After lunch and packing up the tools, we headed out as we had quite a bit of ground that we needed to cover. We had to be in Krasnayorsk on the fifth day and it was lot of miles plus a border crossing so off we went riding through Kazahkstan to campsite number one. On a previous blog I tell about the tent flying away which was this first night so happy reading



Three amigos heading off into the field. Their headlights are aimed at our first camping spot.

Looking at our first campsite from the road.

Passing through a small town where all the houses are aligned with either red or green roofs.

and the red ones....

road stop waiting for troopie. Clouds are forming

Another road stop where Mick is turned around to look at potential lunch stop

Passing small town where there are some trees growing as we had been travelling in desert like areas.

Passing through town. Lots of trees

Desert like open stretches when out of town areas.

Getting cold out and everyone stopped to put out some more protection for warmth. Leo heading back to troopie

Part of the Kazahk Steppe. Vast openess with various "steppes".

Pat in front of me approaching a "turnabout" where you enter traffic from left to right travelling the roundabout counter clockwise and exiting in the direction you want to go.

A bus stop out in the open. Public transportation pretty much non existent with most people hitch hiking for a ride.a farm in the middle of nowhere.

Nowhere!!!! Anywhere!!!!! Just open, vast areas of land

Direction of the road that curves throughout the area.

Leaving Almaty, Kazahkstan

In the pic above there is a gap as the bikes had just cleared a crosswalk and I was stopped at that same crosswalk for traffic to clear. We were backed up for miles. Local businesses on the side.

People would just walk alongside the middle of the road with there goods. People all over everywhere.

See the traffic on the left. We were the same on the right but the gap because they just sped away from the crosswalk that I was backed up at.

Pat and Mick MacDonald stopped in traffic (identical BMW riding gear)

A glance into a fenced in market area where everyone would go to sell their goods.

A local home aside the busy road.

Pat stopped behind Mick in traffic that is getting more congested.

Troopie was following closely behind us pulling out into traffic if we needed to change lanes stopping vehicles from behind so that we could get into the lane.

An apartment building in Almaty, Kazahkstan

Our tour leader, Mick MacDonald out front leading us out of town.

Another view from behind. Total Chaos. We had to shut our engines off as traffic was moving so slowly.

We left Almaty, Kazahkstan which was chaotic getting out of town. There are crosswalks everywhere and people can just cross whenever and wherever they feel like as there are no traffic lights. It was a madhouse and the heat was unbearable. We were all sweating under our jackets like pigs. One decided to take his jacket off completely.

Our Day/Night in Charyn Canyon from Almaty, Kazahkstan

We stopped for coffee and tea and this "Traditional Ger" was the owner's home beside the outside coffee house

Winding roads along the Canyon
One of the Compass bikes with the Canyon in the background

Isaac reading at his tent

Carmen taking photos in the distance with Joe just a little further in front and to the right.

Murray taking photos on top of the hill (left) and this is the view from my tent doorway.

Me at Charyn Canyon

Paying to get into Charyn Canyon

Not quite the Grand Canyon but still beautiful....

A view from the lookout we diverted to so that the car rally would clear

Leaving Charyn Canyon going back to Almaty we stopped for fuel and everyone was at Murray's bike talking (Isaac is the coat with the yellow back, Joe has back to us, Leo is facing us, Murray, then Pat. Carmen is just immediately beside Isaac's left shoulder Murray on top of a hill in Charyn Canyon just above where we were camped. Shot taken from my tent window looking up at him.

Two of our tents in Charyn Canyon

Heading towards Charyn Canyon (mountains in the background).

On top of a mountain there was this Innuik (sorry for spelling) type of statue.
Looking up at it from below.

Here's one for you Kate (this should've been Murray's "strike a pose" picture previously posted)

This statue and military vehicle stand atop this mountain not far from Charyn Canyon

Isaac and Joe watching crowd who attended a race car rally at the entranceway to Charyn Canyon so we went to another lookout site first allowing the race enough time to clear the entrance that we needed to take (offroad) to get to the site.

Off we went to another lookout site first. We are riding through the mountain pass (I took shot from cell phone camera).

Murray on his bike alongside the road before hitting the mountain pass

Pat (on left), Mick T. (on right) and Murray in background stopped alongside the road at base of pass into mountains.

Joe looking on at the mountain from a distance.

Isaac stopped alongside troopie getting directions from Leo as to where we are going. Leo had it measured to exactly where the dirt road was that we were to take to Charyn Canyon (like our homestay with there being several blue gates, there are several dirt roads to take once you get into the mountain passes).

I'm quite a distance behind Joe who is in front of me to get a picture of the road and mountains that we are headed towards.

I'm backing up a bit (please read further posts as they are more current as to where we are now but I wanted to post some pictures from Almaty to Krasnayorsk so that you can see where we have been so here it goes