Steve Decato stranded in the desert near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Steve Decato stranded in the desert near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Originally uploaded by grappalover

Base -- this is Whiskey five zero, over...

Flat tires happened often while driving over the sharp rocks in the deserts near Riyadh. This particular evening I had two flat tires -- and was forced to drive as far as I could on the rim or be stranded out of radio contact from our American base. Alas the aluminum rim didn't last long, and the steel belts eventually wrapped around the axle and exhaust pipe, bringing our truck to a abrupt halt. I was forced to hike several miles to find a hill tall enough to give me cell phone access to our base.

With the help of my Garmin GPS I was able to guide a rescue party out to my location.

Looking back I realize how foolish we were at times. There were times when we would load our trucks with 5 gallon cans of gasoline and drive south into the saudi desert until we would run out of gas -- near the Yemini border. Often we would all be stuck in the sand for hours, struggling with shovels and tow straps to free our trucks.

When on the highways, we would stop for gas and a bite to eat. People were always very friendly...though we were obviously American. Roasted chicken and and bags of fried rice were my favorite. For $3 you could eat like a king.

I miss those adventurous days and have often thought about going back. Certainly we Americans know very little about Saudi Arabia. I would love to lead a Discovery Channel expedition around KSA and do a documentary on some of the wonders I've found in unexplored wadis around the Kingdom. What a great "High Definition" adventure!

Uploaded by grappalover on 19 Nov 06, 4.19PM PDT.