We were off to an early start with our bags packed and checked out of our very fancy hotel. The breakfast buffet at the Dan was so abundant that it was almost difficult to navigate.
We were heading to the Negev for a hike that Julian called the Ma’alei Palmach Hike. We drove into major congestion near Beer Sheva and were uncertain of the cause. Julian identified the roadblocks as emergency drills that necessitated re‐routing ourselves; turning off onto smaller roads to avoid most of the traffic. At this point, Gail was shvitzing! (She had promised her family that she would not be traveling near any of the borders or into harm’s way and she was “uncertain” as to what we were really in the middle of. She had already been in very close proximity to the border of Lebanon and Syria). We knew we were in the desert because military installations and training facilities dotted the landscape. When we finally pulled into the trailhead parking lot at the Great Crater Slopes Nature Reserve, it was teaming with students. That would be busloads of students.
We moved quickly to stay ahead of them and managed to enjoy the serenity of our surroundings. Julian lead the way to the crater.
The vistas were breathtaking, and we watched the students go down a rope ladder on a rock face in the distance.
We took time for a moment of silence to appreciate the beauty of our surroundings. We heard the sounds of many birds in competition the intermittent roar of F16’s. A white dirigible in the sky provides constant monitoring of the area.
It was obvious that it had also rained in the desert as we saw small blooming flowers and residual water near a rock formation.
We drove west to Yeruham. On the way we continued to see military installations and firing ranges. One site referred to as “The Textile Plant” is actually Israel’s nuclear power plant. Yeruham was one of Israel's first development towns in the Negev, created to settle frontier areas in the early days of the state. For many years, Yeruham was economically depressed and had a corrupt government. The Prime Minister removed the mayor and assigned a retired Army General to straighten out the problems. His success was significant as industry was enticed to settle in the Yeruham, and unemployment decreased. The locals took pride in the town and the image problems improved.
A movie, Orchestra, was filmed there recently and we ate a restaurant that was featured in the flick! It was a great lunch.
Our next stop was Sde Boker. I was excited to visiting the place when Ben Gurion spent his later years. Last year, traveling on public transportation, I had tried in vain to stop and explore the site. A language barrier did not allow me to confirm the bus schedule and I fear being stranded here.
David Ben Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister and defense minister, loved the desert and wanted to make it bloom. Kibbutz Sde Boker is the realization of the dream envisioned by the man who loved the Negev and its expanses, and wanted to settle there. A kibbutz, built in 1952 in the northern Negev Mountains, attracted the public’s attention when Ben Gurion moved to Sde Boker to live there with his wife Paula.
His vision has been realized as the area is dotted with communities and thriving farms. The hut where he lived has been preserved and the surrounding area has been developed to house his archives. The Ben Gurion archive, which is actually his private library, contains over 5,000 books about all the things he treasured.
Just south of the kibbutz is the Ben Gurion Heritage Institute, which houses a desert research institute, a field school, sculpture museum and guesthouse. There is a high school where Israeli youth come to study nature. Ibex roam freely.
The location of the Ben Gurion memorial site, where David and Paula Ben Gurion are buried, offers a beautiful view of the Nakhal Tsin rift.
Our last stop of the day was the Tzora Forrest in the Judean foothills. The forest was green and lush and the antithesis to the desert where we had spent the day. The blooming almond trees are the first sign of spring; the buds were visible.
Along the way we saw the beginning of a sculpture garden; it was a photo op for Mr Bill as the sculpture was in a scale that made him look BIG!
When we reach the top of the trail, Julian pointed out that in the vista below were Beit Shemesh and Kibbutz Tzorah, where he lives. It was beautiful.
We left Julian at the kibbutz for the night and we went on to Jerusalem, where we would be staying for the next few days.
And the adventure continues.
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