Springtime adventures...in the Negev

Hi, all! I have many pictures from the last few months, so I am splitting them into geographical regions :)

In April, I visited the Small Makhtesh - one of my favorite places in Israel
(a makhtesh is a special type of crater formed from erosion rather than impact)

We had a remarkably clear day for the trek

Dry riverbed

 

I don't know what kind of flower this is, but isn't it pretty?

This rock friend seemed out of place amongst all of the sedimentary rocks - 

just a reminder that Israel has a turbulent history geologically as well as politically...

Close-up of the rock friend with my hand for scale.
Amanda and Marcia, do you think these are chunks of malachite? 

As you can see, the desert really was blooming, thanks to all of the rains we had this year!

The Dead Sea and the mountains of Jordan on the horizon :)

I'm fairly certain that we went to this same place on my Birthright trip - 

Could this be Noisy Bastard's cousin?

Stay tuned for more pictures...