Now *THIS* was an adventure!

We woke up to the sound of a few raindrops hitting Vladdy's roof. Not a good sign, since we were headed up to the mountain pass at 3,300 meters (10,900') and if we were getting rain, it was likely snowing up there!

I peaked out through the curtains and I could see some patches of blue sky, despite the fact we could hear raindrops on the roof.

We got ourselves up and decided to drive right away to warm up, and while we were doing that, the sun came out... but there were still a few raindrops around...

When you mix together raindrops and sunshine, you get a rainbow!

We got packed up and hit the road. The road up! We were about to attempt the Pereval Kara-Buura mountain pass. 4 wheel drive recommended! Especially at this time of year since the pass doesn't usually open until the beginning of June. By the way, this is a "primary road" in Kyrgyzstan.

The first part was a tough climb. We did it in 2 wheel drive, but it was steep. I had been in 2nd gear, but had to downshift to 1st. Ruth took a video for you...

Looking back down the valley we had come up on the day before.

Vladdy!

Scenery along the way, with another rainbow!

The main road through the pass!

Heading higher.

Vladdy!

Looking down on the road we came up on.

We are headed up there!

Another big herd of horses.

Can you count how many horses there are? 

Click on the photo to make it full screen, then click again to zoom in.

A big flock of sheep. No need to count them!

I like this shot. Not a guardrail to be seen.

Looking down at the road we came up on.

The road ahead is deteriorating.

Still lots of snow up here. But they have had a bulldozer working the last two weeks or so.

Memorial to three people who died up here in 1988.

By the time we are done this trip, Vladdy will be the most photographed UAZ Buhanka in the world!

Yep, that's the road we came up on. 

It was starting to get chilly up there.

Another view of our road. That's actually the second set of switchbacks.

Made it to the top!

Going down the other side looked like it was going to be much easier.

Wrong. In fact, it was even more exciting!

There were sections where the snow was still really deep.

Ruth took another couple of videos for you...

Most of the road was single lane with little opportunity to pass an oncoming vehicle. One of you would have to back up. Luckily, we only saw 4 or 5 other vehicles the entire time.

Sketchy looking bridge!

Waterfall in the distance.

Did I mention that this is a Primary Road?!

Yikes. The road goes right through that big snowbank!

Wow!

Eventually, the road widened and things became green. It took us two and a half hours to go 41 kms (25 miles)! Almost all of it in first or second gear. What a drive. But we're not done with the fun yet!

This guy has a lot of sheep!

We stopped here for brunch!

It would have been another great overnight spot, but it was too early to stop.

Scenery along the way.

The road ahead.

A common Kyrgyz summer residence!

We stopped at these abandoned buildings for another break.

While we were sitting there, a couple of young guys came up on horseback, guiding a few cows. They stopped to say hello, and even had cell phones using google translate. They asked "what do you think of our village", but we hadn't made it there yet... it was another five minutes down the road. 

They insisted Ruth get up on the horse.

This is their village that we drove by... not much to see really!

We continued on to a campsite that was listed on iOverlander. It didn't have much of a description other than "great view", and it was 4 kms in, up a narrow dirt track. we decided to go for it...

They are right, we were starting to get a great view!

About half way, there was another campsite with a view overlooking the next town. 

But we decided to carry on further.

Looking back at the road we came up on.

Vladdy and the view.

Heading higher.

Now this is a nice view... might have to come back down to this spot.

This was the view from the listing, but we like the other spot better, plus it was less windy.

This was as far as we drove, but we could have gone further.

Fantastic campsite!

GPS 41.827297, 71.13241

What a great spot. What an adventurous day! Fantastic views, and very quiet. Looking in the opposite direction were more mountains. More photos tomorrow!

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Great deal on this 8'x8' Screen House.

And in Canada...

Apple Watch Series 11.