• Have you ever been caught in a flash flood in the Judean wilderness?
  Mary Pickens, Clarksdale, Mississippi

Photo:  Courtesy of David Schlaegel

Flash flood at Qumran, April 2006

“In my pre-trip orientation, I foolishly predicted perfect weather for our trip.  I told the assembled travelers that by the time we arrive in Israel the spring rains will have ended and we would enjoy sunshine every day.  I believed my own press and did not pack any rain gear myself and that turned out to be a mistake of nearly Biblical proportions!

Early in the morning on the day we were to depart from Jerusalem the heavens opened and a freak thunderstorm rolled through the city. Thunder, lightening, and rain, rain, rain came pouring out of the sky.  We boarded our brand new Mercedes motor coach and headed for what we hoped would be dry climates in the Jordan rift valley, the lowest place on earth, a locale where a mere one to two inches of rain fall annually."

Photo:  Courtesy of Sister Clare Sweeney

Flash flood in the Judean Wilderness

Photo:  Courtesy of Susan Vandergrift

Washed-out road by Qumran

"As we traveled down toward Jericho the rain showers let up, but the run-off from the heights was surging through and beyond the banks of normally dry river beds on either side of the road.  As we arrived in the Jericho area, and made our turn south toward the Dead Sea, our progress was stopped just at the entrance to the ancient site of Qumran, famous as the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.  We learned that the road south had washed away in the run-off from the hills above.

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.  With that thought in mind, we pulled into Qumran and made an unscheduled visit to the site and were treated to an amazing sight: a waterfall cascading down and off the cliffs some 2,000 feet above the site.  As the water raged and poured down in a series of seven waterfalls, we knew why the road to the Dead Sea was washed away."

Photo:  Courtesy of David Schlaegel

Extraordinary waterfall opposite Qumran

"After a couple of hours of waiting for the rising tide to dissipate and a lovely impromptu wine tasting session in the Qumran gift shop, we boarded the bus and made our way back.  We were forced to take the long way back through Jerusalem and then south through the coastal plain, past the site where David fought Goliath and then through the southern city of Beersheba.  It was a wonderful trip as Biblical history could be seen and imagined all along the way."