Not long ago, Steve and Ann Demeranville decided to go bird watching and take a few photos.

After flying most of the way around the world, they wound up in the middle of nowhere sleeping in a sort of tent called a ger. And it was cold, really cold.

“We were fully clothed, had two coats on, were sleeping on top of a sleeping bag and were covered with a sheepskin that was too short. Then it began to sleet and snow, and the ger started to shake,” Steve said.

At dawn, they peeked outside and were dazzled.

“The snow on the open plain was stunning, then we looked over at the mountains, and the light was…”

The East Boothbay couple paused for a moment and linked eyes. “It was just gorgeous,” said Ann with a wide grin.

The couple was camped about two miles from the Chinese border in Mongolia, one of the most remote nations in the world. They were attached to a photo workshop tour that would take them to a festival celebrating an ancient culture that hunts small game with golden eagles.

If you know Steve and Ann, you know their travels have seen them bicycling around the Italian Dolomites and poking around the ancient temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

But, they admitted, their bird watching tour was unique.

Their journey began as they flew from Seattle to Beijing to the Mongolian capital, Ulan Bator (also spelled Ulaanbaatar) where they were met by a small transport plane that flew them to a town named Ulgii(or Oglii).

They joined eight other photo buffs and nine support guides/translators for a five-hour journey in a trio of Russian vans that resembled the VW vans that were popular in the 1960s.

“It didn’t take more than a half hour for us to run out of road and we followed a sort of bumpy and winding path across a grassy plain,” he said.

They were crossing one of the most remote and least populated nations on earth. “And it felt like it,” he said.

Their five-hour journey became 10 as their van’s engine quit. The guides turned into mechanics as they removed the fuel pump, cleaned it, put it back and the engine fired up.

That part of Mongolia is populated by Kazaks, a nomadic people who farm cows, horses, sheep, and goats and roam the plains as the seasons dictate.

Their first night’s frigid stop was in the collapsible ger. Note: The Russians call them yurts. Then it was another two days of rattling around in the Russian vans and spending the night in the gers. For entertainment, they sipped a very cheap vodka called Genghis Kahn, until they ran out.

“Can you imagine being in the middle of nowhere and running out of liquor,” said Steve, a retired U.S. Navy Commander.

Their destination was Altai Tavan Bogd National Park, a world heritage site that was the location of the Golden Eagle Hunters Festival, a cross between a rodeo and a county fair, where Kazak horsemen show off an ancient style of falconry using huge golden eagles to seek out prey.

“They capture the eagles when they are young and raise them in their homes like pets,” said Ann. With braided leather harnesses around their ankles and leather hoods, they rest on their master’s arm until released to seek out prey. After the birds knock down the animals, the hunters kill them and feed the eagles with a bit of meat.

The Golden Eagle Festival began a kind of grand march as about 120 costumed hunters paraded with their birds. Then the eagles were taken to a spot on the mountain and released, one at a time. Their hunter would call them, and they would fly down and light on his or her arm.

“At least that was what they were supposed to do,” said Steve. “They said the weather was too warm and some eagles preferred to soar around for a while before reuniting with their hunter.”

Other competitions included a tug of war where an individual horseman tried to muscle a sheep carcass away from another horseman. There were camel races and archery contests, too.

Finally, the skilled horsemen tried to grab a bag of coins off the ground while riding at full speed.

Ann was quick to mention that the eagles, who seem to have a great affection for their hunter’s family, are released back into the wild after about 10 years.

The return journey involved an unplanned adventure at the Beijing Airport where they found out they were supposed to have a visa to go from one terminal to another, but that is another story.

You can see Steve’s photos of his Mongolian adventure at www.art4adventures.zenfolio.com