The Western Desert is remote, rugged and often extreme. And while a family trip to this 2.8 million square kilometer expanse extending from the Nile west to Libya and from the Mediterranean south to Sudan may not be for everyone it is uniquely rewarding for those that make the journey. Five isolated oases - Bahariya, Farafra, Dakhla, Kharga and Siwa - spot the brown desert green. Archaeological sites from golden mummies to the Oracle of Amun provide insight to life long ago. Linear dunes run uninterrupted for hundreds of kilometers and reach a height of up to 110 meters. This is the Great Sand Sea! Bizarre white chalk formations and inselberg monoliths, the result of thousands of years of mechanical weathering, are a White Desert art show. Seashell fossils and fossilized trees define ancient, even for kids. Yet the realities of a Western Desert expedition are twofold. Exploring the Western Desert requires spending lots of time in a vehicle, getting to the eastern reaches takes the better part of a day. Few companies make the trip in style; a Western Desert safari is truly roughing it.