The Atacama Desert in Chile is the driest nonpolar desert in the world. Only the McMurdy Valley in Antarctica is drier. The average precipitation is 15 mm per year, although some weather stations have never received rain.
After leaving Bolivia, I headed to the town of San Pedro de Atacama. The first evening I stopped to camp just off the road on the way into town with a beautiful view of the 5,916 m (19,409 ft) Lincancabur Volcano. Next to the road was a canyon with some great-looking rock climbing. Made me miss my climbing days. That evening was a great sunset.
San Pedro de Atacama is a bit touristry, but nice. I stayed at a nice campground on the edge of town. I made friends with a wonderful dog named Lucky, who was by my side most of the time at the campground. We shared some good meals.
One day I drove south to some beautiful desert landscapes. Also experienced some pretty high winds.
See, you need another nice black dog when you get back Brad!