If there is one thing that can be said of bike touring, it’s that you wind up in unusual places. We’ve found ourselves riding through some remarkably desolate landscapes over the past two days. The arid southern end of the Atlas Mountains, called the Anti Atlas, looks like the Southwest U.S. before it descends into the palm-filled Draa Valley and the Sahara beyond. It’s quite hot in the mid-day sun and falls below freezing at night, which has given us an appreciation for the insulating thick mud walls of traditional Moroccan architecture. Last night we stayed at Dar Kamar, a 17th century riad recently refurbished by a Spanish photographer. We had a hilarious ordeal finding it amid the narrow dusty passages of the old city (assisted by a confident and friendly little five year old neighbor), but once there loved the exquisite historic details and views from the rooftop. Today, after crossing the Anti Atlas, we ended up at the aptly named Chant de Palmiers, an out of the way place set amid date palm farms, where we soak up the late afternoon sun as we listen to birds singing and the breeze blowing the palm fronds. The architecture here is also highly responsive to the climate, with thick mud walls, seating areas insulated from the heat and cold with carpets and toilet seat covers that defy description.