A rider awaits the start of a horse race on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar,Mongolia. The horse races are a part of the Naadam festival which is held yearly and people compete in horse racing, wrestling as well as archery. The games in the capital were especially large this year as the Nation celebrates 800 years of statehood.

Young Mongolian wrestlers listen to the line up for the days matches as apart of the Naadam Festival in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Tsermaa sits next to an empty stool where her husband once sat. He passed away in 1997 and Tsermaa continued stay in Terelj and look after their anmals on her own. It's the life she wants. It's the life she loves and at the age of sixty-four is still very capable of doing so.

Tamir Tsermaa's thirteen year old grandson takes his grandmother's sheep and goats to the river on a hot summer day. Tamir loves spending his summer vacations helping his grandmother. He can swim in the river eat well play with other boys that live in near by Gers. One day he hopes to become a doctor.

Selenge Tsermaa's sixteen year old grandaughter pauses in the morning before beginning work for the day. Each summer Tsermaa's three grandchildren spend three months working and living with their grandmother. If it was up to them they would live there year round. They enjoy the work, the environmnt andspending time with their grandmother. Selenge one day hopes to become a police officer.

Tsermaa boils water for the day with the hills of Terelj National Park behind her. All cooking is done on this outdoor stove that is fueled with wood and dung. The diet of Mongolians consists of mainly dairy and meat.

Tsermaa pauses inside of her Ger.

Tsermaa has turned her Ger into a very comfortable space complete with a nightstand covered with personally significant items including a picture of the Dalai Lama.Tsermaa like the majority of Mongolian people is a Budhist. Twice a year she packs up her two Gers and moves. In the fall she moves up the valley a few kilometers for more protection from the harsh Mongolian winter. Then back down in the spring where the land is easier to manage her animals.

Tsermaa takes a break while one of her twenty cows wanders curiously about and sips on some salty milk tea which is the most common drink found throughout Mongolia. Inspite of how it sounds it is actually pretty good.

Tsermaa stands in one of only a few spots near her home that picks up the network signal and speaks to her daughter, who lives in South Korea. She says that both her son and daughter call at least once a day to make sure she is doing all right. Cell phone coverage in Mongolia is very sporadic in Mongolia but more and more people are using them.

Mongolian girls dressed in traditional garb parade during the opening ceremonies of the Naadam Festival in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Three Mongolian men share a moment before the opening ceremonies of the Naadam Festival in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Some young schoo children wait to perform as a part of the 800 year celebration of Mongolian Statehood in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

A Mongolian man is reflected in a car mirrow walking down the street in a Ger district of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Even in the capital most residents live in Ger tents as the cost of living is generally cheaper.

Local men walk past a billboard wishing his holiness the Dalai Lama a Happy Birthday in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar.Mongolians have always taken wholeheartedly to Tibetan Buddhism and the links between Mongolia and Tibet are old and deep.

A local man walks past a rundown cafe in the Mongolian Capital of Ulaanbaatar.

A Ger districct can be seen behind a large billboard promoting Chinggis Khaan as the 'Man of the Millenium" in the Mongolian capital of Mongolia. This year marks the 800 year Anniversary of Mongolian Statehood. The government has been making a push this year to restore Chinggis Khaan to his former glory. An Icon Mongolians can be proud of. As a communist satelite Mongolians were discouraged from idolizing Khaan.

Two women walk past posters wishing his holiness the Dalai Lama a Happy Birthday at Gandan Monastery Mongolia's largest Monastery in Ulaanbaatar.Mongolians have always taken wholeheartedly to Tibetan Buddhism and the links between Mongolia and Tibet are old and deep.

A Mongolian man walks past an apartment building in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar. As Mongolia struggles find it's feet economically many up-keep projects aroiund the capital are neglected.

A Mongolian woman paints around a window in a building in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. With a high rate of Alcoholism among Mongolian men it is often the women who earn the family's income.

Two young girls play basketball on a makeshift court in the countryside on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Some young sheep herders take their sheep out to pastor on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

An ethnic Kazak man smokes a cigarette in the late afternoon sun on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. There's a significant minority of Sunni Muslims in the far western regions of Mongolia, most of whom are ethnic Kazaks.

An ethnic Kazak woman pauses near her wood burning stove in the late afternoon sun on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. There's a significant minority of Sunni Muslims in the far western regions of Mongolia, most of whom are ethnic Kazaks.