I Go From the Desert That Offers Respite From Man Made Trials... To The Wintry Storms in the North...

Got loaded this morning and hauled out of the boondocks and down into Phoenix to cache the rig. Tomorrow at O five hundred, me, the dogs, an' the old Dodge will start the run to Colorado to rendezvous  with the rest of the family in Northglenn.

Our last sunset in the Carefree camp was a nice soft sendoff...

I expect there's those that weary of sunset pictures... "Seen one you seen 'em all" sort of an attitude; which is something I just don't get. I'd guess they don't bother with any art in their houses/rigs either... I mean... "seen it once you seen it so why bother?" right? ;)

If it bugs 'em... I guess they can go look out the window for a while... I've got a few more to hang on here! But then... I would think there's curtains over the windows... they already looked out 'em once. ;)

Truth be told... I need the quiet beauty of  these desert sunsets just now... bein' able to walk out into a pasture and watch a set of colts runnin' an' buckin' would be a good thing too... or into a meadow with a bunch of fresh lambs... anything that speaks of new life and hope.

Been doin' some self medicatin' the past few nights... Hot chocolate and Butterscotch Schnapps. mmmmm... that's some potent stuff! Tastes like candy and carries a decent kick! ;) too many cups O' that and a fella might could get stupid! ;) Just one or two though and it works kinda like Nyquill... only tastes a lot better. :)

They've got rain laid on for tonight here in the Valley... or they claim anyway... Then... seems like I manage to trigger it this time every year for a couple now... Tomorrow the weather 'cross northern New Mexico is bleaker than a mother-in-laws outlook.

Snow and wind... wind whippin' up 50 miles an hour. I'll tell you, those high plains above Las Vegas are gonna get down right unfriendly come late tomorrow afternoon... Don't know if you've ever drove through a New Mexico blizzard. Runnin' through that with the wind whistlin' high; the snow racin' at you like a million sparklin' lights till you can't tell which way is left... your eyes cross and you get vertigo sittin' there on the seat of your rig.

You'd pull over and stop... but your afraid if you let go of the wheel and shift gears you'll fall over! ;)

Yes Sir! It's a damn fine time! Genuine Western.

I'm thinkin' I'll take the north western route. Cut up across the Navajo reservation and slide around and come in through Utah.

Hmmmm.... maybe ~ Slide ~ wasn't the best choice of words... considerin'. ;)

The storm is s'posed to have blown through already; by the time I expect to make it that far... With any luck the tires on that old dodge won't see too much ice.

*Almost looks like a digital watercolor... Looking toward Wickenburg*

Was finishing up settlin' the rig in for the next couple of weeks where I've got it cached here in Glendale... and looked up over the top of my sister's neighbor's horses... and ... uh huh...

... More sunsets ;)

Patricia sent an excerpt from an editorial in Desert Magazine, published in 1936, in a comment yesterday. The sentiments touch a truth that kept me out in the desert these past few days for what I sorely needed... Thanks Patricia. (the country gained a good bit when you decided to become one of us!)

"There are 2 deserts...

Once is a grim desolate wasteland. It is the home of venomous reptiles and stinging insects, of vicious thorn-covered plants and trees, and of unbearable heat. This is the desert seen by the stranger speeding along the highway, impatient to be out of “this damnable country”. It is the desert visualized by those children of luxury to whom any environment is unbearable which does not provide all the comfort and services of a pampering civilization. It is a concept fostered by fictions writers who dramatize the tragedies of the desert for the profit it will bring them.

But the stranger and the uninitiated see only the mask. The other Desert -the real Desert- is not for the eyes of the superficial observer, or the fearful soul or the cynic. It is a land, the character of which is hidden except to those who come with friendliness and understanding. To these the Desert offers rare gifts: health-giving sunshine, a sky that is studded with diamonds, a breeze that bears no poison, a landscape of pastel colors such as no artist can duplicate, thorn-covered plants which during countless ages have clung tenaciously to life though heat and drought and wind and the depredations of thirsty animals, and yet each season send forth blossoms of exquisite coloring as a symbol of courage that has triumphed over terrifying obstacles.

To those who come to the Desert with friendliness, it gives friendship; to those who come with courage, it gives new strength of character. Those seeking relaxation find release from the world of man-made troubles. For those seeking beauty, the Desert offers nature’s rarest artistry. This is the Desert that men and women learn to love."

 Well, the weatherman didn't lie. The rain has come again to the desert as I'm writin' this. I'll send it off to you and hit the rack. Oh dark thirty comes pretty quick and I've got miles to go.

Night Folks. Hold each other close.
Brian