We haven’t even been to Kansas yet but the sentiment holds. The desert view out the trailer window in Red Rock Canyon State Park is world’s apart from the redwood forest that has been home for the last 15 years. The Dixie Chicks are singing on the stereo … “She needs wide open spaces … room to make a big mistake … she needs new places … she knows the high stakes”.
The lyrics resonate.
I just looked out the door. Then I made Steve look with me. OMG! This scene is where I live. My back yard is a desert. At least for tonight and tomorrow. I traded in redwood trees for joshua trees. How do I feel about this?
It’s pretty intense, really. Steve is making me dinner. The dogs and the cat are settled safely within. I am thinking about the reality that my home is where I am and here is my home for now. I live in the desert.
The desert is different than anywhere I have ever lived. It is exposed. Exposed and windy and parched. It is stark. Not as stark as it gets, but stark. I am happy. For tonight, I think the desert is the right place for me to be.
As a parent of two adorable cats, I am thinking that Grayson is wandering too far from “home” in this bottom picture.
Grayson is safe inside at the moment, looking out a window on his favorite perch, though his cat door is open. You’ll note that I was taking the picture from the far side of him so he wasn’t really much at risk. It is his turn to get out as he was imprisoned while we were in Los Padres and Bakersfield. He NEEDED time out and he’s a much happier cat now that he’s had some. I’m not much worried about him taking off. He comes pretty quickly when we call and he checks in regularly. My biggest concern for him here are the cholla cactus. Ouch! He would not be pleased with me having to pull spines out of him.
Oh… by the way … we have satellite internet here but no cell signal. I am happy to take a break from phones for a couple of days but Steve is also planning to set us up to use Skype when we’re out of phone range.
Here I was thinking Bakersfield and you are really
in the desert! It can be beautiful this time of
year but not for long. Too hot! You don’t remember your trips across it. We had no
air conditioning and we just ate ice and drove
at night if we could. I would love to see it in
bloom though. Grayson looks happy to explore!
love you both
We did spend a night in Bakersfield … in Camping World’s parking lot. It was actually a very successful stop … we restocked food and water, bought some things for the trailer we had decided we needed (top on the list being deluxe tandem wheel ratcheting chocks … very useful for times when land is anything but level), and I practiced driving. I gotta get over being afraid to drive with the trailer hitched.
The trip between Los Padres and Bakersfield had some bumps. Shortly after leaving Fort Hunter Liggett the “check engine” light came on. We stopped, read about it in the manual, decided it was because we had just done two river crossings and would be okay when it dried, and went on. Or tried to. The engine didn’t accelerate. We’re in the middle of nowhere and the engine won’t accelerate. The side of the road is steeply sloped but we’re safe and the wildflowers are lovely.
Breath deep. Putz around in the trailer. Try again and it goes okay. Hold breath.
We’re started to relax when we discover we have a leaking tire. A leaking tire and a “check engine light”, after some mysterious, albeit fleeting, loss of power.
It all worked out though. The engine light went out after we got fuel (maybe it dried or perhpas the cap was loose.) The tire got fixed (just as the shop was closing for the weekend.) We easily found the Bakersfield Camping World and settled the trailer and the animals in for the night before indulging in dinner … just a short walk away … at In-N-Out Burger. Mmmmm… decadence.
It’s not very hot. The sun is warm in the day but it’s cool in the shade. Last night was scary windy. Tonight is calm … 69° inside the trailer right now, 59° out. The flowers here are mostly tiny and subtle. Itty bitty yellow or purple flowers. Not so tiny and subtle, the Joshua Trees are blooming, and we saw one fully blooming Indian Paintbrush on a little hike up to the top of the rocks.
Now we’re planning for tomorrow. Lost Pine? Darwin Falls? Then Shoshone and Tecopa? Mike and Westi might pass us on the way to Utah at this rate!