The freakish calmness of the Southwest has ended, and "horizontal gravity" has returned. (That means the wind.) I am not complaining. The calmness was great while it lasted.
The wind was from the north. It actually took effort on my part to face my trailer door to the south -- it is so against the habit formed in summer. But it was wonderful to have that little island of warmth and calmness just outside the trailer door. Despite the chill I kept the door open to allow the sun to warm up the solar screen. The wind sped up my backcountry "babushka" (laundry) duties!
How many ways can I say 'wonderful?' It is almost funny how this little trick of facing the door towards the sun and away from the wind seems to escape me. It would be beneficial to think of other examples of playing the same game.
Going through my photos of "weather and sky", it is remarkable how few photographs there are of the wind. It is difficult to photograph wind, odor, and perhaps other things. But it is easy to photograph a saguaro cactus in front of a red sunset. Perhaps that is why armchair travelers and RV wannabees get a misleading view of "Arizona" in the winter, and why there are so damn many Northern snowbirds around here.
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| The ubiquitous carsonite stake of public lands. They are pretty strong, but no match for the horizontal gravity of the Southwest. This should be a video in order to show the violent resonance the carsonite stake was going through. The brown material is fiberglass I believe. The material was being torn apart into glass strands at the curve/bend, close to the ground. |
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| This was taken in New Mexico. It shows a typical day there. |
Comments
Sorry about all those snowbirds, but I suppose that's what happens after almost two decades of internet bloggers telling everyone about how good of a time they're all having, showing people what they're missing. People decide they want to experience it, too. I always wondered just how many folks did ole Tioga George inspire?
Indeed! These days, the You Tube channels have become the main suppliers of hype and misinformation. Look at all the rose-colored episodes about Quartzsite that appear almost every day!