IF IT IS SPRING AND WINTER IN THE SAME DAY, IT MUST BE ARIZONA
The delightful spring weather was briefly interrupted with a touch of winter and a dusting of snow. Of course as this is Arizona there was just a hint of summer in between.
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| Route 66 in New Mexico |
In my book a sure sign that people have not lived in Kingman for more than a week is the complaint that we don’t have seasons. Yes, we do, and quite often we have them all within a seven day span of time.
One year it was warm enough for my dearest friend and I to go to the lake in January but during the Route 66 Fun Run, in the first of May, it snowed. Even better, I have witnessed an absolute street flooding down pour – on the opposite side of Route 66 from where I was broiling under desert sun.
Still, having paid my dues in a few of those nasty “M” places (Michigan, Minnesota, etc.) it is my opinion that the quirky weather in the desert southwest is but one of the perks. I can have spring today and winter the next, or I can have spring today and drive twelve miles to play in the snow. Or, I can baste in my own juices on a scorching summer afternoon and savor cool pine scented breezes with a drive of less than twenty miles.
Still, the real reason I choose to call the desert southwest home is the stunning landscapes, the truly awe inspiring beauty. Simply put, I am deeply and hopelessly in love with this wild and beautiful land.
For the uninitiated the desert can seem like a barren and forbidding wasteland. It can even be a bit intimidating and inspire a touch of fear.
Those were a few of my first impressions and thoughts when arriving here for the first time. Over the years, however, I have come to find peace in the silence that is so complete it is possible to hear the beating of my own heart and an incredible cleansing of the soul as sage scented breezes embrace me high on a rocky knoll.
Standing at the crossroads now faced without the desert to offer solace and a quiet place to meditate, to think, to contemplate is unimaginable. Even better, I am blessed with a very dear and patient friend whose passion for the desert, for the empty places, may exceed mine.
Meanwhile, as I reflect on the past and on what just may be a new and exciting direction in life, there is business to attend to. There is the need to close my mothers estate (anyone want a very small 625 square foot, historic house at a bargain price?) and to finish the captions for the Route 66 encyclopedia.
To ensure there is no boredom, and that there isn’t a great deal of time to worry over changes on the horizon, I also have to make plans for the Wheels on 66 event in Tucucmcari, the Route 66 Fun Run, KABAM, the International Route 66 Festival in Victorville, and Cuba Fest in Cuba, Missouri. In my spare time there is promotion of the books, completion of a E-book tour guide for Route 66 between Crookton Road and Topock, a few dozen speaking engagements, an educational program to develop, a house to paint, efforts to interest the publisher in another book, further development of the Route 66 in Mohave County exhibit for the Powerhouse Visitor Center, grand kids, special birthday weekend for my dearest friend …
