Easy Guests

Easy guests are fun. They come with the ton of questions one doesn’t always have an answer to and that makes you think. They fall in love with the place you have to offer and feel at home. You rediscover your surroundings with a fresh eye. In this desert town I took them to the murals and petroglyphs. Since road was washed out in part we hiked in quite a way. The petroglyphs are at least 800 years old and tell all kinds of stories, where to hunt, where the mountain sheep are, were there is a box canyon. I can’t read them, but recognize the maze as a road map, the clear animals and some of the rain symbols. Then we went to where they old mines are and walked to a stone building that held the generators and the main for a very deep hole in soft soil; a bit perilous, but interesting and with a lesson. Man’s activities in the desert leave a deep a scar for centuries. We learn here to head the earth, not to rape and plunder what sustains us. Old pawnshops in Town, the museum and Ernie, the singer in the park, learning about the history of Route 66 which all met with enthusiasm. Then they wanted to see some cowboy stuff. There was sawdust on the floor, brands and the names of the regional ranches all around, they ate cowboy steaks with cowboy beans and spiced corn biscuits. I of course ate fish. The evening attraction was ‘Fred’ my resident tarantula who is bit offended that I moved into his/her territory and tries hard to walk into the house… My friends realized that we live in a part of the desert where you better learn to live with nature than against it. Of course, I really try to keep the magnificently proud killing machines that the Mohave Greens are out!!! I have to draw the line somewhere.

I'll be away from my desk, back on line in a few days.