I was born and raised in the desert. Home to me means joshua trees, jackrabbits and the song of coyotes on a summer night. While I will always consider the desert my home there are other wild spaces that hold a special place in my heart. Let’s face it, the desert is hot. Really hot. I remember one particularly brutal summer I was working on a rescue ranch and the temps reached a thermometer busting 118F. Even the animals were miserable. When we get a bit of cool weather it’s a nice change of pace. Beyond that it reminds me of some of my favorite memories growing up.
You see, my parents were the ones who fostered a love for the outdoors in me. If it involved the outdoors we’ve done it. We’ve road tripped to the Grand Canyon. We’ve snorkeled in the Florida Keys. Many a chilly morning was spent traipsing through our local nature preserve trying to point out plants and animals we can identify. There’s a saying (and I’m not sure who was the first person to popularize it) but it goes something like “at the end of your life you won’t wish you had spent more time at work.” No, but these are the moments I will remember when I’m older.
I may not have a lot of money right now, but I still have a lot. It’s mornings like these when I can sit on my porch with a cup of tea in my hands and my pups curled at my feet and close my eyes. I can imagine the cool breeze is the crisp mountain air against my cheeks. I can almost see myself waking up in my tent to the smell of campfire and coffee grounds. Or bundled up on the beach at night, toes in the sand eagerly awaiting the grunion run.Or paddling out to the lake at 4am with the scent of diesel fading from the docks. I’m not jetting off to Fiji at the moment and my travels are confined to one state,but I can still cherish the adventure in every single day.
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