Back to Life in the Desert

Queen of the Night cactus in bloom … awesome! At least the cactus likes the heat.

We’ve been back a couple of weeks now and are just now getting accustomed again to life in the desert and life at home. The temperatures here have been in the triple digits 100-110F (38-43C) since we returned with humidity so low (4-6%), you can feel all the moisture being sucked out of your skin everytime you venture outdoors.

Being back has its advantages and disadvantages. Doing laundry is easy. Buying and preparing foods we like anytime we want seems almost a luxury. Sleeping in our own bed with our own pillows is wonderful. On the other hand, there are house chores and yard chores that need to be done regularly and lots of distractions throughout the day. Blue is in the garage for some warranty / recall work and has been for a week, so our mode of transportation is somewhat thwarted.

Though we walk the golf course each morning at 5am and work out at the health club 3 times/week, we’re not getting the same sort of exercise as walking 15 miles a day. By about 8am, the temperature is too hot for any outdoor activity. We can feel the lost weight slowly creeping back. For David, that’s good. For me, not so much (sigh!). Of course, I could attempt more portion control both in eating and drinking, but who wants to do that?

We’ve been busy updating the website with all the Via Francigena info… linking blogs, adding stats and post-walk reviews and it’s now complete. It seems as if the whole experience was months ago instead of only weeks.

Now that that’s done and we’re getting caught up, we’re planning our next road trip. What began as an invitation from Gentry & Eric in Albuquerque, New Mexico to join them in early October for the 2019 Balloon Fest has turned into a major road trip. It is the largest balloon fest in the world, and we’ll spend a couple of weeks in the Albuquerque area. After New Mexico, we’ll head across the USA on the southern route (I-10) through Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and into Florida, with lots of scheduled visits to national parks, camping venues, and friends.. Needless to say, I’ve been planning routes and places to stop and explore. Already, we’re getting excited about the prospect.

And walking? Oh, yes. We’re narrowing down the possibilities for our next major trek. On the short list so far… the Israel National Trail (the Jerusalem Trail portion), the Portuguese Santiago de Compostela, the Arizona Trail ( at least a portion of it starting from the Utah border and including the rim to rim in the Grand Canyon) and we’re discovering more all the time. Stay tuned as we make our decision and start making our plans.