I love the desert as much as I love the mountains and the seashore. I lived for about 11 years in Tucson, AZ and spent time exploring the Sonoran Desert. Sometimes the terrain seemed stark, naked. However, after spending time in the NM portion of the Chihuahuan Desert where I am now, it seems lush by comparison. The Sonoran Desert is home to the iconic saguaro cactus, mesquite, ocotillo, organ pipe, and barrel cactus. The vegetation here in NM is mostly yucca and creosote growing in a gravel/sand mix. The mountain slopes are barren and volcanic from a distance. On Saturday  I will see it more closely when I hike in Rockhound State Park near the Mexico border.

Parts of the Chihuahuan Desert are called desert grassland or desert prairie. I saw some of this mix in Southwestern Texas and was truly amazed–never imagined prairie grass and cactus. Nature mixes things up in interesting ways.

One word does describe these otherwise distinct deserts: arid. Bone dry, parched. Arid. Both receive an average 9-10 inches of rain each year and, after spending 5 months in Florida (avg 50 in) and Alabama (avg 56 ins), I find arid magnificent. I am adapted to drier climates after living before in  AZ, CO, and WY, and I appreciate dry air as much as I appreciate a dry wine.

How does all that play out in daily life? In Florida and Alabama, my hand-washed clothes – literally never dried. They grew moldy and stinky when I hung them out– worse than before I washed them —  so I gave up and did all my laundry in commercial machines. I began to just hang out blankets and sheets rather than wash them all the time, but often they picked up the overnight moisture and grew stinky too. Here, I can hang clothes on the ranch clothes line or on my door handle and they will be bone dry in a short time.  Same deal with my hair – so much better than looking like a wet noodle most of the day.

I gave the camper a good cleaning and organizing yesterday in hopes of getting out all the sand from Dauphin Island-ha ha. I noticed the screens have some mildew, so soon I will take them down and clean with a mildew remover (I think I have been saying that for awhile, but really, next week). Foggy, drippy windows contributed to that. Windows never fog now so I do not need my dehumidifier humming all the time. I moved it into the bathroom where moisture is always a problem, and in three days it pulled out about a tablespoon of water vs. a cup/day in Alabama. I love arid! No standing water around the camper, no dripping sweat when I exert myself. Tango never has muddy paws. Pure coconut oil takes care of the dry skin and chapped lips.

Not in the desert!!!

The trade off, of course, is smaller, less dramatic and more drab-colored vegetation. Trees seem stunted. Barren, volcanic hillsides seem supernatural. However, I learned long ago that a desert has another kind of beauty, one that is exotic and enticing. Nothing beats the color of solid green palo verde tree or the serenity of owl nesting in a saguaro. Flowering cactus! Road runners! Quail! Desert life is beautiful and animated, somehow even during the deep heat of summer.

Green bark on palo verde tree

Sometimes, after moving away from the desert, I wondered if my memory exaggerated the blue of the sky and the reds of the sunsets over the desert. Nope- beautiful blue skies during the day and sunsets night after night. Tango and I now walk towards the west when the sun sets, and we enjoy colorful skies. Well, I enjoy it; Tango prefers to sniff each rock and piece of gravel. He seems renewed by all the unfamiliar smells.

So, life is good in the desert. Can’t wait to get hiking! This is where my outdoor passion started. I feel renewed as well. 

Rock Hound State Park