DAN AND DANIELLE HIT THE ROAD

Last night while watching Louie on the iPad I smelled smoke. After I mentioned it, Daniel did too. It’s been very dry here lately and we’ve had lots of lightening so I was very nervous!

We drove up to ranch headquarters to use the internet and see if any fires were headed our way. Nothing on google so I searched silver city fire on twitter. One guy had tweeted a photo of a fire just south of silver city within the hour. How cool!

We called the fire department to make sure we were not in harms way. They told us it was contained and smoldering. Not to worry.

Pretty crazy.

Every Time I Turn Around I See Another Snake

I went on a hike to see a prehistoric cave carved high onto the side of a butte. When I got there I saw a green rock rattler…a somewhat rare animal coiled and rattling its warning in front of the cave entrance. At first I took this to be a sign. But when have I ever been so superstitious? I climbed up the face of the butte a few feet over to get around the snake and went into the cave anyways. The thoughts of many men, dead for hundreds of years echoed loudly in the little chamber.

Danielle and I have both almost stepped on perfectly camoflauged diamondback rattlers multiple times. They move slyly along the two track dirt road that we travel twice daily and creep up on us when we sit at the Falcon viewing site. Once we spot them they usually slither quickly into a clump of grass. We know exactly where they are but cannot see them at all. We try to watch our step and avoid clumps of grass as best we can but the effort seems futile. I almost cant believe that we haven’t stepped on one yet.

Once on a quest to find a missing bird I came across a “Racer” in the grass. This 4 foot skinny little reptile slithered in circles like lightning through the dessert scrub and rubbed up against my boots twice before making its way off into a hidden place. I had cartoonish visions of it coiling up and around my leg, travelling up my torso and coming to rest like a crown atop my head. I was almost sad when it didn’t happen.

Once on the way into town I almost ran over a huge snake sprawled out lengthwise across the road. It was at least 5 feet long and a mild green, covered with a geometric pattern. It had no rattle. I was sure that I had killed it and my heart sank. I stopped the car and got out to investigate. In the split second that our car had come around the bend, the serpent had coiled with the reflexes of…..(a snake?) to avoid my crushing tires. It sat in the middle of the road unharmed. I let out a sigh of relief as the no-legged reptilian beast slithered off the road and into a bush. I hope it learned its lesson.       

Last night I had a dream. Danielle and I were laying in a bedroom in my parents home, trying to sleep. All of a sudden a rattle snake appeared on the floor, then another, and another. I looked at the three snakes and said to Danielle “I’ve lived in this house my entire life and never seen a snake in it before, but obviously they are everywhere.” I sat there looking at the snakes with interest. Danielle moved away from me and all of a sudden one of the snakes coiled up and pounced, soaring high into the air and landing right on top of me. I thrashed to get away and at that moment awoke with a jolt. 

It didn’t really feel scary like a nightmare though. I woke up thinking “wow, I didn’t know snakes could jump like that”.   

Today we have been listening to Aerosmith’s Nine Lives album.

Last night we saw a thick rattlesnake by the hack site.

This morning we saw a tortoise and moved it out of the road. It peed.

It’s only 99degrees here today!

Peaks and Valleys

Well we have just under a month left here. Daniel asked me yesterday how I felt about it. I said bad. It’s too long. But that was right after a giant bee flew into the car and bopped me on the head and I messed up my back when we were flung over some monster bump on the hack site road.

As the day went on my attitude changed, as it always does. Just like in India, just like ANYwhere, some moments are more or less miserable than others. Does there really exist a place where anyone, me especially, can just be totally cool and wonderful all the time? probably not.

At this point my mom is probably shaking her head saying something about having the right attitude.. Yeah, ma, I get it. Which is why today will be a good day.

We woke up, both having had solid sleeps. After feeding the birds we will make a delicious lunch. Then we will go on a run and check out fairy shrimp that were found in one of the water areas. Supposedly these shrimp eggs can lay dormant for 200 years!!!
We will then shower and join the ranchers and their friends for an early dinner before we head back to the falcons to give them supper. After that we will watch my favorite show, Louie, and fall asleep.

We are doing all of this instead of spending the day complaining about the heat in our trailer. Instead of finding rat shit in hidden crevices of the trailer. Instead of eating lighter fluid soaked grilled pizzas. These are all things we have done.

Yesterday I saw a rattlesnake at the site.
I almost stepped on it (they’re very well camouflaged!)
It shook its rattle and slithered away. I shouted for Daniel and he came over and took some photos. The snake wasn’t very afraid of us. It just rattled right by. Its eyes were very cute. They bulged from its head like a frog.

I have read so many books over the past 5 weeks that I’ve decided to take a break. My eyes started to get exhausted. Daniel is still going strong. Hes finishing up Finding Everett Ruess right now. The ranchers gave it to him. Before that he read Sons and Lovers by DH Lawrence. While he read that, I reread Out of Sheer Rage: Wrestling with DH Lawrence by Geoff Dyer. I think Daniel wrestling through Lawrence and me reading a book about wrestling through Lawrence is very telling of the differences between us. On a side note, i don’t think there exists a positively more ME book than Out of Sheer Rage.

I’m excited for Joan Didion’s new book and Daniel is excited to read 1493.

In a few weeks we are taking three days and visiting Santa Fe and Taos. The ranchers are really into books and first editions. They’ve recommended some bookstores for us to check out up North. There is one bookstore in Silver City aside from Walmart. It’s all used books. Daniel thought it was awesome but I wasn’t as impressed. You’d think in a town like that I’d be able to get my paws on some really wild new age shit but nope, all these old hippies are into is gardening and bad art. Not spirits and stars. God I shouldn’t say bad art. The art is not bad. I dont even know anything about art!

Yesterday we marinated some portobellos (stuffed them with diced shallots) and grilled them along with corn. I made mashed potatoes too. It was a pretty hearty meal. We eat real well here. Today we are making breakfast tostadas! Tomorrow stuffed peppers! Ai chihuahua!