Winding Travel
heat rain and the beauty of nature
Winding Travels
A few days ago we landed in Palm Springs, it was 105 degrees. We found a nice place to eat then headed to Joshua Tree. On the way we stopped to the cemetery where Frank Sinatra is buried. We also slowly passed by his house that was a fairly modest one-story ranch house. I had been hoping it would be cool in Joshua Tree, but a freak heat wave sent the temperatures to 101. I don’t do well in extreme heat, so I stayed mostly in my room writing or at the small coffee canteen.
To say there is much on my mind (as everyone’s) is an understatement. Not able take in the whole world at the moment I spend much time thinking about the victims of Hurricane Helene and how the world is changing, not only climate change but the mental climate. I feel that we are constantly being groomed to accept certain things we feel to be wrong. We have to fight to hold to our humanist ways of thinking in an increasingly dividing, divisive world.
I love the desert, even though I couldn’t completely partake in walks and hikes because of the extreme heat. I love its mystic trees and massive boulders, small snakes, roadrunners, breathtaking cacti and ambitious spiders. One red spider wove quite a web around my microphone as I was singing. I was moved to dedicate Peaceable Kingdom to President Jimmy Carter, celebrating his 100th birthday. The nights cooled down, so I contented myself by gazing at the multitude of stars. In the morning I packed up for the next destination
We drove to the Santa Barbara area and I have a day by the sea. In contrast where we’ve been, it’s misty and chilly. I love the the look of the mist veiling the palm trees. I am always enamored by the palms but can’t capture their beauty. Hopefully it will warm a little and I will take a walk by the sea. If I do I will make a little video. Ha Ha! my travel videos are always bad, but the sea is eternally beautiful.
Hope everyone is doing fine. I will report again soon. Take care of yourselves and look up at the stars, across a sea or your feet walking the earth…..
The last thing I expected to see today was a post from you with a photo of Frank Sinatra's grave. I don't know why I was pleasantly surprised. You have always honoured great artists and Sinatra was a great artist. When I was a kid in the sixties, I didn't get it, enamoured as I was with the Beatles and Stones and Dylan and Motown and all that great music. But as I grew older, I responded to his extraordinary voice, his style, his phrasing. One for my Baby (And One More for the Road) always takes my breath away.
So thanks for brightening my afternoon in a world growing darker. I will say that this community, this caravan of fellow travelers, always brings me hope. This is a great place to gather in the face of storms of all sorts. Here's a toast to all of you. Take good care.
Dear Patti,
I find it so difficult to relate with what world is experiencing these days. It makes me feel sick. I cannot understand violence. I can't understand many other things. Nevertheless, I'm trying to do my best to be joyful, because life is joy, and I believe it must be celebrated each day. Your travelogues are so beautiful. I love the great outdoors where I feel I can breathe, and the desert as well. The Joshua trees and the cacti remind me of a travel to Nevada I did a few years ago to visit some friends of mine. Beautiful moments, beautiful people. This is what can make the difference. Nature and friends can be our safe haven in the storm.
So, when a couple of days ago I tried to imagine your amused smile at "caravan of friends”, the image made my day. At the concert in Granada I shouted “We love you!”, and I know that you got it because you looked up and gazed in my direction. I really meant “we”, since for sure many of us here were in spirit there. Thank you for everything, Patti, and for thinking of us. When you do, also remember that we love you. Always. 🐎❤️