Eastern Utah
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Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Should I stay in or should I go out?

After horrendous pounding on my roof most of the night, the rain has abated for a bit.  It will be back though and there is no end in sight.  I feel sorry for those who are already experiencing the mud slides that are inevitable after the fires last summer.  There are too many people on the planet, and they build in locales that aren't stable enough to hold a big population.  I would love to live in the mountains, but not in forested mountains in dry country.

I checked out Edward Abbey's "Desert Solitaire" at the library yesterday and look forward to reading it again, after re-reading it several times over the years.  It was the first of Ed Abbey's books that I enjoyed, and I believe I've read all of them.

When I first encountered Desert Solitaire I had never been in the west, nor had I actually seen a desert.  Of course it sounded romantic and beautiful, and I can tell from reading blogs of those who love it that it is romantic and beautiful to them.  Driving through it was interesting to me, but spending several days in the Arizona desert a few years ago made me realize that I don't like desert and I don't like anything about it, including all the thorny plants that grow in it.  I'm anxious to see how I read Abbey's words now that I've experienced some of the places he wrote about.

I also plan to re-read Monkey Wrench Gang and Heyduke Lives.  MWG is one of the funniest books I've ever read, as well as thought provoking.

I was planning to go out to do a bit of shopping, but looking out my front door I see tall palm trees bending in the wind, leaves scattering down the street, and no sunshine at all.  I would rather stay indoors than to be blown away trying to get from my car and into one of the stores.

(Click on a photo to enlarge.)





I think it's definitely a stay-indoors day!

8 comments:

  1. I vote for staying in, I hate running around in the rain. I just bought Desert Solitaire for my Kindle, haven't started it yet as I'm still working my way through Anna Karenina.

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  2. I worship at Edward Abbey's shrine and have every one of his books and loved them all. I'm not as in love with the desert as he was being a water baby myself but I so admire his no nonsense defense of the natural world. I would never ever go to Glen Canyon until the dam is cracked and the canyon restored. Love Heyduke!! I've always wondered where old Cactus Ed was buried.

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  3. I read Edward Abbey's "Desert Solitaire" years ago and loved it. It impacted my life. I loved the part where he brought gopher snakes back to his trailer and let them go inside on their own to rid the rattlesnakes. I had never heard of that but found out later that it really works that way. Enjoy your book again.

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  4. I will have to look into these books. I need new things to read about.

    From the pictures it doesn't look all that bad, but pictures can deceive

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  5. I believe you made the right choice to stay out of the rain. You never know what could happen in those conditions. Better safe than sorry.

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  6. Being a desert lover I think I owe it to myself to check out those books.

    Good call on staying inside on a rainy day like this.

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  7. It is even raining here in Mesa tonight. With how dry everything is I welcome it.

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  8. We read MWG on a trip in the 80's to the places mentioned. I read aloud while DH drove our Volkswagen camper. It was September, and it was HOT! But we survived, somehow, with no bathroom and no air conditioning! No heat, either, but that certainly wasn't an issue at that time of year. One night, near Kayenta, we finally got a motel room to escape the relentless heat, but ended up cooking dinner and breakfast in the camper as usual. As I recall, the air conditioner in the motel room was "iffy" at best.

    We were younger then! ;->

    Virtual hugs,

    Judie

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