Happy New Year Everybody. In Chinese astrology It is The Year of the Rabbit, which is apropos to all things desert including a hare or two. I will continue to create what is fun magical and somewhat sustainable out here in San Bernardino county. The list is short but extensive. I desire an amphitheater, race track and batting cage. I want to have rock band playing from day to night and be able to sway off highway vehicle enthusiasts to stay on site during King of Hammers as an alternative to Hammer Town. Translucent canopies and campfires under midnight blue sky. A girl can dream, 2023 is for you and Me!

Bonaire Aruba and Curaçao are the ports of call on a poker cruise. Islands on the tip of South America, just enough to confuse me. I was here 20 years ago and Aruba’s gone high end. All the best boyfriends are here. Louis V. and Michael Kors. More buildings and hotels. Didn’t meet any locals to ask if everyone is still speaking Papiamentu? Is the desalination plant still working?. Bonaire is a territory of the Netherlands and the written sign at the laundromat confirms it but I also heard Spanish at the bodega. Salt beds is the natural resource of Bonaire and everything else is shipped in which explains the super high prices . 6 dollars to wash 6 bucks to dry. some say was tourist price. Ganda from Sumatra says same price in the Bahamas. The path less traveled is filled with little delights. Got caught trying to help a guy asking for a slim Jim . The convenience store clerk rendered goggle translate without luck. I said “beef stick” with a jerky pulling at teeth level gesture. Lame ethnocentrism at its best I think not but a longing homesick feel for Bubba.

In March I flew to Whitehorse to mush at Sky High Wilderness Ranch. The trip requires a timely Covid clearance coming into Whitehorse then onto the event. The owner took us to liquor store to pick up libations before heading to camp. A Propane running cabin and self starting sauna, I could hear the dogs howling and yelping from afar. After a short introduction a group was leaving and brief hello was “Goodbye’. Chewy, Zia, Dudley and Koala managed to pull me around river’s edge and windy mountains. Every day was a series of getting to know your fellow mates and guide. Having mushed before I was just as scared (the picture above is from the first time) given the experience of dogs in heat and fighting. “more like wolves” as Visa the guide explained. Harnesses lessons and a quick point to a board which listed who was skinny and who had frostbite on their you know what. Lead dog gets two bowls of meat soup that when it’s was served looks like a crime scene, as you placed it directly on the ice. What remains remarkable in my thoughts is the men and women who do the Iditarod. 938 miles and the record 8 days 3 hours 40 minutes and thirteen seconds. I saw through the window a women who came looking for her dogs. Big Denali truck with all her dogs in tow minus the ones she was looking for. Michelle Phillips is her name and she is an Iditarod participant who was introduced by a boyfriend to the sport. She is also a former figure skater. I took notice of her shape. Strong and compact she is probably one of the most bravest people I’ve never met. Our Guide Christina was similar to most people who make the Yukon their home. She did the most work, having to be our motley crew guide then at the end of the day cook for all of us. I gave her a good tip and a hug. There was a music professor, a computer geek and a newly wed couple who were teachers in B.C. And none of them drank or went to sauna after the end of each day. The last night was games and drinks and the owner had so much fun but I think he came to eat. Gary is good sport and I’d love to go back and talk to Michelle. It’s a beautiful sport and thank you Cynthia for all that you do for us.

600 BALLOONS IN NEW MEXICO. JUST 3 OR 4 HERE TODAY.  ROWS OF GREEN STUFF THAT EVENTUALLY TURNS INTO RED WHITE AND CHARDONNAY. SENSE OF  EXCITEMENT IN THE AIR UNTIL I READ “INCLUDING DEATH” ON THE WAIVER FORM.  ONCE ELEVATED SO PEACEFUL. MY BALLOONIST BUDDY HAS BEEN OUT UP UP AND AWAY A FEW TIMES  SO SHE APPRECIATES THE SMOOTH LANDING. I APPRECIATE THE TECATE BCUZ I WAS A LITTLE SCARED. XIE XIE MARILYNN. ZIAJIAN

A few months ago I heard from a friend ” Hey its me …My brother has been divorced about a year and a half you should give him a call”.  As I write this I realized you can’t go back and He was just being nice.  Asking to be put in the friendship category and hang out is bullshit and unreasonable.  Better to write it out as a cautionary tale and accept you can’t go home.   Real estate of the heart can be a millimeter or acre but its there.  I was doing so good on my own playing poker, working and traveling.  Situations like these caused a skid mark in my life…then a flood (emotions) then back out to the desert where I  belong.  It doesn’t matter that Ive been with someone the past 12 years, there was life I lived that proceeded my my life now and it was filled with freedoms, adventures and significantly less obligations.  I tied this into thinking what was and what could have been.  I choose not to see this as a danger zone but a beautiful walk down memory lane.  For This I am grateful. Ziajian