Under the cooler air of the pre-season, the gypsies went out again.  To the high desert and to the sand dunes and amazing fauna and flora they love so much.  A lovely breeze was running through the campsite making out of the art of camping a real true joy. 

The old gypsies stationed their gypsy trailer right under one of the biggest and broadest trees adorning the campsite, and right under its fronds they arranged their chairs and called the space their little living room… 

Refreshing breezes played in branches and among leaves as the songs of birds filled the heavens and serenated the early afternoon.  We read, we made lunch and then continued reading some more.  I watched at how puffy white clouds moved along the bluest emptied sky, resembling old ships navigating some ancient seas.  I listed for the voices of coyotes in the far distance and to the songs of birds, then we decided to walk down to the lake… 

Oh but this is still the desert my friends, and it is still the end of summer too, which means that all of a sudden the afternoon turned to fire on us.  A great heat came pulsing down on us, surrounding us like flames and heavy sweat and the entire campsite felt drowsy and heavy and the only thing we could do to cease the discomfort this heat brought on us was to run to the showers for a nice refreshing soak.  And how nice it felt and how refreshed our skin felt after that.

When we came to our campsite again after our shower, how different things looked and felt.   The Fisherman made pizza and we ate our dinner as we watched at other campers and new arrivers come in and worked on their spaces.  Soon, the sun was glowing gold in the west and the light was like a cascade of glimmers and jewels and pieces of gold being showered down on us from the heavens.  So beautiful, so very beautiful the entire sky had turned, that I decided we should go out again and walk the trails of the dunes under this magnificent light.  And thus, we did.

 

a blaze of color -- oranges, pearly pinks, the sky turned to a dusky purple...

Soon it got dusk, a grapy dusk, a purple dusk over tangerine desert vegetation, prairie, lake and marsh habitat; the sun the color of pressed grapes, slashed with burgandy red, the grasslands the color of love and Spanish mysteries.

Oh sunlight! The most precious gold to be found on Earth.”

 

On our way back we were welcomed by one of the most intriguing and beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen… dusty rose and smoky burnt orange sky illuminated by this kind of an obtuse grey light that reminded me of light streaming in through wavy paned glass windows, and I’m not sure why it took me to a memory of another place in time that I couldn’t place...  the shadow of the moon fell on the world in peace…

 

 And what a beautiful beautiful the next morning of that Sabbath was.  In the afternoon we left our gypsy trailer and went to a nearby lake to spend the hottest hours of the day by the water.  On our way we saw a mule deer and stopped at the center for ice cream.  At the lake, the Fisherman when to fish and the gypsy girl sat down to read under the shade of a plant growing by the water, and she remembered Jonah and the story and how the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant.  And so was I with my plant.  It was breeze and under its shade I stood for hours reading while the Fisherman talked to his fishes until he had enough. 

That night we decided not to go to bed as early as we usually do and instead went star gazing at the Observatory!  We watched a presentation inside the Education Center, saw the night sky and viewed the planets, nebulas, and galaxies.  People went in their Pjs, and it was dark and cozy and you felt as if flying the night sky to other galaxies far away.  Then, it was the real viewing of the heavens through the Observatory’s collection of telescopes outside.  People made lines and the Fisherman and I headed over to our cozy gypsy trailer for the night… there was a bright full moon illuminating shadowed trails and the desert seem to glow. 

I love this place so much... in every season and every weather.

We decided to go to the mountains again this weekend for the extra-long weekend.  And thus, we went out to find that “lilac” campground where the lake lays placidly below trailers and campers, and arid mountains seem to whisper at night.  And we were lucky to have found a site that, although it is not right at the edge of the mountain looking down at the lake, it is spacious and shaded, as it is surrounded and protected by a circle of firs and quaking aspens carved in a deep on the side of a slope.  Which means protection from the sun and a good amount of privacy from other campers.  And I love being surrounded by big trees.  I love to be observed by them from above and feel as if I’m tucked away in their arms in a big nest of sorts. 

The sun blew fire down on us all afternoon, and it was scorching hot and the heat made us walk like zombies and people went to hide in their trailers and in the water down at the lake in each and every little hole away from the sun they could find.  Even dogs were seen hiding from the heat under trailers and gypsy wagons and such.  

In the evening, a warm breeze moved on calming things down a little bit.  Scattered leaves blew away and there was an autumnal feeling to the atmosphere that, even if it was hot and it didn’t feel too comfortable, still made things beautiful and I even noticed that trees and shrubs are getting ready to move their summer outfits and change onto their splendid autumnal outfits… soon, very soon the entire atmosphere will take on the colors of cinnamon and clove and the world will be a better place to be for campers and old gypsies like us who enjoy being outside.

I picked some stems from the ornamental grasses found around the campsite and made bouquets with them.  Then, I went on setting a little living room out in the open by the foot of the hill, for us to sit.  Later, on I will use them to decorate our real home when autumn comes around and the decorations would have to be changed to something more agreeable with the season and its colors. 

We went down to the lake later... to fish and walk around the shore... we were amazed at how much had the lake lowered its water levels.  We walked on bared rocks that once had belonged to the bottom of the lake and all around the lake you could see the marks where the water levels were high up that hill of rocks.  

Our gypsy quarters get cozier and cozier each time we sleep there... I can hardly wait to sleep here in the fall when it will be cooler and chilly nights would bring the great owls to magical trees under which our gypsy trailer will sleep the night away with us inside...

On little house on wheels felt so cozy and marvelously comfortable in the early morning, with coffee on the table, breakfast and our favorite books...

The view outside was marvelous and the light perfect!

We cleaned our space, washed the dishes and then went back to the lake  that morning, the Fisherman caught a trout, I read my book, played with leaves and collected flowers, then we jumped on our truck and headed back home….

Thanks for coming along!  Until next time y'all!