Nature had turned the color of maple syrup and cinnamon toasts round here… and it’s been cold with beautiful sunny afternoons.  And thus, the gypsies wanted to go explore the world again; one, or maybe two more times before things get really cold and dreary winter days descend upon the land with its accustomed vehemence.

And I’m so happy we did!  The campground we chose this time was like a beautiful shroud of splendorous colors spread-out upon the landscape.  Trees, shrubs and vegetations had turned into a dreamy, magical storybook, while yellow leaves covered the ground, bequeathing it with a certain mystery and a feel of wonder and magic.

A few feet down the trails, was the Snake River with its Three Island Crossing where many years ago emigrants on the Oregon Trail reached a critical junction. Here they had to decide whether to make the difficult crossing of the Snake River or take a longer alternative route along the south side of the river.

 

We cooked and ate our lunch...

And then I engaged in my favorite pastime

of embellishing and organizing  our gypsy caravan...  

 

 

Later that afternoon we went to visit The Oregon Trail History and Education Center where visitors can learn about pioneer immigrants and Native American history.

Some of the hardest things the emigrants had to do were crossing rivers. When you read the diaries there are a lot if incidents of deaths at the river crossings. So, when they get to Three Island Crossing, they’ve got a decision to make. They could continue on down the south side of the Snake which was known as the dry and the longest route and the more desolate route or they could risk crossing. So, it was whether you wanted to risk drowning or take the long route. 

We walked down to the river right after visiting the museum, and then ambled around where these people once stood, lived, and died… what an amazing experience, and what amazing view!

The evening turned in in soft hushed colors and a great hush came over the place… 

The gypsy caravan felt cozy and warm... It was so cold and wet outside, but inside it felt cozy and warm and wonderfully the two of us… ah I want to stay curled and cozied with my cups of coffee and all of our books, iPad and laptops in our gypsy caravan!

We woke up very early the following morning; woke up with cold and a deep desire to visit the darkness outside and perhaps… be blessed too with the awesome vision of a nocturnal bird and its hunting songs…

But it didn’t happen.  We cooked our breakfast and eat it inside our gypsy caravan shrouded by its coziness and silence; the darkness outside peeking in through lace-covered window illuminated by fairy lights…

 

It rained that morning and everything got soaked and it was cold and damped, and I almost beg the Fisherman to return home.  but we stayed.  We read and wrote and watched some movies...

 

In the afternoon we hop in our truck and went by the quaint little town to explore its surroundings; stopped at an ice-cream parlor and sat down to enjoy… that’s when all the rains came down! The wind picked up and rain rushed through in a big gulp of water and hail and wind and we went back to our camp to cozy up again in our gypsy caravan...

Angel wing sleeves and pink mesh bags and the decade of the 70s.  I am happy to be here.  We have so much.  Thank you for nights in July and peach moonshine and cakes with trick candles that never blow out.  Thank you for lemon lavender pies that are cooling on a windowsill that is covered in lead paint.  I am happy even though my house is always 80 degrees.  I am so thankful because sometimes the light shines through. 

I am taking it easy on myself today. the curtains are casting lace shadows on my neck. Only 8 weeks until the lilacs bloom.

Mirror, mirror, on the wall

You seem to think you know it all
Why do, why do I believe?
You tear me down, just to laugh
But if I break your shiny glass
I just see pieces of me

No, no, no, don't you dare
Who do you think you are standing there?

I'll tell you

I am, I am, I am, I am worthy of love
Am I, am I, am I, am I strong enough?
'Cause it feels like I'm not anything at all
But I am, I am, I am, I am beautiful

Read more: JoJo - I Am Lyrics | MetroLyrics

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.