mesa

this heads up City of Rocks Adventure: Part the Second. this mesa sits roughly to the north of the city of rocks, and my intrepid companions gazed upon it and said, "we desire to climb that. it should be no problem." i hemmed and hawed, but in the end the adventure was too seductive -- and i didn't want to be the spoilsport who denied them their proper scouring. because scouring was what it was -- the sun hits you like a ton of bricks out there, and in the springtime (the 'windy' season) the wind and blowing grit can graft you a new set of skin in under an hour. (that's my own scientific measurement, quote me at your own risk.) nevermind about snakes (of which we saw none). so we wrapped anatole up like a mummy, strapped him to ethan's back, and he slept through the ensuing jolly hike up the hill. we actually had a great time, but felt like mummies ourselves after we'd managed to climb back down and disengage ourselves from the bafflingly frequent series of barbed wire cattle fencing. no real artistic shots in this series, just try to imagine the roaring in your ears and appreciate the view...