The Adventures of Fric and Frac: Adventure 124: Desert Shadows RV Resort/Post D

We get a measure of pain, too, not to mention a cup of Hope.

It's probably not fair to combine two of the elements in a Jimmy V full day, but I laughed until I cried today. It all started as it should. I won two games to take a 4-2 lead. We were playing a "road game" because we were waiting for Fric to get his oil changed. The service department at the local Toyota Dealer was excellent. The job was done well in under the time they estimated. So I was feeling pretty good after the morning session. I did some of my thinking during the 'form'. Master David Block has given me a lifetime of things to work on, so my mind has turned me into a mechanical stick man as far as Tai Chi goes. That's not good, but it's not practice that makes perfect, it's perfect practice that makes perfect. Believe me, perfection is hard to find. As for twirling and whirling, our dance card has suddenly become as full as a pretty debutante. We're having dinner with Happy and Forey Hardt tonight. We planned lunch with Roger and Margo Shute tomorrow. We planned Saturday at the Running of the Bulls in Cave Creek with Judy's cousin Russ and his wife Kathy. He's a rabid basketball fan who has ESPN, so the Zags are on tap Saturday as well, and Friday night we're going to see his grandson play. He's a four year starter for Centennial High in Peoria. In addition, we're leaving Sunday to make our way to Palm Springs to store the trailer, so we can fly to Seattle. Since we didn't have enough to do, we decided to take Tina Pitts advice and visit the Desert Museum and the Chihuly blown glass exhibit (It was on the way to dinner with the Hardt's). She said it wasn't to be missed. Boy was she right. Not only were the glass sculptures incredible, but the desert museum is really an meticulously tended arboretum for desert flora. It's amazing what cacti can look like when they get water, care, and expertise. They are quite literally stunning. I thought the natural desert was impressive, but these plants have responded to the loving care as well loved children might: they reach for the stars and exclaim, "Why not me?" After our visit to the exhibit, we made our way to meet Happy and Forey. We were a little early, so we took out the crib board at a local Starbucks, and I started talking cheap smack, badgering the cager with threats (Empty as it turned out). She proceeded to pile up double digit hands every time and very nearly double skunked me. Forced humility is either funny or sad. Today, the humility brought out the belly laugh until suddenly the absurdity of human overconfidence brought out alligator tears. Now that's a full day (I'm down 5-4). Unfortunately, it's not the only absurdity, or the only mystery, or the only alligator tear. In these times (You know--life is what happens while you're making other plans), I have no understanding, I have no answers. I can't wail and gnash my teeth at the feet of the Almighty because I'm not able to to reach that high. In athletic terms, I'm not big enough for the game. I can tell you this, I feel a frustration that grabs the back of my neck, clenches my shoulders, and twists my psyche like a rag. The worst part is the helplessness. And as for that, as absurd as it seems, my only response is: Life is good, especially today.

Wipe that smile off your face, goggle eyes (Alias: Wily Cager).

One of my best art shots: The question is-Are beauty and pain part of the same sphere?

There are certainly snakes in the garden.

I'd wear sun glasses on a cloudy day, too, if I was a sneaky, anchor clanking, oyster eyed individual (Ya, you, Cager). Sounds like a sore loser to me!

More art.

Are these Saguaros not the most magnificent of the desert plants?

We watched Chiluly and his team blow glass in Tacoma a few years back. It was incredible, and these pictures do not capture the subtle pairing his art made with God's desert.

I want this guy's job. He rakes the sand into perfect circular scratches just so the tourists can trample the pattern. Then he rakes again. Now that's a full Zen day.

Did you know that glass spirals grow out of the desert floor?

Life really is just a bowl of stone soup.

Tyger, Tyger burning bright….Did the God who made the lamb, make thee?

Part of the museum exhibit included petroglyphs (I think this one is of a bragging Seahawk).

Gourds carved into ladles hang in a shade making ramada.

Sleeping domes made from desert brush. This is why the Apache Indians, who were nomadic, simply got up and left a campsite. Materials were plentiful to make a new camp anywhere they traveled.

I love the mesquite water holder.

At this site we were challenged to grind some mesquite beans into flour. Two ladies were trying to do so. I said, "A loaf of bread? They replied, "Maybe a cupcake."