There are times when sailing that the wind is gusting to such a degree, it’s best to wait for it to die down before venturing into the next manoeuvre ( like backing out of a slip or attempting to dock on an exposed jetty or electing to drop a larger headsail in favour of a smaller one). Apparently the desert has similar characteristics…when she’s in the mood.
We’ve had some winds here lately; winds that kind of get your attention. Like ants in a colony scurrying to secure their valuables, we desert RV site dwellers have been doing a lot of scurrying these past few days as we attempted to secure awnings, table cloths, outdoor carpets, hummingbird feeders etc. We weren’t surprised that the winds came; they’d been predicted for several days and, being good sailors, we check the forecast every day. They were magnificent nevertheless.
Imagine standing beside your little trailer (on the lee side of course) and watching 50’ palm trees really bending and tossing their crowns about, first in one direction and then the other; while the wind… the wind is literally whistling and screaming as it challenges everything in its path. And then, it was like someone in charge changed her mind and flipped the switch - instantly stopping the noise and the 50-60 MPH winds. In the time it would take you to snap your fingers the world turned into a silent, still place…just waiting for the next onslaught. And, right on cue, up it comes again, roaring in like a freight train… but this time from the opposite direction and creating havoc for the loose items now vulnerable.
And then there was the sand. Horizons in all direction were blurred with the driving sand and even in our little RV Park the air was filled with it, along with some of the finer bits of small gravel used in each site as a base. Sadly we missed a huge opportunity … never even thought to try. We should have taken video of the screaming wind and sand…sorry. You’re stuck with my written description of a rather amazing experience.
All this did not deter our farewell get together however and a small group of us, using trailers and buses for temporary shelters, worked our way to the clubhouse with snacks and drinks for a wee happy hour. We then returned to our domiciles and listened to the wind and rain pound on our walls and roofs until the middle of the night.
It is now Wednesday morning. The sky is clear and blue and the sun is shining. Today is also moving day; we head to Yuma to see good friends and have a visit before we continue on our state park crawl of Arizona.
Hope all is well with each of you and you are secure and warm and enjoying each day.
CJ
www.cjdaley.ca
www.ruddyduckpress.ca
www.svshannon.blogspot.com
