the old-school guestbook archives
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ribbed roads and desert dreams ~ 2000-12-06 - 14:26:04 I finally left san diego... I camped in the desert the night before last. I had a hell of a time finding an old-fashioned campground. everything's RVs these days, and RV parks are NASTY. I did see a little tent icon on my handy rand mcnally road atlas, about 25 miles north of yuma, so I figured I'd check it out. the road was hard to find, but I found it. I don't know what time it was, but it was late, dark. it turns out that the last 18 miles of the road are unpaved gravel which is actually ribbed. yes, like a condom, but NOT for Your Pleasure. speaking of which, I tried the ribbed condom thing once, and was not impressed. didn't really notice a difference. me and my boyfriend at the time were living in this tiny efficiency apartment in philadelphia. that was chris, my first true love. I stayed with him for three years, on and off. we broke up a lot. anyway, I was putting away groceries one day and a pack of ribbed condoms fell out of the cupboard. a treat left for us by the previous tenant, I guess. so we were both kind of like, well, what the hell? neither of us was impressed. it sure doesn't make you forget that there's a rubber sack coming between you and the person you're with. god, I wish condoms were more appealing. we use them when we have to, but do you know anyone who says "no, actually, I PREFER sex with a condom." yeah. so anyway, I'm on this ribbed road, and it's so bad I can't take my car out of second, can't go faster than 15 miles an hour. I kept thinking, I'm gonna break my car on this road. but past a certain point I'd gone too far to turn back, and I've been craving the desert for months, and I was good and damn well gonna camp in the desert that night. I drove past the piles of tailings from the gold mine. nothing like fences topped with razor ribbon and signs that say DANGER-- CYANIDE. I sincerely hoped that the campground was far from the mine. likewise with the landfill I passed on my right. that damn road went on and on. I should also tell you that the tape player in my car is broken, and the radio would only pick up two stations-- bad country and worse rap. I'm a fan of both country and rap when they're good-- these stations played only crap. finally I found the campground. I had my choice of sites, only a couple of RVs tucked away, so I picked one with a funky, wispy tree that looked like it should be underwater. I love desert vegetation. it all looks like a fantasyworld to me, or like one of the old star trek sets. as soon as I got out of the car, I relaxed. lit a bunch of candles, heated up some water on the propane stove, and gave myself a bath under the stars. it was incredibly quiet, and the air was still and cool without being cold. just right. in the morning it was sunny and hot. I LOVE southern winters! I hate being cold more than just about anything. I put on shorts and a tank top, reorganized the trunk of my car, did a little rock climbing. it was absolutely gorgeous, all kinds of crazy vegetation all different colors in the sun- purples and orange-greens and blue-greens and yellows. while I was sitting on top of a rock the size of a house, I spotted a little outbuilding with solar panels on the roof-- showers, oh yes. so I even got to shower before I left. I was having such a good time playing in the sun, it was hard to leave. now I'm in phoenix, at nick fox's house. can I just say, this boy knows how to treat a poet. he took me out for chinese food last night and I had what I swear is some of the best tofu I've ever had in my life. delicately seared, so it was just crispy on the outside, and tender on the inside, with this spicysweetgarlicky sauce. oh my god. I was just about having an orgasm at the table. um, no, not at top volume. a quick stop at the supermarket for vegan ice cream, and we came back here to trade poetry and listen to music and talk philosophy deep into the night. he gave me his bed to sleep in and he slept on the couch. ahh, yes. it's good to be here. I've got a bunch of gigs coming up between now and christmas, so I'm taking my rest when I can. speaking of which, I hope to have my tour schedule up online sometime today. I'll keep ya posted.
(((rings))) |