Dec 02 2008
Mental and Physical ‘Elbow Room’
Before falling asleep last night I heard a clip of an MP3 about walking in the desert. In the case of the iTunes download, the desert was in the Middle-East. Memories of my many hikes in the U.S.’ desert Southwest came flooding back to me. I could just about hear the crunch of gravel beneath my boots and smell the fragrant sagebrush.
In so many ways I miss living in New Mexico. One way is the mental “elbow room” I perceive there. It seemed that the rat race in NM was more of a rat walk. The population of the entire state is between one million and two, for crying out loud. And drive ten miles in any direction and you would likely find yourself in a place you could cry out loud without attracting attention.
What I miss most is the hiking, the wide-open hiking in a climate that whisks away body moisture is if it never existed, hiking in places free of trails and obstacles to foot and view.
The only wide-open hiking I do in Florida is across vacant parking lots. Doesn’t quite do it for me. The natural areas in my newer home-state are generally too dense and too wet.
Because I can’t imagine moving back, what else can I do but look forward to future visits to desert regions?
