Desert Market, 5.8.16, am

[Cassandra]

Start of Dream. I am driving in W. TX and come upon what looks like a Market of tent looking structures. They look very nice like someone went to a lot of effort putting this together. Then I am in the market walking around and notice that I am in the food tent. There are people in booths cooking and selling different types of food. I move on to the next tent and there are booths selling alcoholic beverages. This is the tent with the most people in it which makes me laugh. Then I look around and see other tents with various goods for sale. It is a very happy place. I go back to the food area to order something to eat.

Then I see my ex's brother and his wife and we talk. They are concerned about a member of their family, a young woman. After talking for a while I said goodbye and went back to the tent area. I went into the alcohol area and sat down at one of the bars. I asked the bar tender if he could make me something without alcohol. This caught the attention of the person next to me. I told him I don't drink alcohol but liked the drink flavors. Then I started talking with other people in the bar but can't remember what we spoke about. End of dream

Afterthoughts: I woke with the need to pray for this young woman, whoever she may be. Love the happy market place.

[Skeetersaurus]

Julie, I have believed for a long time that there is something special about the Desert SW here, and for many of us, we actually live (generally) what you actually describe.

I do, however, LOVE margaritas...I have to admit that (though I limit myself to about one-per-month, to keep them 'special') ;-)

Now, if we could just root out all the evil, and invite all the good people here to live, it would be a 'proverbial heaven'!
(granted, you have to be ready for the heat, and the wind storms - but once you've got that, you've got it beat)

---

Oh, yeah, and that +15 UV exposure - long sleeves require a little 'serious thinking' for those prone to over-heating...but you have to wear them to prevent french-frying in a few minutes. Lot to be said for a 'loose-weave white long-sleeved shirt' and a good wide brim hat.

In about a week of summertime here, you figure out all the nuances for why cowboys dressed like they do:

long-sleeve shirts in summer (sunburn prevention)
thick pants or leather chaps if out in the open range (because EVERYTHING has HORRIBLE STICKERS associated to them that are worse than a ticked-off hornet once you get them in your skin)
the ever-present water bottle (because personally, I can down a gallon of water before noon...and ice water is a treat)
wide brimmed hat (not a ball-cap, because nothing says skin cancer like ear tops exposed from a mild-locale hat or no hat)
sun glasses (because we have 360-day a year sunlight that is right there with a welding flare 10-or-more hours a day)
a GPS and cell phone with range (because nothing says 'needy' like being broke down 2-hours from the last road sign you saw on that gravel road you thought would go back to pavement in a mile, and didn't, while the pavement slowly melts beneath your broke down car tires because the surface temp is 200-degrees F...until sunset, when it changes to 40-deg F in 30 minutes for the night)

Yeah, takes a touch getting used to...and a lot to be said for a patio with shade, a cooler with cold water, and a pocket radio while sitting outside, too.

[Cassandra]

You said it so right about W. TX. Someone told me one time, if you beak down on the road and get out of your car, watch out for Javalina's, like they stalk stranded motorist. And he was serious. LOL. Yep, I miss that dry desert heat so maybe that is why I dream about it from time to time. There is one place in W. TX that is very special to me, Comstock, TX and Seminole Canyon. My memories of this area are all about how I feel when there. There is a perfect balance/peace that enters my Spirit when I'm in that area.

[Skeetersaurus]

Julie, when broke-down, my two (personal) big worries are Rattlesnakes and scorpions (mainly, because to me, broke down always leads to laying beneath a car or truck to fix it...and snakes don't like to share the shade with ANYONE!)

Then again, I always get a laugh out of watching tarantulas run across a paved road, too. Normally they move at night and at sunrise and sunset, but every once in a while (I assume, when something is trying to eat them) you'll see one dart across a paved road in mid-day. Watch them! They move FAST, hold their bodies high off the ground (legs hyper-extended) to get their bodies away from the hot pavement, and they don't wait to see if traffic is oncoming, either!

I saw one once almost outrun a roadrunner. NOTE: I said ALMOST! (Yummm for the roadrunner, bad day at blackrock for the tarantula).