Trail Markers

We slept in a bit today after being in the car forever yesterday. From Alamogordo, it was a short trip to White Sands National Monument. We scoped out several different hikes through the sands and decided on the little over two mile back country camping trail. When we got out of the car, it was a cool and dry 81 degrees. I was glad that we were not hiking in the heat of Missouri. What I didn't really think about is that we were walking in sand. Did I say we were barefoot? Even Tim, who wears shoes in our own house, was barefoot? The strange thing was, the sand was not hot. The air, once on the dunes, was. Hot and dry. Like you-know-you-should-be-sweating-but-you're-not dry. My shirt was dry. When I got in the car and leaned over to wipe the sand off my feet, one drop of sweat trickled down my neck. It was strange.

Some of the sand was soft and shifted easily like dry beach sand. Some of it was very firm, compacted by the rain. This means that some of the dunes were easy to climb, and some were not. I was a trooper. I even carried my own camera, (but not my water-Tim carried that for me). Here's the thing about sand dunes--they all look the same when you're standing at the bottom. I can usually find my way around in the woods but in the sand dunes, had it not been for the trail markers, I would have been lost. Getting to the top of a dune helped. You could see the line of markers. The thing about sand dunes is that they will not remain the same. They are constantly shifting. There is no tall tree, no winding stream, no giant boulder by which to get your bearing.

I have to say, when I could not see the trail markers, I was a little uneasy, dare I say a bit panicked. Sometimes Tim and I were as much as 50 yards apart as we were exploring the dunes, so sometimes, I would yell to him (and he could hear me),"Can you tell where we are?" If he could, (which he always could) I was okay. So I would yell out from time to time. And he would answer. Every time. Life's like that sometimes, isn't it? Sometimes you're in a place where you can see the trail markers, and sometimes you're not. But if you cry out to the One who can, He answers. Every time. I may not be able to see the trail markers, but I trust the One who can.

After White Sands, we headed west to Tucson. The drive across I-10 was interesting. We drove through four different brief thunderstorms, one including hail. We also narrowly missed a dust storm. We pulled into Tucson around 7:30. El Charro was the place to eat for its carne seca--a very flavorful and surprisingly tender dried beef . Tim and I chose to split the entree so we could also get dessert, which was a sampler trio. I could take or leave the tres leches cake, but the fried ice cream and flan were delicious! I will sleep well tonight!