Desert Morning | Arizona

Enjoy this free story & grab a book for stories you won’t find online.

Rock-hard ground below me. Awake, but eyes clamped.

Half-off of the foam pad I’m sleeping on.

Slipping inside the polyester tube of a sleeping bag & on nylon tent ground.

This is the first morning after the first night of sleeping on my land.

What will that be like in ten years?

A cabin with big windows, a bed frame, and a real mattress, if all goes well.

But night number one is in this blue Walmart tent.

I unzip the tent flap.

The desert morning is crisp. Gentle wind. Peaceful.

Red sky, red chunks of rock, and hazy mountain shapes in the distance.

Often, you wake up sweating after camping out.

Not here in the desert. You get a clean, dry feeling instead.

I grab my boots. Turn them upside down. Clunk them together. Beat them against rock. No spiders, scorpions, or snakes crawl out. Clouds of dust.

Pull them on & lace up. Stretch a little.

A big jackrabbit, almost dog-like in size, scampers past my camp.

My friend will be here this afternoon.

I hop in the truck. Fire it up.

Drive the opposite way of the road I came in on because the road is better.

In the daylight, I see landmarks I saw back four months ago, the first time I was ever here.

There are natural cliffs with rocks that look like castles on top.

Nothing man-made. It just formed this way naturally.

Jagged, looming, red shapes of rock. Cacti. Juniper.

Pull into town. It’s mercifully closer in this direction.

Took the long way in last night. Lesson learned.

A place called the Ranch Cafe is open.

Black coffee. Huevos rancheros. More coffee.

Notebook & pen out. Planning & scheming to do.

To be continued