It has been written that a person who likes the place where they live will like the next place.
The Texas Hill Country is home of my heart, and I miss it, but every place has its own attraction. Life is an adventure!
One of my favorite places is the Great Basin Desert of Northern Nevada. Luke was seven when we moved there. We explored hidden ghost towns and gold mining camps. We scaled mountains and followed herds of wild horses and antelope. From highways, the land looks empty and barren…nothing but miles of sagebrush and alkali dirt. That illusion hides treasures: horned toads, brightly colored lizards, colorful bull snakes (yes, rattlesnakes, too), great horned owls and barn owls, crystal beds throwing light back at the sun, gold nuggets, shallow streams crowded with brown trout, and tumbleweed circuses performed by dust devils.
Ravens nest at the entrances of abandoned mine shafts dropping rocks on intruders to protect their young. Coyotes stream across the dry land in undulating brown shadows. Mountain lions sun themselves on boulders, melting into the landscape when disturbed.
Desert folk hidden in forgotten ghost towns and mining camps live in freedom today’s world has forgotten: no electricity or electric bills, no phones or phone bills, no TV or computer games, no running water or broken water lines.
It was in this desert that my seven-year-old son taught me to see the wind. Yes, actually see the wind. It’s a gift I treasure.
One book would never adequately describe this amazing desert. “Bridge to Desert Desire” is a Texas Miz Mike Christian mystery-romance-suspense. It makes no attempt to disrespect this land of mountain, sky, changing colors, and living shadows by summarizing it. The unique characters, backdrop…and even some of the action…are based on real life experiences in this majestic slice of God’s creation.
Yes, I love everywhere I have ever lived, but my heart has a tendency to whisper, “Go West, Child, Go West. Return to the Desert.”
Stephanie Parker McKean 
Reblogged this on vallypee and commented:
Stephanie Parker McKean’s descriptions of the desert in this post are nothing short of magical!
Stephanie, this is just beautiful! I can really feel your love of the desert, and maybe that’s because I love it too. My desert was the South West African Namib Desert where I went with my own children and I also experienced a silent world that teemed with life and beauty. This is a wonderful piece of writing!
Thanks, Val. Luke was one of the things that made our years in the desert such a priceless memory. He fought tumbleweed battles with a long stick, rescued injured ravens, caught horned toads, lizards, and bull snakes (then released them), tried to tame a wild horse…We went to so many awesome places where we felt like the only two people left in the world because of the vastness of the land and the lack of people. As you remember from your time in the desert, the silence was deafening. And how I loved the voice of the wind! We also met extraordinary folks, some of which inspired the characters in Bridge to Desert Desire. If you and Koos ever feel the need to dry out…you could check out the North American Desert…Nevada, Arizona, or New Mexico – or even West Texas.