Clinging to the ways of summer - desert camping

Where I live it may be dried out right now, but soon we'll be swamped with rain and things will be green and...muddy. That must be why I enjoy the family place in the desert - we enjoyed sunshine, fantastic cloud formations and the dust storms were at a minimum.

Fresh produce from my garden kept us sustained and was cooked to delicious perfection in cast iron on the camp stove.

I've never been out there this late in the year and there were so many new things to capture my attention.

Rock hounding is a favorite past time of mine and I spent several hours wandering the desert looking for anything and everything that was interesting. One rough rock, one super smooth rock, different sand textures and even a shell were some of my finds.

This tiger-striped chunk of mostly see-through obsidian was another.

The mornings were chilly! And everything was covered in a fine layer of frost.

But we warmed right up by the fire, waiting for the sun to get high enough to share the warmth.

The frost had hit the tumbleweeds and turned them a striking color - a wonderful contrast to the backdrop of sand and sky.

And despite the chill, the desert was blooming.

A lovely end to summer!