The Trouble with the Monahans
Being on the road with the love of your life does not necessarily mean everything will always be cheery and appreciative. The Summer of 2024 will likely go down as the hottest one on record with additional natural catastrophes like heat stroke, fires, floods, and hurricanes. Needless to say, my life partner of over forty years and someone I have known more than fifty got a little bit testy with me when we arrived at our Texas camp for the night in Monahans Sandhills State Park. Though we have a comfortable 19’ double-wall four-season fiberglass travel trailer the A/C has been severely taxed in this hot weather. These outrageous temperatures can cause a bit of angst when camping and traveling across the country.
Legendary in these parts as a giant playground and sandbox, the park instead appeared to her as an inhospitable Saharan Desert and an awful decision on my part to even consider going there. Then she mentioned how smart I am and in the next breath how stupid I can also be sometimes. As if I know or can even predict the weather in these parts. Mid-June did feel safe to me and I always wanted to explore these particular parts of Texas before eventually heading for New Mexico and points further north. But she felt I should know better. I do not. But I am interested in how these sand dunes were formed and why. Plus I assumed the ungodly temperatures would subside with the sun going down and the morning could actually turn glorious. Not to mention one of our favorite singer/songwriters Guy Clark grew up in the nearby town of Monahans and actually survived it.
These particular sand hills are very old and were previously populated by American Indians for a couple thousand years. A good history lesson on the area can be found on Wikipedia. Vegetation somehow grabs hold here and binds these giant dunes together. Thousands of acres make up this landscape. Visitors slide down the massive hills on sled discs as if it were winter.
After an invigorating shower I sort of talked her into taking a little hike before sunset to see what we could see. And low and behold I captured a few photographs of a naked seventy year-old woman in the sand. The landscape indeed turned beautiful, especially with her in it. And do I ever wish she were seventeen again and we could have started taking pictures back then. But she is still amazing, at least to me, and I love sharing her work with those interested because she truly matters.
I know of no other women doing this the way she is and providing so much inspiration for me as a writer. For over twenty-five years now she has been getting naked for my camera as we record her aging process. And more women might also want to consider feeling the wind in their hair as it soothes and caresses their naked bodies. It feels good and is natural. So I say fuck the self-righteous and resulting naysayers. Inspiration comes in many forms. And I have obsessively loved this form for as long as I have known her. She is always on my mind.
Blessed you are like me with a lovely, lithe lifetime partner. Too bad about the heat!