Your car is newly washed, polished, and shined.  Your tank is full.  You have your stash of tunes and another of snacks.  Your bags are packed.  You have the perfect company: your sister.

Now there is nothing but the open road before you, hours of cruising and giggling and singing along too loudly and out of key to country music.  You only have one stop--Ruidoso--but you have summer in your soul and miles of open space spread out before you, making it the perfect little road trip.

The desert has graced you with a cool morning and the promise of a sunny day.  Let no one tell you your desert is nothing but dust and an almost colorless brown blanketing the earth.  As you cruise you see the mountains glow their purple glow in the distance; the dry sierra brush surrounded by little wildflowers of yellow, pink, and white; and scattered short trees--forest and silvery greens--fanning out on either side of the road, reminders of how much you love your desert.  Further still, you know you will see the plateaus and hills wearing their red and brown and yellow stripes, their bellies full of clay and history.  The sky itself kisses the hood of your car with its turquoise lips.

Deeper still you go, stopping only to fill up the tank and empty your bladders, climbing higher into cooler temperatures and greener lands.  After time away, it is good once again to feel the road under your wheels, the expanse of this glorious desert in your heart.