when the desert meets the sea

It's easy to forget that I'm living in the desert what with being surrounded by all this blue: sea, sky, trailer awning. But I got a good reminder of desert life when we were hit with a dust storm, the kind that causes vehicle pile-ups when they roar across desert freeways.

I wish I had a picture of that wall of dust as it approached our little village but I've given up taking photos these days because it takes the camera lens too long to defog after it hits that humid air. For instance, check out this picture of a recent sunset:

On Sunday is when the dust-storm hit. What lured us trailer dwellers outdoors was the change in color from blue to green - the sea, the sky. We stood at the seawall and looked to the south and watched this gray monster approach. First it gobbled up the estuary entrance, then the ridge of hills, then the white condominiums, then the boats on the beach and finally the muelle. Just on the other side of the boat ramp, a large party of vacationers continued to party in spite of the storm. People played in the churning green water on their jet skis. Others continued with their volleyball game while friends watched from under a tent of blue tarp, the tarp which was surely going to come our way if they didn't lower it in time.

We could hear the continuous far-off rumble of thunder.

Then the gray wall visited the vacationers and they stopped their volleyball game and pulled down the tent. The jet skiers headed further out to sea. Wind led the way, warning us that the wall was getting closer. When it descended on our little trailer park, the gringos ran indoors because of the sand scratching their eyes. I stayed outside with some of the Mexican tourists, holding my hands in front of my face. I wanted to feel this storm. The thunder was way up in the wall of dust which was so thick that the lightning was hidden from view.

Then the wall moved on, heading up towards Arizona.

Today we got pummeled in the surf. It was exhausting and glorious.

Tonight the Mexican government has upgraded our tropical storm warning/hurricane watch to a full-blown hurricane warning. I'll be damned.