Out in the Mojave desert, along Mojave road, is the Mojave Mailbox. I had heard rumors about it before and since we were at the lava tubes, I thought it’d be a great opportunity to visit it. From the lava tubes it is only about 5 miles away. So we drove down the relatively nice road that goes to the lava tubes and hung a left on Mojave road.

Right away, we knew that it would be different. Gone were the bone rattling washboard, and here were the soft sand and small boulders. We went from a regular desert road to an bonafide off-roading excursion, fit for only those with high clearance vehicles and, preferably, 4 wheel drive. The driver, who was chauffeuring us around in his relatively new truck, was less than excited. However, once you were on that road, there was no good way to turn around. Being somewhat unwillingly committed to our course of action, we pressed forward. Along the way out there our driver was becoming increasingly irritated and fearful of scratching his truck, so I would periodically cheer him up by saying, “I think it’s there… I don’t really know for sure”… Bwahahaha… I was fairly certain we would find it.

After several hours and many thanks to any off-roader who politely pulled off the road to let us pass, we finally arrived. Sure enough, it was a weird mailbox in the middle of nowhere.

It was kind of like a well traveled and well known geocache. It was filled with random trinkets and some food. There was also some water nearby for people who might need it. We had a good time going through the things and remarking on them. We also signed the boogie board and the guestbook.

Fortunately there were some other creative, colaborative art installations nearby. This one is the frog garden.

Then there is a hanging tree. Reminds me of the song.

Here is Jeep Mountain! A cleaver use of matchbox toys.

Some is more random. I don’t know what the theme of this was, but you can see the beautiful yucca and cinder cones around us. 

We finally got back to the paved road and we were greeted with a beautiful sunset as we drove back to camp.

This weekend we went out to the Mojave desert. It’s a dry, barren, desert. There’s lots of interesting things to see such as Kelso dunes, the Kelso Depot, the Lava Tubes, off-roading along the numerous desert roads, the hole in the wall… This time we went out for the weekend and spent some time at the Lava Tubes. Getting to the Lava Tubes took some time as we were camped near the Hole in the Wall campground and had to go around the Providence Mountains to get to the valley that has the lava tube. However, we did get there fairly easily.

Upon arriving, we were a little surprised at how busy it was. For being off of a dirt road, several hours drive from the nearest population center, there were easily a half dozen cars and a couple dozen people. Still, groups came and went, and there was hardly a time that we were alone in the Lava tube.

Nicely, there are some stairs to help you descend into the Lava Tube. Then you crawl a little bit and the tunnel opens up into a spacious cavern.

It was a good time of day to come as there were beautiful beams of light penetrating the cavern and the dust illuminated them quite nicely.

After looking around and taking photos, it was time to get ready for some fun. Earlier we had taken a look at the largest hole in the lava tube. We had read that there were climbing routes rated 5.10d and 5.11, which were beyond our capabilities, but we decided it would be fun to rappel down. So we walked out of the tube and retrieved the rope, climbing harnesses, and other gear from the car. We used an 8.3 mm Canyonfire rope from Imlay Canyoneering and for rappelling we used a Petzel Piranha descender and a Stearling Rope ATS Device. The Pirana has a little less friction, due to the metal being rounded, where as the stearling has more friction.

We all went down a couple of times, except for the 6 year old. He was incredibly patient while watching all the adults have fun on the ropes. So I took some time to hook him into a rope and had him ‘rappelle’ down a few feet. Just so he can feel what it’s like to sit in the harness and walk down a rock.

So I went to the Burning Man festival last year and this year I’m back for round two. The difference is this year work has consumed massive amounts of my time. In the weeks leading up to the festival I was getting less and less sleep trying to get everything ready.

I put off my moving plans and dug deep do meet some deadlines (or just barely miss) and now it’s time to be disconnected from the world for a week.

Last year it was like a camping trip as I really didn’t know what to expect. Thus year I’m a little more prepared and I spent done time decorating my bike.

Now that it’s decked out and looking sharp I think her playa name will be wolf.

We headed out to Black Rock and got there around 11:00 at night… We stopped off in Gerlach to check out the stores that were there. Several people sell their goods out there to burners who forgot something or wanted to enhance their outfits for the burn. We both love to support small businesses so we got out and took a look. There was two business that stood out. The first was Ned who hand makes leather goggles that really fit with the burning man organic earthy look. They were very cool and Ned was a great guy who was down to earth and just had no ego at all. While we were chatting we also met a young lady who is on her spiritual journey. Her name was Latina and she was in San Francisco for a couple if years and then her friend interviewed and took her to the redwoods where she has continued to experience the world on her spiritual path. I love meeting people who actively work on their connection to others and their spiritual awareness. The love they have for others is always apparent in the way they live their lives and it’s a refreshing change of pace from the social isolation I see around me.

This song is not an upbeat song, but life isn’t always upbeat. I love the the particular part where James is speaking about getting through a difficult time in his life. Much of life is incredibly difficult and for those who believe in a higher power or higher purpose, it can help them pull through the hard times and move forward. Many times it’s our friends and family that help us get through those times. Everyone needs help sometimes no matter where it comes from. Here, James makes an appeal to the one who created him to help him make it through the time he thinks he’s going to perish. Whether or not you believe in a divine creator, everyone has experienced times when they though it was the end and wished for someone to help us stand.

Won’t you look down upon me, Jesus
You’ve got to help me make a stand
You’ve just got to see me through another day
My body’s aching and my time is at hand
And I won’t make it any other way.

New years resolutions are a joke. Seriously.

Sitting down and saying, “I’m going to change something in the next year” is a waste of time. Usually, it just creates unnecessary guilt in the month of January as you’ll fail in the first week. I like to call this: Planning to Fail.

To really make a “new years resolution” you don’t need a resolution, you need a plan. Everyone knows if you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail. Also, everyone knows that any plan is better than no plan.

Losing Weight?

1. Figure out what program you’re going to do
2. Make a meal plan on a calendar.

If you don’t know what  program to try, save a hundred bucks and hire a nutritionist or a fitness counselor and ask them.

Going Back To The Gym?

1. Get a work out plan and put it on your calendar.
2. Block off the hours that you will require to be at the gym and include an extra half hour before and hour after for driving there and changing clothes before, and recovering, showering, and driving back home after. If it doesn’t take that long, you can shorten the time after you’re going to the gym several times a week.
3. Get a workout journal to track your progress.
4. Get a gym that will support your plan. If you’re doing Olympic lifts, don’t use a globo gym. If you’re doing push ups, pull ups, and running, you don’t need a gym, just a playground.

Going Back to School?

1. Decide what you want to learn.
2. Go to the local school where they teach it and get a catalog
3. figure out what classes you need to take
4. Apply now.
5. Put it on the calendar.

Spending More Time With The Family?

1. Get out a calendar, check your vacation balance
2. Mark of all holidays
3. Mark of all family events (birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, graduations, parent teacher conferences)
4. Mark of when you want to take a vacation.
5. Go to work and tell them you’re going to take those vacation days off months ahead of time.
6. Enjoy your time with the family, months later, when some deadline is approaching, and you already have approval to leave.
7. Pick one day a week as a family night. Have dinner as a family without the TV.

Going Travelling?

1. Pick where you want to go. Pick when you want to go. Put it on the calendar.
2. Ask your friends if they want to go to.
3. Buy the plane tickets.
4. If you’re going with friends have fun, if not, you can go on a tour, hire a local guide, or just go exploring.

I know what questions you might be thinking. The main one is, I don’t know what plan to choose or where to go. The answer to those questions is that it doesn’t really matter. If this is your first time trying a plan, you’re going to learn a lot. You will probably succeed. If not you will at least found something that didn’t work. You can always try another plan later. You cannot let the fear of failure or making the wrong decision stop you from making any decision at all.

Forget new years resolutions, make a new years plan. And remember, you don’t have to wait for the new year in order to start.