Things are easing back into normalcy...

...Annual fire refresher & pack-test, yoga, playing & officiating tennis, visit with mom & sisters in Arizona, watching baseball, trimming Chamisa www.santafebotanicalgarden.org/subpages/POM%20Oct08%20Chamisa.html), SiteWatch visits, etc. Appears a return/follow-up trip to Petra is being planned for October. Maybe another workshop too (InShaAllah)... Sounds excellent…  Lucy (the Bull Terrier) just indicated that I needed to add her photo along with taking nice walks with her as a much needed activity for both of us...

You might wonder why I’m also planning another dive trip back to Belize for early next year. It would be to participate in Camp Belize: www.jerryjeff.com/campbelize/   One of my favorite memories was writing my one-and-only fan letter: it was to Jerry Jeff Walker long ago and telling him that I’d sing his version of Night Rider’s Lament while on patrol at Mt. McKinley/Denali National Park. Said I’d love to hear him do it at a concert he’d be doing opening for Willie Nelson in AZ. At the concert he stated “This is for all you Rangers out there…” just before starting the song. I turned to Meme and said “I’m a Jerry Jeff fan for life…” We’ve subsequently seen him other times-n-places, but think while making bubbles (diving) will be good and NRL is still a good theme song that has been sung by many over the years (I’m in very good company):

Night Rider’s Lament

Lyrics and Music by Michael Burton

(www.nightriderslament.com/)

Last night as I was out a ridin’
graveyard shift, midnight ‘till dawn
the moon was as bright as a readin’ light
for a letter from an old friend back home

Chorus:
He asked me why do you ride for your money
Why do you rope for short pay
You ain’t getting’ nowhere
And you’re losin’ your share
Boy, you must have gone crazy out there
But he’s never seen the Northern Lights
Never seen a hawk on the wing
He’s never seen Spring hit the Great Divide
And never heard Ol’ Camp Cookie sing

He tells me last night I run onto Jenny
she’s married and has a good life
Ah, you sure missed the track
when you never come back
she’s a perfect professional’s wife

Chorus:
She asked him why does he ride for his money
Why does he rope for short pay
He ain’t getting’ nowhere and he’s losin’ his share
He must have gone crazy out there
But she’s never seen the Northern Lights
Never seen a hawk on the wing
Never seen Spring hit the Great Divide
And never heard Ol’ Camp Cookie sing

Well I read up the last of that letter
and tore off the stamp for Black Jim
When Billy rode up to relieve me
he just looked at the letter and grinned

Chorus:
He sang . . .Now. . .
Why do they ride for their money
Why do they rope for short pay
They ain’t getting nowhere
And they’re losing their share
Son, they all must be crazy out there

A sacrifice at The High Place

“I’ve been gone for so long… don’t it feel good to get back home…

 …To the friends and the people that you'd love to see

There's a twinkle that's in her eye both smiling as you go by
They know what you what you really wanna feel…”  * (Rusty Wier)

heavy lunch (mensaf) before travel

My Magic 8 Ball’s pre-trip prediction of not making it back appears to have been another random miss by the non-oracle of Delphi @ Eldorado. The journey home was not without its fun- like the exercise of explaining a yoga block (in checked-luggage) to airport security Amman, and 18-hours later our flight (last-of-the-day) from Chicago to Albuquerque being canceled with no explanation or announcement/posting at the gate. I've got an idea that next trip's 12+ hour flight will find me using my seat for a" supported Sarvangasana" - of course the person sitting in the next row might not appreciate my feet in their face, but I'll feel better.

Akmed (Capt. Jack) & ship-of-the-desert

Being back in the land of benevolent bureaucrats (OK, I see some are still clueless or on-the-nasty-side) I can ease into the list of home-health-care: fix the main irrigation drip line, trim the chamisas so Lucy can play basketball, sand & finish the front/back doors (better yet, buy new ones), sign-up for summer session tennis & yoga at Santa Fe Community College (after all, Margaret Monsour is the best yoga instructor west of Jaisalmer… you’ve now read it on the Internet so it must be true), some site steward activities, family visits, annual fire refresher, watch the Dodgers lose more than they win, and dis-n-dat.

inside Bedouin camp tent - Wadi Rum

Upon walking into home I found a recent telephone message asking if I could address the Santa Fe National Forest and SiteWatch site stewards in October re: my recent assignment. We penciled-in January ’12, because the team of Bill, Bruce & Phil are slated for a sequel in Petra in October (inshallah), Petra II: Return of The Infidels.

Our Petra-gig was only 8-weeks, but I was recently asked if the time was “life changing.” I originally balked at such a declaration, however upon reflection I suppose it was in many incremental aspects: so many new friends and points-of-view/rays-of-light.

arches at Royal Tombs

“Don't it make you wanna dance, don't it make you wanna smile
When you're down, down, down in the country PICK AND sing a while…”*

REFLECTIONS - on Cinco de Mayo

Petra is a phenomenal WORLD CLASS RESOURCE. The issues of park management had come-a-long-way long before our work here, due to the efforts o PAP staff & Rangers. We’re sure that things will continue to evolve, and hope to see PAP & Jordanian Ranger presence at next year’s International Ranger Federation’s World Congress (Tanzania):  http://www.int-ranger.net/

One of the major challenges they have been coping with is a change from national to local political leadership. Prior to 2009 they had laws and operated under Jordan’s Dept. of Antiquities. The past 2-years they’ve been under local governance and the by-laws they submitted for approval last year are still pending with the Governor. So, at present Park Rangers and Tourist Police are without authority to protect this world class resource. Hopefully, this will change soon (inshallah)…    

Our last patrol… until next time… “Happy Trails to you…”

Yesterday we had our closeout meeting with Director Dr. Emad, PAP’s Operations Chief Hani ad Special Uses Coordinator Ta’lal. We were grateful to all for our time spent at Petra, and especially for our adventures with the many Park Rangers we assumed duties with the past 8-weeks. Subjects we discussed with the management staff included: Management experiences in the Park and enforcement of laws issues; Directional Signage; Barricades for Caves (OBL wasn’t there after all); Restroom/Water closet and Ranger Kiosk/Visitor Information signage; Child Vendors; Vendor Shops; Donkey Management; Backcountry/Remote Area Water Closets; Animal health (horses, donkeys & camels); .       Master Plan Review, technical equipment donated by US Dpt. of Interior’s Int’l Technical Assistance Program, and Park Ranger Uniforms (very important for them to have a distinct visible presence).

l to r: Phil, Bruce & Bill

After that we went on our final patrol (…for this trip… we’ll be back in October… inshallah). We’ve met so many genuinely generous folks and friends here it was impossible to contribute to the local economy as Meme & I were showered with gifts that we tried to purchase. Beautiful Place… Beautiful People…

For dinner we went to Ranger Atef’s home in Umm Sayhoun where we met his wife 1-year old daughter and some of the extended family. They treated us to a feast of “Upside Down” that has rice & veggies topped with chicken. Very yummy. 

and the winner is?

BTW- heard from a good contact that it wasn't H&HRH that we talked with on Sunday, as they aren't here yet; but will be in Wadi Rum & Petra soon... Thanks Will... Here are some other placs to check-out: http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/escape/15-unusual-places-spend-night-213174?hpt=Sbin

Ralph Nader where were you?



Shobak Castle



Monday (2^nd of May) was spent traveling back to Wadi Mousa from the Live Sea via Karak and The King’s Highway down through Tafila. It gave us an opportunity to visit the crusader castles at Karak and Shobak http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_(Crusader_castle)  Each withstood numerous sieges during the 12^th century only to eventually succumb to the logistical challenges of trying to maintain a long occupation in a land of inhabitants that don’t want you there. Hmmm… this might sound familiar. As we were walking and climbing through Shobak Castle (former population: 6,000) I found myself thinking: “I realize you’re the Pope, but you want us to do what? Where? You want to ‘free-the-Holy-lands’ so pilgrims can go there? Seems like we might not be successful if we had a 1,000-years…”  Can you picture the challenges of crowded military quarters, cold/hot, food, arms, sanitation, and throw in horses too. They had to be places of pestilence. It is enough to take the starch out of our kilt.

carved Nabataen stone re-used in Karak Castle

Tomorrow will be our last full day working with the Park Rangers in Petra. We will miss them. We are scheduled to have a meeting with PAP Director (Dr. Emad) at 8:30 and then tour the park. Tomorrow night we’ve been invited to Umm Sayhoun for a home cooked meal of “Upside Down” (inshallah).

JAWS: Return to the Live (formerly known as Dead) Sea

petroglyphs

Before we get to the therapeutic value of salty mud being applied to suck out the bodies impurities I just want t say that I saw a bottle of Talisker (single-malt from Isle of Skye) downstairs at the bar (main feature: ice cream) and I intend to put some impurities under my belt this evening.  



Wadi Rum landform during sunset

It is raining at present in Serbia, but here at the lowest point on earth (1312’ below sea level it is sunny and quite pleasant. We feel secure seeing the 50mm auto weapons just outside the Holiday Inn Resort- Dead Sea property, knowing that at any moment the aggressive country to the west might start launching strikes across the lake. Forty-eight hours ago we were in Wadi Rum, touring as the sunset, followed by an evening at Captain’s (Bedouin) Camp. That was Friday night and the 1^st night of a 3-day holiday weekend here. It was an enjoyable time, and I guess Will & Kate were occupied elsewhere continuing the monarchy of “mother country” (more about them in-a-moment).

our room's one-eyed bunny



Aqaba from dive boat



Yesterday we had a couple of dives (Dive Aqaba:  http://www.diveaqaba.com/)

in the Red Sea –  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Sea the northern most tropical sea (based on marine life) in the world. Very colorful dives, but don’t step-on-the-stonefish:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synanceia  As my family can attest to there are about three foods I’m not especially fond of (as they make me burp-for-hours or heave, not exactly good meal time behavior). Unfortunately, two of the three are served here breakfast, lunch and dinner.  During our dinner in Aqaba last night my salad was just those (cucumbers and tomatoes). Normally Meme would help-me-out, but her Greek salad was loaded with same (burp)... The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan experienced a lot o rain that day, and the Civil Defense (large orange flag, think fire dept.) guys from Karak rescued 2 university students stranded by flash floods in Wadi Mujib Reserve. Good job gents!     

Lot's wife

This morning we drove up to the Live Sea, and while we were at an unmarked pull-out (across from Lot’s Wife (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lot's_wife it really is in Jordan as any righteous tour book or Jordanian will tell you; it has gotten so bad that the country to the west has elevated the salinity of the Live Sea on the Jordanian side). Anyway, at the pull-out we were approached by a young, happy couple that asked if we spoke English. We informed them that we did (well, a California version) and answered their questions about bathing options in the Sea as they headed north. I asked them where they were from, and they claimed South Africa, but it was easy to tell that somewhere around London might be home. Well, where-ever have a good float kids, enjoy the mud-suck and be ready to replenish a “Lot” of lost fluids…