Quest Within and Without

Great Spirit sent me out West

because I was still asleep and clue less

(hiding from me

and my destiny)

I ran thru trails of every kind

floating on rivers and fighting the tide

inside of caves and outside of them too

saw Lions trapped in a las vegas zoo

burned thru the rubber in the soles of my shoes

my heart set ablaze as

I danced with the Winds of the West

What was shown to me?

Creatures of every kind- skunk, roadrunner, mockingbird, swallow, vulture, hawk, owl, bat, lizard and moth were there! (to name a few) so were circus freaks, ravers, hidden cameras, spirit of john, george, ringo, & paul, street performers and life transformers!

I bore witness to a desert scorched by wildfires.

My Aunt was my travel companion on this portion of my journey across country, and she took me to Carlsbad Caverns.

We wanted to watch the flight of the bats.

After a long and late day of driving we finally arrived at our destination. As I drove our beat up volvo up the curvy terrain we saw nothing but black scorched earth, charred cacti, and barren land. Signs every few feet reminded us of the EXTREME FIRE DANGER!

After parking, we made our way to the outdoor theatre to watch the mysterious bats exit their famous cave. The crowd whispered in anticipation as it grew darker, the bats' sonar clicks grew louder, and the feeding time approached.

"the bats! the bats! I see one! mamma a bat! Look! the bats!"

Slowly, but surely, the bats began to take flight out of their cave.

Just as quickly as the anticipation had built among us, it began to die.

Instead of thinking "Where are the bats?"

The collective thought seemed to be "Is that IT?"

People grew restless and bored, sure they had been drawn to another tourist trap and got up to leave.

But I had seen pictures of the bats in flight and knew this was not the norm.

The entire museum, in fact, had been shut down two days prior to our arrival.

We found out that many of the bats had left Carlsbad- and left for good. There was little to no food to be found, and the park rangers doubted if they would ever return.

This was all due to the monstrous wildfire that had overtaken the land. What started the fire? Surely it was Mother Nature herself. . . but no.

I learned that the cause of this particular fire was indeed a human.

Someone had thrown a cigarette butt out of their window, despite the warnings, and had in turn damaged an entire eco system in the blink of an eye.

This story, to me, represents our carelessness as Humans here on our ONE earth.

I began my dance the next day in the desert wearing a bright sundress, a bit dolled up and carrying my straw hat that reminds me of Momo.

I wanted some beautiful dance pictures in the expansive desert.

Shortly after exchanging with my Significant Others, I realized it was not going to be that kind of dance.

I changed into my shirt that reads: GIVE ME SOMETHING TO SCREAM ABOUT and stripped down to shorts and bare feet.

I handed the camera to my aunt, and allowed her to become a part of my dance as the photographer.

This was another first for me, sharing my dance with my family in such an intimate way. It brought us closer together and i am so thankful for our deepened connection.

So. That is the story of this particular dance in words. I would like to let the images speak now. Please feel free to let me know what you see!

a special deep thank you to my buddy Art/Rev, and of course our Dear Momo