Terror in the Desert!

When we set out for a drive in the desert we never know quite what we are going to experience. Some happening can be downright terrifying. Even in the Far East where dragons abound we never got into quite this situation. As you can tell from the open door I bailed out and ran, turning back only to get this picture:

Attacked by a fearsome dragon in Galleta Meadows, Borrego Springs CA
For more information about the critters in Galleta Meadows follow this link. It is really quite something to be driving along Borrego Springs Road and be confronted with wonderful creatures sculptured in metal and accessible to drive or walk right up to. We have seen them before and may have even written about them in the past, but the dragon is new since our last visit in these parts.
Backtracking a bit. Saturday night was our last stop in Phoenix for this year. We went back to MIM, we are now on intimate basis with Musical Instrument Museum, twice. First in the afternoon to see the Drum exhibition. The number of drums were fewer than we expected, but the exhibit was a wonderful display of what drums from all around the world are about. We returned in the evening for a performance, by Anat Cohen collaborating with Aaron Goldberg, piano, Daniel Freedman, drums  and Vincente, last name lost, on Bass. There was no written program so the names, other than Anat may be a bit off. Actually, Vincente is the only one I missed and he was standing in for Anat’s usual bassist. (I bet Lee B helps me correct that name). If she is playing anywhere near you, don’t miss her, I’ve linked her name to her schedule. At the concert we met up with Susan and Lee again. They had their daughter, who was in town for a visit along so we got to meet her as well. That was a pleasure.
Sunday we broke camp and rolled down the road to Indio where our friends Dean and Jane were staying. We pulled into the dusty dirt parking lot of the Fantasy Resort Casino and were leveling the coach as they pulled along side. Generally casinos offer free overnight, or longer, parking as they expect us to come in and play. We sat in the lot until dinner time approached and then walked to the Bistro, just outside the casino in the adjacent hotel. Although the menu was completely different from their website we all found items to meet our appetites. We returned to the coach where we schmoozed for a while longer and agreed we hope to meet again in a year.