The Desert

Ah, the desert.  Warm, sunny, the great wide open.  Why is it that we only remember the good things.  A swore I would never voluntarily spend any great amount of time in the desert again.  The last couple of years I have been thinking that, it wasn’t that bad.  It might be nice to head back to the desert again.  Maybe find a nice retirement property in the SW US somewhere.

What the FRACK was I thinking.  The desert can really suck… dusty-duty

U.S. Marines make their way back to their vehicles in the middle of a sand storm after patrolling a nearby mountain ridge in Bakwa, Farah province, Afghanistan, May 3, 2009. The Marines are assigned to India Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, the ground combat element of Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force Afghanistan. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Brian D. Jones

That stuff (moondust) is just plain nasty.  It gets EVERYWHERE.  It is like talcum powder with embedded grit.  It gets in and through your clothes, you will chafe everywhere.  Cleaning it out of your nostrils and nose hair sucks.   My hat is off to these and every other guy and gal that is going through this on a regular basis.