It’s a Tequila Sunrise

It was a tequila sunrise: I put my well-being in the hands of my black Renegade CJ-7 Jeep, that it and I explored much of the South West, in a most carefree fashion. No physical terrain was too challenging enough. Temperatures often soared into the three digit range. For air conditioned cars, not much of a problem. But an open Jeep with a roll bar and a bikini top to keep the direct sun off of its inhabitants, rarely had much of an impact on the ambient temperatures. A coolbox with gallons of cold water was a mobile oasis at the ready to quench one’s thirst. The most useful accessory for the desert travelers wardrobe is a bandanna; mine a black one, to complement the exterior and interior of the Jeep. A wet bandanna wrapped around the neck that somehow manages to maintain a coolness many degrees below the blistering heat, is cowboy air conditioning. A scientist will tell you, it’s the rapid air moving in, on, and around that wet handkerchief, that makes it cool down pretty much like a swamp pump “evaporative cooler” that you most often find on the homes of desert dwellers. However it works, it becomes a must have deterrent to the un-welcomed seasonal heat of the desert.

The South West jaunts started for me at a very young age, with my parents driving us kids around the desert states. Once I could drive, I began my own solo adventures: call it, “a family tradition.” My explorations became a whole lot…