Dear Jim,

How do I even begin to describe the desert to you?

I thought I knew desert because I come from Australia, and sure, I’ve been in desert before.

Briefly.

I’ve never LIVED in desert before.

And that is very different.

Where we are staying is like nothing else.

It is Eden.

An oasis where everything is grown for a purpose.

Everything is edible.

Everything is lush.

An intricate and ingenious network of canals runs through the entire property to endure the workability of the land.

The sky is broad and blue and huge.

And beyond the edges of this cool paradise is the desert.

Dry and hot and rocky and unforgiving.

A lonely, but very beautiful place.