The plexiglass rods that support my tent are bending the wrong way.  The rain cover has torn where it attaches to the tie-down ropes.  The wind is gusting to at least 40 MPH and it sustains 20 MPH.  The tent is taking a beating.  Montezuma isn’t smiling on this place! I want to get a meal cooked and the only place the wind won’t blow out the flame of my gas stove is in the tent, so I hope the wind won’t flatten it before I’m done.
    I boil water as I slice a potato; next I dice some green pepper and an onion, and let it boil for a couple minutes. While I wait I become a human brace as I stand against the inside of the tent to help support it. The veggies are done. I add two eggs, whip them amongst the potato, pepper & onions, add some black pepper and dice a tomato and replace the lid and return to help hold up the tent.
    It’s getting harder to keep the tent up and the outside supports have come loose from their “moorings.” That’ll have to be enough cooking. I move the “refrigerator” (a cooler wrapped in a heavy sleeping bag to insulate it inside a tote bin- keeps ice frozen for 3 days in the desert), cooler with my dry goods (food), and three cases of ACB close to the door. I get my pot of food, close up the stove, unzip the tent, put the pot in the car, and return to the tent. I detach the main plexiglass supports, so the tent will collapse, place the heavy items on it, so the tent won’t get beat to shreds by the wind during the night.
    This is the first time in 11 years of tent camping for at least 30-60 days in February to the end of April in the Everglades, southern Texas, Arizona, the Mojave Dessert, and southern Utah that I had to flatten the tent to keep it from being destroyed by the wind! I had already tied the two front corners with ropes to the post that supports the park service installed grill early in the afternoon, so the tent wouldn’t become a tumble weed with me chasing it through the desert. After wrecking my home, I retreated to the car to eat and watch the sunset and other goings on. The quickie omelet tasted good, but storm clouds stole the sunset and the temperature was plunging.
    My station wagon will be my refuge for the night. There’s plenty of room for an inflatable mattress, me and my bed roll. This is my 50th night of camping since Jan 28th; nearly all have been in gorgeous weather, but tonight I’ll be glad to be in the car. It’s my Plan B and a back-up plan needs to be always ready and available, because tent camping works at least half the time as I’ve written here more than once. The night passed uneventfully, but the jury is certainly still out on this day as I watch it get light over the Sonora Desert here at Organ Pipes Cactus National Monument. The wind is blowing and the gusts have ripped the rain cover of the tent from where it fastens to the tie-down ropes.  I pulled the pegs to release the tension and stop the tearing.  I can probably sew it back together, when the wind stops.  I’ve fixed lots of stuff with duct tape and fishing line or sprayed it with WD40 and surprise, surprise, it works again.
    I’ve pretty much surrendered to the wind.  It’s warm and there’s no snow here! I’ve made my usual 22 oz. cup of coffee, got back into the car to listen to the radio, and watch and see how the campers in the other three sites cope with the wind. One guy, who must be a true gambler, or enjoys taking risks, slept under the stars in this land of rattle snakes, tarantulas and scorpions. He’s up, walking around, indicating he made it through the night and has put on a hooded sweater and is heading up into the Alamo Canyon. The wind isn’t stopping him.  He’s vacated his camp site; he’ll be moving on, so it’s either see the canyon now or never.
    I usually stay where I like it for a week or more, so I have plenty of time.  Another couple in a Westfalia Camper have packed it in and left for a hot shower at a commercial campground. They were replaced that night by a couple of cruisers with an old Oldsmobile. The other guy is still in his van that he’s kinda converted into a camper. He spends most of his time reading, so the wind isn’t bothering him.
    It’s become warm enough for my morning walk, so I head up into the canyon. There I saw a couple of geckos, birds and butterflies, but only two hummingbirds. Does this mean they’re smarter than me and the risk taker guy? Yeah, probably! The wind died down, so I reerected the tent, but had trouble closing the zipper, so I used a bunch of alligator clamps to hold it closed. A nonworking zipper is a death knoll to a tent. No scorpions or spiders are sharing my space! The alligator clips worked ‘til I was ready to move on, but as I drove past a park in the little town of Ajo, I liberated the tent by putting a sign on it saying, “Free - Great Child’s Play House.”