I like the desert

Emilie - Fossil hunting
Some people see the vastness emptiness of the desert as threatening, but I find it an intoxicating place. It's far more interesting to me than any city on Earth (with the possible exception of Hong Kong) and provides endless opportunities to explore.

Whether it's the Latham Shale, hunting for trilobite fossils from the Cambrian Period, 500,000 years ago or discovering an indian well, surrounded by rock writing and hieroglyphic explanations of what those ancients saw and experienced, the desert keeps its secrets for those intrepid enough to seek them out.

Even though my daughter, Emilie (right) is a city girl at heart, she likes finding fossils every bit as much as anyone else would. It's much like opening a Christmas present when you chip a piece of shale and find the skeletal remains of a fish or creature who lived on the planet half a billion years ago. The scope of the reality of time, the light and space of the desert, and the fact you are there puts a whole new spin on life and on living.