A Spark in the Dark

09/26/2026

September 25, 2026...

A sunset so delicious and dynamic, so peaceful and personal, that your humble hosts decided to plan a date night around it.

It was made extra special in that, as the sun was going down and all you could see were these silhouettes of the trees against the mildly backlit sky, Erica spotted a large owl of some sort way up in one of the nearby junipers far enough to one side that you could see the perfect shape and angle of its head. It seemed to regard us for a moment before lurching forward off its branch and cruising out over the tops of the other juniper trees further down from the slope where we had our campfire.

It disappeared out there under the bright and swollen moon, and later that evening as we were carrying our supplies back home with sticky s'mores residue on our fingertips, we could hear it out there hooting in the darkness.

09/14/2026

September 14, 2016...

The day is in the books. The night is still at large. :)

08/24/2026

The storm's officially a' brewing out there... The kind of perfect temperatures and cool, full-body breezes that make you want to slap yo' mama! But only if you have a callous disregard for your mama's general quality of life.

And since we love our mamas here at The Spark, we'll control those kinds of barbaric behaviors and enjoy the environment a bit more responsibly.

Slowly... Intentionally... That's our way. :)

08/24/2026

The wild flowers are here!

08/19/2026

Sandra Dee enjoying her walk around the campground.

07/18/2026

[TRANSMISSION BEGINS]

Monsoon storms have hit the high desert heavier than anticipated *stop

We are officially marooned at A Spark in the Dark Campground and unable to gather critical provisions *stop

The generator is holding, but morale requires immediate reinforcement *stop

If any of you possess the capability to airdrop essential, life-saving supplies, then please... for the love of god... send tequila and w**d *stop

And also limes, bless your heart *stop

[TRANSMISSION ENDS]

Send a message to learn more

06/28/2026

It's finished! It's finished!

The Easy Breezy Desert Shelter has been re-imagined, re-worked, and is now re-available (if that's even a word) for guests!

So book this bad boy for a night... or 3 or 30! Come write your book or paint your masterpiece. Bring your friends and blast some tunes. Load the family up for a road trip and bring the pets!

Artists, families, couples, gamers, the solo retreat, LARPers... this campsite is literally for everyone!

https://thesparkcampground.com/the-famous-easy-breezy-desert-shelter-listing/

06/24/2026

Returning to the campground after a morning of running errands, I sat outside my gate wondering why it wasn’t opening.

Then it suddenly hit me: I have not yet hired a butler named Reginald to open the gate for me, nor have I won the lottery required to afford to hire a butler named Reginald.

Turns out, at this stage of my life, the gate only opens when I put the vehicle in park and open it my damn self.

Reggie, if you’re out there, I’m hiring. The pay is sh*te, but at least you won't have much free time to worry about it.

Anyway, in other news, there are lots of campsites available out here. Come on out and pitch your tent in one of them!

06/13/2026

Look, I'm not going to beg you to save your own life.

To be honest this may not actually be a matter of life and death - the likelihood that I’m just being dramatic to get your attention is admittedly pretty high. But while you’re here staring at this screen, you might as well stick around. Pull up a chair and listen to the hummingbirds buzz your head on the way to their feeders.
I was just sitting here thinking about the passing of days, the spending of time, and how the unexamined life is mostly just exhausting.

Considering how much content in life that there is to consider and stress about and plan around and navigate through, at least there’s a great spot out here on the property to sit, think, and sort through the noise.

The Council of Juniper.

AND IT’S BEEN IMPROVED!

It’s a meditation spot. It’s a sitting spot. It’s a great place to chug morning coffee and for having an evening t**e. It’s whatever you need it to be, and now it’s dialed in. We've got a more inviting entry, groovy mood lighting, and a much better spot to rest your rump near the dirt in the juniper shade and successfully avoid the noise of other human beings.

For the sake of pure transparency, here’s what we’re talking about:

• The Walkway: We wired the path with psychedelic mushroom lights. Hopefully it keeps you from breaking an ankle in the dark and gives your twitching, over-caffeinated cortex something mildly amusing to look at.
• New Bench & Cushions: There's a new custom bench out there now. We even put down authentic corn husk cushions so you can literally ground your vibrating, caffeine-addled body back to the earth from whence you sprang!
• The Lighting: We bathed the whole area in ambient mood lighting. Hopefully, it won't fry your night vision, but it does make the space look like a pleasant hallucination once the sun hits the deck.
• The Art: There are slabs of stone out there featuring actual art left by guests of A Spark in the Dark. Real, physical things made by human hands. Try not to ruin it, ya feel me?
So there you go! The new and improved Council of Juniper. This is your spot. Well… one of many. Bring your bonus cup out here in the morning, or sit here at dusk and watch Venus punch a glowing hole in the western sky. The Council of Juniper is always here, waiting for you to come sit and realize just how absurd our daily routines actually are.

So don’t just sit there, for crying out loud! Reserve a campsite. Come out to the desert. Bring your loved ones or just bring yourself. The juniper trees honestly don't care if you show up.
But I highly recommend it.
www.TheSparkCampground.com

04/14/2026

A page from the life of your humble host, if you're into it:

I just experienced the oddest thing with Sonora.

I was recording something into my phone and walking through the living area of my trailer. When I glanced down at Sonora, curled into a half-moon in her favorite chair, she was staring at me. Directly at my face, tracking me across the room.

Her one open eye was locked on mine while the other was closed in the deepest, longest wink any dog has ever winked in the entire history of winking.

After a couple more strides, I had to stop to understand just what the hell was happening right now.

Sonora held that wink for another moment, then slowly opened her mouth like she was about to tell me something. Something obviously very important. Possibly the most important thing I would ever hear!

And then, before a single sound came out, she shut the other eye and sneezed so violently it felt like the kind of sneeze that should come with hand-drawn cartoon fur flying off her face in every direction.

The whole event was so traumatic she appeared to completely forget she was just seconds away from revealing the secrets of the universe.

Prophecy lost to this damned dry Arizona dust.

[Anyway - I shared my post and a pic of Sonora with Gemini and told it to give me something passable without wasting my credits on a bunch of micro iterations so... here you go. Surrealist, but what else would you expect? 😆]