Ze snake, boss! Ze snake!

Greetings, Mimi followers, of which I am perhaps the original - I began tailing my sister as soon as I began to crawl. The hiker's internet access, cell service, and phone battery are all limited, so I will be posting, on her behalf, information she sends me through texts or phone conversations. I bring you day one.

First, the original and somewhat William Carlos Williams-ian text:

"Am safe, saw really
rattlesnake. Rain. Really
bad at setting up tent,
exhausted. Hiking with
three good people
including israeli"

Next, my translation (with supplements from a phone call):

I'm safe, so all you Asneses and extended family/friends may, please, release that last bit of breath you were holding. I saw a 4-foot-long rattlesnake, with a rattle the length of my palm. We had to hike way around it. It's very rainy here - not pouring, but light, misty, and bone-chilling. I am exhausted from the effort of setting up my tent, a task at which I suck. There are three other good hikers at my pace, including an Israeli. Apparently, the Middle East follows me wherever I go - speaking of which, I have major jet lag. To bed.

- Mimi, via Tania

At the Mexican border

Yucca!

Sign warning us of the dangers of the trail...like snakes.