I've been on the road for most of last week and I thank Samantha Walton for looking after the ship in my travels.
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Sammy and I passed like ships in the night on Monday as I returned and she headed off to New South Wales for a week and a half of pre-wedding preparation.
It's been tough putting out three papers a week with just two of us, especially when one is indisposed or on the road, so it is good to welcome new journalist Aidan Green who starts on Tuesday, July 23.
Aidan is from Wollongong, New South Wales so give him a warm North West Queensland welcome if you see him out and about.
As for me, I did two trips down to the desert last week. Firstly on the weekend I went down to Bedourie for their annual camel races.
Ideally I would have stayed there for a few days but I had to be back in Mount Isa on the Tuesday to pick up my partner who, rather inconveniently, lives half a continent and half an ocean away on Norfolk Island.
Then on Wednesday we drove back down to the Simpson Desert and camped in Birdsville before heading out to this year's Big Red Bash.
We were expecting it to be chilly overnight but it was nowhere near as cold as I thought it would be.
On Thursday, we drove down to the South Australian border for a photo, because that's the sort of thing you do when near state borders, then back out to the Big Red Bash for the eagerly awaited highlight - Midnight Oil, in their only performance in Australia this year.
Whatever you think of Peter Garrett's politics there is no doubt he is a mesmerising presence on stage and I was privileged to get some great close-up photos of him and the band when media are allowed in front of the stage for the first three songs.
But I really was impatient to finish work so I could relax and enjoy a great performance, as did the 9000 others.
On Friday we moved back to Bedourie to break up the journey home and caught some of the Camel racing in Boulia on Saturday.
The fun continues this week with the Mount Isa Blast, the Outback Masters golf and Quamby Rodeo as the event season goes into overdrive.