I grew up in the desert southwest – Arizona. We never saw snow at home and if we wanted to see it, we had to take a long drive up north to the mountains. At Christmas time, I always wondered how Santa’s sleigh could be used without snow. I had visions of the sleigh runners grinding on the rocks and gravel, reindeer trying to drag the heavy burden of gifts for the children of the world without the snow the sleigh needed to operate properly. The question kept nagging at me: How could Santa run the sleigh when there was no snow?? As I rode ponies and hung around at stables, the old cowboys told me a secret! Guess what? He doesn’t try to make a sleigh run without snow.
Santa is a very resourceful Elf. He has Burros!
It’s a little known fact, that Santa keeps his burros hid out most of the year in a secret canyon in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona. This canyon is very near the same place where the Lost Dutchman found his gold.
From one of Santa’s burros:
"Nobody thinks of us any more. It’s all reindeer and snow. And those reindeer are pretty snobby, especially Rudolf and Comet. Rudolf has a song, and Comet has been that way since he was featured in that ‘Santa Clause’ movie. Reindeer are such prima donnas. But we burros are the ones that do the work where there is no snow. We are the ones that Santa counts on to get gifts to the desert dwelling kids!
On Christmas night, each year, Santa brings the reindeer and sleigh to the Superstitions, where the reindeer have a snack and take a break. That’s when we burros get packed up with all the gifts. We fly around the desert, with our packs and land on rooftops, too. But we don’t have to pull anything, we carry our sturdy packs full of colorful presents for the kids. We can get around just as good as any stupid reindeer. And we’re cuter, too!
When we are not working with Santa on Christmas, sometimes Santa comes to visit us. Here is an old picture of me and Santa:
Now you know the secret!"
