But me? I could never live in the deep desert. Everything in the desert is designed to kill you.
(After the last couple of posts I needed a little break from the heaviness. Maybe you did too so I thought I’d share some of our recent travel photos from Joshua Tree, CA.)
Seriously? Don’t believe me? If you’ve never been to the deserts of CA or AZ, I suggest it’s time you enter every internet contest to those places as you can. They get super cheap in the Summer too, for some reason.
This Virginia born and bred girl grew up surrounded by lush green grasses and trees that actually provide shade and the Wild West desert couldn’t be more different if it tried. The often deceptively lush greens in the desert just dot a tan landscape that seems to have been painted by an artist who was infatuated with shades of brown.
Even the namesake Joshua trees are hard core spike laden, ladies and gentleman. Who knew. I’m slightly miffed at that Bono guy.
All that said though, the somewhat Martian landscape really is beautiful in its own way. Almost calming somehow and the oranges, pinks and reds of the sunsets are often unparalleled.
And there are places I’d love to return to again and again if funds and time were unlimited. Miraval Resort in Arizona is like a beautiful mirage that has the benefit of actually being real. We survived an August visit several years ago and have been wanting to return ever since.
This past February we returned to the dessert when we celebrated B’s birthday in California. The little casita we stayed at in Joshua Tree was the epitome of “desert hip” (which I’m pretty sure is a thing). Just rustic enough (well, the kitchen was a little too rustic for the chefs among us) and in the proper southwestern pallet of various shades of tan, with some rust, terra cotta and burnt sienna thrown in. Only accessible via a gated extremely bumpy dirt road that kept out the rift raft (opps, nope we got in), the property and surroundings were quieter than quiet. I found myself incredibly inspired to write, paint, draw and just day dream as I gazed into the mile long, panoramic views. The stars at night, well, yes they were big and bright, how did you know?
According to the googles, U2 liked the name Joshua Tree for their 5th (and arguably) most popular, mainstream album and was released in…what, no, that can’t possibly be right…1987?!? Anyway, the album sleeve cover featured a lone Joshua Tree, that fell around twenty years ago, but apparently the site, not actually in Joshua Tree National Park, continues to be a popular destination for U2 devotees. Rumor has it that one fan even placed a plaque at the site that said “Have you found what you’re looking for?” Ha!
Said to be named after the prophet Joshua by early Morman settlers because it looked like it was raising its arms to pray, Joshua trees are actually shrubs. Wild! And although they look like a distant cousin to palm trees, they’re actually a Yucca plant and can only be found in the Mojave desert.
God bless all the creatures and wildlife who call the dessert home. I hope they don’t mind us visiting once in a while.
