Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Joshua Tree

I recently returned from a two week road trip along the west coast. Three friends and I rented a car in San Diego and headed north for miles and miles. We camped in national parks, blew through coastal cities, hiked mountains, ate too much trail mix and loved every second of it. The trip encompassed too much for me to tackle it in a single post, so I've decided to split it up into eight chapters: Joshua Tree, LA, Santa Cruz, Yosemite, San Fransisco, Red Woods, Seattle and Vancouver.

So first, Joshua Tree:

One time I saw a tiny Joshua tree sapling growing not too far from the old tree. I wanted to dig it up and replant it near our house. I told Mom that I would protect it from the wind and water it every day so that it could grow nice and tall and straight. Mom frowned at me. "You'd be destroying what makes it special," she said. "It's the Joshua tree's struggle that gives it its beauty.”
― Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle

Joshua Tree National Park is located in south-eastern California where the Mojave and Colorado deserts meet, creating a unique ecosystem where Joshua Trees grow in groves surrounded by a stark, barren terrain. I remember starring out the window in wonder as we entered the park: the landscape was a deep contrast to anything I'd previously experienced then or since.

We arrived at Jumbo Rocks Campground in the early afternoon heat on a Saturday afternoon. We were buzzing with anticipation and barely-caged enthusiasm - we'd made it to stop number one! However, just a few minutes later while we were setting up our tents the climate became overwhelming. This is probably obvious, but, I wouldn't recommend visiting the desert in mid-August. As the sun climbed higher in the sky the temperature swelled to over forty degrees - a dry heat that leaves your skin cracked and evaporates the sweat off your back and your neck before it can even pool.

We spent two full days there: waking early and exploring the many trails and climbing routes before the sun had reached its full assault. And then, from noon until 4pm we lazied around the campsite, crouching under make shift tarps for shade, and dozing in the sun. Once the sun sank towards the horizon the temperature became tolerable again, and we'd head out with hydration packs of water and pockets full of salty snacks, eager to test our wits on the boulder-ridden terrain.

And then finally the sun would set and the temperature would cool and the sky would erupt into a glittering, inky abyss. The four of us sat around the campfire and stared at the stars - they just went on and on - (more stars than you can usually see in a moon cycle in the city) and counted shooting stars as they whizzed passed our peripheral vision. 

And the way the Milky Way ran right through them, like a river of fairy dust sweeping north to south across the sky - that's a sight I won't forget.

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