Desert Love

I admit it, it was the first time I ever experienced a real desert. My only previous desert exposure was of the high deserts of Southern Idaho, Eastern Washington or Central Oregon. For some reason, I grouped the “other” deserts into a mental image of sandy dunes speckled with the occasional cactus and oasis of palm trees. This obvious naivety made for some delightful discoveries. I was ever astounded by the diversity in landscapes, ecosystems, subtlety of living things, and the intrinsic beauty of the deserts of the Southwest. For the better part of our trip we experienced life in the desert almost every day.

Our trek through deserts started weeks ago with a winding drive through Death Valley. This was on our trip from Yosemite to Red Rocks. I was so focused on my queasy belly, trying hard not to get car sick, that I hardly noticed my surroundings. In fact, I couldn’t wait to be out of there. It felt like I was stuck on a roller coaster of never ending switchbacks through hills of nothing. On that drive I really didn’t think there was anything to see.

We spent the following weeks in the Mojave desert at the Red Rocks outside of Vegas. This is where I became more acquainted with the flora and fauna of these dry lands. I slipped and fell onto a prickly joshua tree, I encountered wild burros (a few times), and was constantly aware of various prickly things poking at my feet, and scratching my legs as we hiked around the rocky soil. It is curious that even the trees and grasses in the desert are so well equipped for battle. It is a game of survival and endurance that gives them all tough skin, thick needles and spines.

In Arizona, we had our home base in Tucson and viewed a totally different desert. The Sonaran Desert was more like a forest of Saguaro cactus. I was very impressed by there size and arm configurations, even more so when I found out that they usually take about 70 years to grow a single arm. Arizonians love the Saguaro, which blooms with the state flower. They have made it illegal to cut them down (or damage them in any way). I have never really appreciated the cactus before. I was struck by how many varieties of cactus we saw.

We saw more high desert as we passed through Tombstone Az and headed into New Mexico. The landscapes continued to change and surprise me with their beauty.

Reunion in Tucson

We left Red Rocks and headed South, straight to Tucson. The drive proved to be a pretty long day made longer by a delay due to construction at the Hoover Dam. We drove stopping only to make a quick soup for a late lunch. We arrived in Tucson late in the evening but our friends had waited to have dinner with us. Kim and Keith’s new pad was really nice. It was exciting to hear them talk about all the plans they already had for their new home. Benny was also there making a guest appearance for a couple days, and so we all sat down to some delicious homemade lasagna–Thank You Kim!

It felt a bit like we had arrived at home. Good friends and good food always make you feel that way but especially so for Kristine and I who welcomed the lost comforts we had left in Seattle.

We ended up spending a few days in Tucson. We went climbing at a crag on Mt. Lemon the day after we arrived–Kristine will have more on this. It’s the only time that pictures were taken of our time in Tucson, which is regrettable since the city was so nice and the desert was so beautiful but Kristine will try to recapture the lure of the desert in a future post.

Keith took off early the morning after climbing on Mt. Lemon. He’s on his way back to apply the finishing touches on his masters degree in Salt Lake, as well as lick as much frosting off the climbing and myriad of outdoor opportunities in Utah before he moves down to Tucson in the Spring. Benny also took off that same morning. He had taken care of some maintenance that his motorcycle needed and was ready to get back on the road. I think his destination had something to do with many ‘soaks’ at hot springs, backroads, and adventures. I can’t even begin to concoct the kind of stories I’ll hear when we share a drink together at Free State in Lawrence this Christmas. I just wish him safe and happy travels!

Kristine and I stayed another day and a half after those two boys had left. We stayed long enough for Kim to get us hooked on sitcom that’s now off the air, but has an apparently rising cult-like following that’s growing. The show is Arrested Development. Kristine called it ‘stupid humor’. And I quietly thought to myself how stupid I must be because of how funny I thought it was. It was definitely quirky. In the short time we were there we polished off 2/3 of the first season and Kim sent us packing with the last dvd for the season, which we finished the next day. Should we be looking up the number to ADAA (Arrested Development Addicted Anonymous)?

We hit the road for Cochise Stronghold. A fairly new area that has a bunch of old school climbers constantly putting up new routes on the beautiful pink granite. We were stoked!

Here’s a few of the ‘best of’ pictures of our friends while on Mt. Lemon:

Kristine and Benny sharing a moment while Kristine takes her shoes off after climbing.

Two tough-guy faces.

Kim lovin’ on Keith a bit.

The gang!

A picture I snapped when we got back to the car and everyone got caught staring off in a similar direction.