I saw them yesterday all along the monument nearby where we are staying here in Twentynine Palms. Each of them is a marvel of nature as far as I am concerned, trees that somehow find the will and the way to grow in the sandy soil of the Mojave Desert. They bring beauty and life to a place barren of much other green growth. It's the great American desert and a place where I have spent the last four days.
The Joshua's bloom is beautiful and seen for only a short span of time. Today as we were finishing up our lunch, several park visitors were swarming around our eating spot with their cameras aimed high into the air. It wasn't just a few but rather a dozen or more, each wielding their Nikon's and Canon's as they attempted to take the perfect photo before heading on through the park. Mike was able to capture the image shown above under the noontime sun of midday.
I was kind of curious about how the Joshua tree got its name and so I checked into it. According to legend, and you know how legends go, the Mormon pioneers gave it the name of "Joshua" because its uniquely shaped and positioned branches reminded them of the prophet that was going to lead them to the Promised Land. It reaches its maturity at between 50-60 years of age and some have the potential to live to be 150 years old.
In the "people world" the Joshua tree would be considered steadfast and determined, right and true. It's one of those trees with integrity and there is just something about one that calls me to take notice of it and in this journey to the west, I most certainly did.
You know, I never once thought I would go to the desert for any reason. I just didn't go anywhere and if I did, it was always a destination that I could return home to that very day. My life has changed and now I go to many places. As a matter of fact this is my second journey to the state of California in the past year and although I doubt that I'd make the choice to live here I have a great deal of respect for those who do. Residents of the "Golden State" are a hearty people who have lived through a host of challenges since the state's birth on September 9th of 1850. It has been my pleasure to meet some of them during our stay here and perhaps some day I will come back to visit them once again.
Soon Mike and I will return home to the Western Slopes of the state of Colorado. The Rocky Mountains will once again encircle us. We will leave the beautiful 84 degree weather and sunny skies behind us and head back to a place where the snow has the possibility of falling well into the month of March. Sooner or later the skies will clear in Montrose and Winter will once again pass off the baton in the dance of the seasons to Spring. The cold and the dark will just be a memory. Whether you live in the desert of California, the San Juan Mountains of Colorado or on the beautiful plains of south-central Kansas one thing is for certain.
Life goes on.
Yes, I think that if I was going to be a tree, I would choose to be like the Joshua.
No comments:
Post a Comment