I know a good number of people enjoy deserts, but always figure, I should visit them in the winter, because it’s the smart thing to do. I don’t agree. Going to the desert in the colder months is like only visiting the ocean at low tide, or having Christmas (Opps I mean the Yule Tide) in July, or ice fishing on the Summer Solstice, or maybe watching Alaskan bears eat bugs for a month before the Salmon start spawning. If you’re going to experience something, grab it head on. Feel the real heat the desert brings. Dive into the furnace, oh crap it’s sorta hot out here.
One would think leaving the cool mountains mid-summer and coming to the desert would almost be the difference between life and death, but I’ve seen far more animals here. Every turn on the castle grounds has lizards dashing away from you. Rabbits run to hide under cholla.
On my long bike ride besides the, often flowing, (but only this time of year) Santa Cruz wash, I’ve seen several species of lizard, blue herons, multiple road runners and even a southern Arizona gopher snake. It got grouchy too and emits a hiss mimicking the shake of a rattler’s tail.
Showing up during monsoons proved well worth any heat I’ve endured. When the desert clouds open up, it is a force to be respected. Lightning hammers the world and thunder explodes coming ever closer. Washes flow in areas which have been dry for months and erupt into rivers.
Yeah, I’m cool with my timing.
I think we all need to do what we can to enjoy every time of year and each day in it. I don’t care if you have to work a sixteen-hour shift or clean your whole house, every day needs to be savored and we should allow ourselves at least a little peace, relaxation, and joy.
Sometimes, work, stress, and obligations seem to crush us flat. We feel like we’re doing things for everyone but ourselves. Still, we deserve to live and enjoy our own lives. And no one says you can’t enjoy it around others, whether they be friends, family, or maybe someone you just met.
I just randomly met a woman who needed help because her car window was smashed in by a thief. He stole her backpack and a few other things. She was quite obviously going through a stressful time, but I got her to smile and chuckle. I helped her through it a bit and we might end up being friends.
Even in adversity, you could learn something or have some positive outcomes. Of course, some things just blow and you have to deal and suffer through it, but again at the end of the day enjoy the moon for a moment, read a good book, or perhaps sit someplace comfortable and let yourself just be.
Life is ridiculously short and we sometimes work so hard to improve it for us and others we don’t stop to just live it. I think I’m going to go look at some lizards. Later.
You can grab some of my fiction here, which I promise has nothing to do with this.
WildernessPunk 