The Desert

A few weeks ago, we traveled through the desert on our way to Arizona for my cousin's wedding. It was a really awesome experience, and kind of dramatic too. One minute we were in the luscious green hills of Southern California and the next we were in desolation. There wasn't a gradual disappearance of grass and mild temps. We drove through some curvy mountain roads and on the other side, we were in the boiling desert. Cray cray.

I was in the backseat with the girls while Grant and Jenni were up front driving. We were all flipping out over the sights. It was nothingness as far as the eye could see. Sand, the Sierra Nevadas, cacti. It was beautiful. We peeled our eyes for desert creatures and worked our brain muscles trying to figure out if cacti trickled water or flowed like a hose when punctured. We played I-Spy-The-Dirt-Devils. We wondered if our tires would explode from the hot asphalt.

We thought about what it would have been like to be the pioneers traveling through this place 150 years ago. Did they think the desert would ever end? Were they totally depressed or did they find it beautiful? Did they regret heading west after days in this hot place?

Speaking of hot, the desert isn't messing around. It's hot. We left our balmy coastal town with temperatures in the 60s. Once we crossed through the mountains and arrived in the desert, it was in the triple digits. Even with the AC at full blast, we could feel the heat.

I expected the drive to be boring and blah, but I thought it was totally beautiful. I really wanted to see a tumbleweed cross the road and a rattlesnake slithering along, but I didn't. I did see the most amazing cacti though: the Saguaro. They look like they have arms raised to heaven (I bet that was intentional on God's part). Side note: I just spent the last hour looking at pictures of Saguaros online. They fascinate me. I'm a nerd. 

I found the desert to be an amazing place full of untouched beauty. That's pretty cool. I mean hot. Really, really hot.