Looking Backwards Through my Memory Vault

I will be the first to admit that I have always been a daydreamer, as well as someone who tends to "drift off" on a cloud of thoughts inside my head.

I always have music playing in the background, and it is often that music that triggers a journey down memory's path in my mind...

Landscape near Joshua Tree, California

I used to spend a lot of time in the desert Southwest.

Aside from the fact that my parents spent a large part of their retirement years in and around Phoenix, Arizona, I also ended up spending time in the desert because my mother-in-law lived in Joshua Tree.

I think a lot about the southwest desert, even though I wouldn't want to live there. It has its own "brutal" beauty and dramatic vistas at sunrise and sunset.

I never did well with heat, though.

Desert rock formation

One of the things I liked about the high desert (5000 feet/1500m and above) was precisely that it wasn't quite as hot. At least... it would cool down at night, even the summer.

That said, more often than not, I would be visiting in the winter and spring months.

You were reminded that you were "at altitude" by the relative proximity of snow on the nearby mountains... and sometimes the "frost line" would creep down towards the valleys.

High desert in winter

Of course, deserts are far from "lifeless," and sometimes I was fortunate enough to be visiting shortly after a winter or spring rainfall that would cause the desert to come into bloom.

A few weeks later, pretty much everything would be in bloom, from cacti to a wealth of wildflowers.

Used to stay at a funky little hotel near Twentynine Palms in California... where the band U2 stayed while working on the album "The Joshua Tree."

Much of the desert is "funky," once you get away from the big resort areas.

A scrub tree scrapes out a life in a crack in solid granite

Do I miss the desert?

No, not really. Perhaps I miss moments and experiences there... that seem terribly far away, now; like they they happened in a different lifetime.

Doesn't mean I want to go back, but there is something there...

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great rest of your week!

How about you? Are there places and times you look back on with fondness, if not with longing? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

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Created at 2024.09.18 00:15 PDT
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