(Of course you must listen to this song as you read this post. Appropriate, no?)
Everything you hear about the desert is true.
I tend to not believe hype-but yeah, desert hype is true.
It's hot, there are miles and miles where you don't see any sign of life and you can go a bit crazy.
I love the desert.
I've driven through the Nevada desert a few times, been through the mojave desert, grew up in a place that felt like a desert so I thought I knew what the desert was all about.
But Arizona and New Mexico are a different kind of desert. They are the deserts of legend.
Almost as soon as we crossed from the California border the landscape changed. Enormous cacti sprouted up along the hillsides and it made for the most interesting silhouettes. I was surprised by both the enormity and randomness of the cacti-they almost looked like alien life forms.
It's funny-I mean-I've seen cacti before but....I don't know. In their natural habitat they seemed to be anything but natural.
We rested our heads in Tucson and were pleasantly surprised by how neat that place is! We were able to get up early and walk around the El Presidio district which is full of neat buildings and bursting with color. I would have never guessed that I would fall in love with Tucson-but I did. I can't wait to go back and explore.
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Our journey through New Mexico was a strange one.
I think it definitely proved the "oh people can go crazy here" point. Not that I'm saying people from New Mexico are crazy-I'm just saying if you aren't used to miles and miles of vast land before you it can be a little jarring.
We stopped at an *interesting* gas station-that no longer had any gas, but did have a lot fireworks. The three structures that surrounded the place were all in disrepair and seemed to hint at better days. I bought a crazy crystal paper weight and a 62 cent painted mug.
After that the miles and miles of desert just seemed never ending.
As we pulled into Las Cruces I remembered Ansel Adam's photograph of the moonrise. And I saw the beauty in that place.
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I can see why many people flock to the desert to "find themselves". I'd love to go back and stay awhile and see what happens...
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Have you been to the desert? What do you think about it?