In God’s Country

There was nowhere to hide, but plenty of places to run. And the streets, well I’m not entirely sure if they had no names. Most likely, they probably did. All the better for map-making, I assume. Not so great, though, to sing about.

I have to admit that it was the U2 album that had Kevin and I jaunting a mere four hours or so out of our way to visit Joshua Tree National Park on our California road trip. In road trip time, after all, that wasn’t all that far – the whole point of the trip was to take those unexpected adventures, to enjoy new things that you might not see if you simply take a plane from one city to the next.

At first, mind you, we were mighty disappointed with Joshua Tree. The trees themselves – not even trees, some of the literature we picked up informed us – were cool enough to see. Once you saw one, mind you, that was pretty much the same as the next. Or so it seemed, from the car. But the thing about road trips is you sometimes have to get out of the car, and as soon as I did I started to actually notice the details of this Californian desert country.

The trees are just the start. There were stunning views and rock formations too. But what I found most beautiful was just the way the dry land interacted with the blue, blue sky. It was hot and it was arid, but there was life in this land – and more than just the Joshua Trees themselves. Although those were pretty cool as well; with very little water and the sun beating down on them, day in and day out, they continued to exist. Kudos, I say, to them. To evolution, too, I guess, which created things that could live in this strange place. That could live, so they say, with or without you.

(Well okay, according to Wikipedia, there is some concern that the Joshua Trees will die out with the current climate changes, at least at Joshua Tree National Park, which means that last statement is exactly the opposite of true. Still, I couldn’t resist.)

Photo – a Joshua Tree at Joshua Tree National Park, California – November 2007 – LV.

Posted by Lisa.

~ by Lisa on August 1, 2008.