Finding the Sweetness in Deserts

When I was a kid, my sister taught me a trick to remember the difference in the spelling for that sweet after-meal treat and that barren sandy wasteland. The extra 's' goes to the yummy food - dessert - because you always want more of it. Sounded like good logic to me. And then I discovered the desert.


My, what a magical place the desert can be. No longer do I have visions of vast emptiness, shifting sand dunes, and scorched stretches of land without views. I have discovered the incredible variety of life and formations that our deserts hold.

Those formations include some of the best rock to climb in the winter, like Tom's Thumb in Arizona and Joshua Tree National Park, CA.

If the gods decided to put a playground for climbers on this planet, then Joshua Tree NP is it. The piles of jumbled rocks with superb cracks leave me to say without a doubt that the purpose of this swath of desert land is for climbers to have their own slice of heaven on earth.


But don't be misled into thinking that deserts are only about interesting formations. Choose the right season, and the desert can be speckled with vibrant reds and yellows of blooms.


And even the plants without showy displays of color have something interesting to offer the viewer.

The agave plants have towering blossoms that remain after their prime like some sort of beacon. Certain stretches of desert are scattered with these towering appendages which can be spotted from afar.

Here's a palm oasis sprouting in the middle of the desert! I literally rounded a corner to be greeted from afar by towering palms clustered around a rare water source.

One must make the best of the plant life available, as a bird has done by nesting in this cactus. And speaking of birds, the desert is home to a couple of varieties that we best know from cartoons.

Roadrunner....beeep beeep....

Hahaahaahaaahaa....it's a woodpecker

While I've long thought of myself of as a mountain girl, I've now found a special place in my heart for the desert. When the winter rolls around and snow touches the ground, the mountains are not the place that I want to be. I seek a place that will still give me a taste of adventure, but with an added touch of warmth. That's where the desert enters, and leaves me wanting more.