Hot in the Desert

By: Zoë

The Joshua Tree: King of the Yucca sits on his throne of sand and dust

he stands so tall and proud with many arms and fingers outstretched in all directions 

he knows he is the king.

The Cacti:
So many shapes, sizes, and colors all show personalty.
Some looked small and fuzzy but are prickly to the touch and latch on to you like large painful burs.
Others are gargantuan but cowardly, their spines spread out in an unorderly fashion.
They are all thirsty for rain.

The Boulders:
Piled high, they stay strong.
 They will not move for anyone.
They are stubborn but brave warriors, they are the guardians of the desert

Skull Rock

The Flies:

  Flies are strange bothersome insects undisturbed by the crumpled bodies of their comrades. 

They continue to swarm you and your lunch.

The Rattlesnake:

  Confidently, fearlessly the rattle snake moves smoother than polished marble.

It slithers with a hypnotizing motion.

It curls up in a bush next to the campsite occupied by four frightened human beings.

Our campsite complete with flies, chipmunks, lizards and a rattlesnake.

The Lizard:
He poses, he skitters, he poses.
His mysterious jet black uniform makes you wonder what he's trying to hide.

The Worry Eaters hanging out in a Joshua Tree

The Crater:
We pass a large black hill of burnt rubble
The snap of cameras are quickly joined by the sound of clacking keys,
 searching for an explanation.

Amboy Crater (an extinct North American cinder cone volcano)

Middle of the Mojave Desert

The Dust Devil:

Swirling, whirling, howling, screaming.

The dust devil whizzes across the dusty fields.

It staggers then poses then moves on again.

After a minute or so the spectacular show ends, and the devil of dust dissolves.

Awhile after the excitement of the dust devil the sky began to darken and it began to rain. We had driven directly into a storm. Lightning flashes across the sky, we passed a white pick-up truck on the side of the road. The man inside shook his head at us as we splashed through a shallow wash across the road. Not far beyond was an unmoving train of cars. Dad got out to see what was going on, "A flash flood" he reported. A river of brown muddy water littered with rocks spilled across the road. We seized the opportunity to have lunch. Sandwiches were eaten while we waited for the flood to pass.

Las Vegas:
A confusion of blinking lights on signs moving bill boards, hotels with golden windows, small versions of Paris, New York, Rome, and Egypt.
You do not know which way to look first.
Las Vegas an overwhelming place.

The Valley of  FIRE:
Red stone faces watch you in awe as you enter.
Your surroundings suggest a scene from Star Wars.
The heat is intense.
 You imagine alien creatures creeping out of the holes in the rocks,
the faces begin to laugh at you,
their mouth grows bigger and bigger, they become so large they swallow you whole.
Darkness.
Your eyes flicker open and you realize how thirsty you are.
You down all your water in one gulp.
You turn away from the faces, you refuse to let them bother you again.

The Heat:
Heart can be cruel and unforgiving in the summer.
It teases you with non-existent water and vegetation.
You are convinced it hates and is determined to ruin your fun.
You can not escape it, for it follows you everywhere you go.
Slowly it melts you into a pile of useless wilted dehydrated human being.

Mon and Dad played with the camera and long exposures after we went to bed.

The Jack Rabbit:
The cheetah of the desert.
His oversized ears help him to detect the smallest movements.
Unless proven a threat you do not concern him.

The Petroglyphs:
The ancient markings stand out against the red rock.
Who made them?
Why?
What stories are they trying to tell?
I imagine the epic scene in motion.
After awhile the vision begins to blur, a mother's voice intrudes.
"Come on. It's time to go."

Atlatl Rock