PAINTED CANYON, Mecca, CA

LADDER CANYON, Mecca, CA

I took a trip to the desert yesterday. For those of you who don�t know this falls under the category of �mad dogs and Englishman� so unsurprisingly we were the only people out in the ridiculous sun.

Desert season commences Labor Day weekend (and really it is still too hot) and proceeds until Easter with folks packing up their four wheel drives and RV�s with sand toys (the large, man sand toys like dirt bikes, quads and, well, 4WDs) and spending the weekend playing with childish abandon. I have only ventured to the desert once before and it was during the height of the season. Alcohol and boyishness combined to make for a loud, raucous time. Not necessarily a bad thing but by no means my current cup of tea. A few years ago things might have been different.

This weekend, however, was more of an exploration of unknown territory than �playing in the sand�. My Darling thoroughly enjoyed the brief �off-roading� experience (more thoroughly on the way out of the canyon than on the way in since he is not careless and so took his time on the way in so as to avoid disaster. ) We walked back into �Painted Canyon�, lunching in the shade of an overhanging rock before continuing on to �Ladder Canyon� garnering it�s name from the ladders affixed to the rock in sections in order to make the upper canyon accessible to the less skilled rock climber.

We left the water back at the truck because we were unsure as to how deep the canyon ran so we erred on the side of caution and turned back before reaching the end of Ladder Canyon. It was very quiet in the canyon (when my Darling and I weren�t talking) and there was a surprising amount of life and movement. Tiny birds flew between crevices and stunted trees and even tinier lizards darted from bush to bush. There were a couple of flies that discovered us enjoying our lunch but the heat made them slow so they were easily dispatched. I have no sympathy for the fly, they are far to irritating. A nest of wasp almost kept us from Ladder Canyon but we were able to creep unobtrusively past the buzzing hole in the ground without incident.

I�m not sure what kind of rock it was, but some silvery coated, blackish, almost shale looking stone made the walls and floor of the canyon sparkle in the bright sunlight. �There�s gold in them there hills�. I wondered if the stone was in fact silver based, I will have to do a little research. The canyon system itself was formed by tectonic movement of the San Andreas Fault ages ago.

We arrived at the box canyon (dead end canyon) around eleven o�clock which means we entered the canyon at the time when the sun was almost directly overhead. We were able to find pockets of shade and there was a slight breeze so although it was likely over one hundred degrees it didn�t feel all that bad. We both slathered on the sunscreen too so no burned skin. It would have been nice to see the sunrise in the desert but that would entail rising in the middle of the night to make the two hour drive before the sun came up. I still want to enjoy the stars out away from city light pollution; since last year the area we were in was still well lit I have yet to re-experience the awe of my trip west as a teenager when I discovered the milky way was more than just a slight band of stars it was a dense blanket of star upon star illuminating the night. We have already decided that an overnight in the desert is in order and will probably take another trip when the weather cools a bit. Of course if we head out late in the day and leave before noon the following day we would escape the worst of the heat and only experience the cool, still desert night. I believe that I would really enjoy a chuck wagon dinner followed by cuddling (and�) beneath that blanket of stars.

I must admit I would probably fare pretty well in the desert I don�t mind being hot in fact I actually like it, as long as it is dry heat. I love to sit in a sauna but I don�t like living in one. I used to think that I would eventually end up as one of those crazy people you see living in a trailer between the sparse exits of the interstate with nothing around for miles and miles. The solitude of such an existence appeals to me on some level but I think the inconvenience would rapidly become an issue. I am torn between my desire to live in the middle of nowhere and my impatience when it comes to replenishing provisions. I simply don�t want to drive forever in order to get groceries and such. *sigh* I suppose I will stay in the �civilized� world.

It�s nice to temporarily distract yourself with an adventure such as my desert trip. Today I will fuss with cleaning the refrigerator (not a bad chore on a hot day) and take a trip to the fabric store to locate thread which matches my favorite work pants so I can darn the holes caused by sulfuric acid. (I hate that I have to provide my own clothes for ruination but perhaps I will be able to get some of it back on my taxes (if I can itemize that is)). Other than that I have no plans.

Today will be a lazy Sunday.

I wish you Peace

~alison~

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