My brother Troy referred to the rental car as The Skateboard. For example, “Where did we park The Skateboard?” This small, green-gold car got us to where we wanted to go – Joshua Tree National Park.
The trees right behind us in the photo below are Joshua trees. They look nothing like the ones that I remember seeing in the desert nearly a decade ago, when I drove down to Mexico for the first time. My brother assured me they are baby Joshua trees; they are not yet fully grown.
It was 2:15 in the afternoon by the time we started the hike. The air was cold, but nothing compared to Calgary. I was so excited to just be outside, walking around. I had hardly left the house while I was in Calgary over Christmas.
“How would you like to get one of those prickly things in your Christmas stocking next year, Brother?” I started laughing.
“Very funny, Sister,” he said sarcastically.
After an hour or so of walking along the sandy trail, I said, “I need a rest.”
The hike wasn’t that strenuous, but I get tired easily these days because of my injured leg.
We pulled our water bottles from our packs and found some rocks big enough to sit on.
“Did you make any New Year’s resolutions?” I asked.
“Yeah, to travel more and to develop my sense of intuition,” he said.
“I just read this article, the other day, and it said that it’s much easier to stick to your New Year’s resolutions if you add something to your life, as opposed to taking something away. So you are doing it right.”
“What about you?”
“I am going to try to add some peace and calmness to my life. And go on two big international trips every year, instead of just one.”
“Looks like you’re starting the year off right. The desert is really peaceful,” he said.
As the sun slid closer to the horizon, the wind picked up. My nose started to get really cold.
“We better walk faster if we want to make it back to The Skateboard by dark,” I said.
Happy New Year Everyone!
For more information about Joshua Tree, visit:
Desiree Bilon 