The woman who rented
us a house in Idyllwild discouraged us from visiting
Joshua
Tree. "There's nothing green there. And it's hot. I choose the mountain,
not the desert."
Tourists do not have
to choose. We had visited on her mountain. We had hiked in its streams.
The sights were beautiful there but cold.
Within two hours after
leaving Idyllwild, we found ourselves in the desert. We did find green
there; many browns and yellows too. We admired the cholla cactus. And
the hummingbirds in the ocotillo. The stark sunshine and sharp cacti earned
our attention and respect, as do sudden snowstorms back east. We had not
brought enough water.
It stayed hot until
sunset, then cooled down rapidly.
