Joshua Tree 2014

I've never been able to explain or figure out why I am so drawn to the desert. For one, I hate the sun. No, really, I hate it. If you know me at all, I am always hiding under a hat, in the shade, or complaining about why an event "would be held midday, out in the sun, like they want us to get skin cancer, those bastards." If I'm not doused in SPF 50, I get antsy in the sun.

Yet, somehow, we make our way to the Mojave Desert at least twice a year, even in July, when these pictures were taken. 115 degrees? In Joshua Tree? Sounds fun! (Note: we went hiking. We drank a lot of water and put on a lot of sunscreen. We had fun. In the heat!)

A friend of mine, who is very into astrology, once told me that my star chart (how the stars and planets were alligned when and where I was born) described me as a desert person. Apparently my soul thrives in desert climates. My father also loves the desert (morbidly, he has asked me in the past to abandon him in the desert "when his time comes." Pretty sure that is second-degree murder, but OK, Dad.)

I was born in the desert. So, I guess it's in my blood. I can't explain it. I can only enjoy it.