"Nature Always Wins!"

I love routines. Even in our wandering, we have a routine. Some are formalized into checklists, while others evolve over the days and weeks on the road. However, something is to be said for breaking out of our routines occasionally. These moments create new challenges and creative ways of dealing with them. When we started this wandering life, we asked lots of questions. But there always needs to be more questions. New things always come along that we have yet to anticipate or expect. Traveling through the deserts this last month has shaken our routines and offered us new adventures and a new perspective on our wandering. I have relearned something I had forgotten after years of theological indoctrination to the contrary, “Nature wins!”

We spent most of our time in Desert Hot Springs at the Palm Springs/Joshua Tree KOA Holiday. The picture will give you an idea of the setting. This is Mount Gorgonio, and it stands over 11K ft. It and its companion across the valley, Mount St. Jacinto, dominate the area. The Coachella Valley sits between them and includes Palm Springs, Indian Wells, Cathedral City, and Desert Hot Springs. This is the so-called Playground of the Stars, but we didn't tour the Hollywood Stars' homes. Found the desert far more interesting. The rich and famous came to the valley because of the warmer, drier air that offered a break from the routines of a cold, damp winter elsewhere. In fact, the Ancient Pinto People came here for the same reason. They were followed by health seekers, immigrants, and ranchers. Humans like to believe that they control their destiny and try to control their world. But ultimately, if we want a paradise, we have no choice but to yield and move to where nature has created a place that matches our expectations of paradise. Welcome to the Coachella Valley. But, as that snow-capped mountain suggests, there is much more to this area than 70 temps and 5 inches of rain each year. This place boldly declares, “Nature wins!”

In the desert, it is all about the altitude (not just attitude). A short 15-mile drive can mean a 10-degree change in temperature. It also means a change in humidity, the plants and animals surrounding you, the shape of the rock formations, and a thousand other details. Joshua Tree National Park sits on two separate desert systems. To the East is the Colorado Desert (a portion of the Sonoran). It is 2,000 to 3,000 feet. The western end sits in the Mojave, a higher, cooler, and wetter desert system due to being higher than 3,500 feet. The change in rainfall and temperatures means that flora and fauna adapted to different conditions than their neighbors. The Mojave is the home of Joshua Trees. The Sonoran is covered with a more tolerant Yucca and Ocotillo. As the earth warms, there are even more changes to the environment that will cause further adaptation. What we see today is different from 1,000 years ago. In the future, new creatures will emigrate to this area, and others may leave to survive. Some plants will die out, while others will adapt and thrive. The only known and sure thing is that nature will win, and life must adapt! 

Joshua Tree is filled with huge piles of rocks and boulders. Geologists believe that the mounds were formed when the hills and mountains were washed away over eons of erosion by wind and water. In effect, the rocks are the bones of the hills that have been stripped of their "flesh.” Some of the stones have narrow veins of softer rock from volcanic ash. The elements have worn this layer away on exposed boulders and split them in two. All of these are different types of granite, a volcanic rock, and they all migrated here from deep within the earth's crust. This area sits on or near the San Andreas Fault, which is still active. Nature wins! As permanent as these rocks may appear, nature will also have its way with them.

I grew up seeing nature as not some static monolith. But it is a growing, evolving process. And when it is at its most dynamic, we call it life, and life abounds in the desert. Life has found a way to thrive even in these piles of boulders. Plants have taken the opportunity to put down roots in the meager collections of soil in the many nooks and crannies. Lizards and beetles have exploited the shade and water offered in these micro-oases. Snakes and birds prowl these pockets of life to follow their livelihood as predators. Even the soil, enriched by those who live on the surface, has become a haven for microbes of all sorts. The desert is alive. If the delicate balance is disturbed, life will be changed. If one species dies out, another will evolve to exploit the open niche. The desert demonstrates that this is true even for human beings. When we leave a space, nature moves in to use the resources we left behind or are no longer consuming. An example of this is in the story of Barker's Dam.

Barker Dam, or Big Horn Dam, was built in 1900 by cattlemen who needed a steady water supply for their livestock. However, as the nearby petroglyphs testify, this area has been inhabited by people for many years. But before the people, the Desert Big Horn sheep and all the other lifeforms in the desert would be drawn to this place when the water was flowing. The dam could not hold enough water to withstand the drought years, and the people moved on. In leaving, they left a place that holds water longer than before the dam was built. And, as the picture shows, it is alive even after the people left. Nature does not waste anything, and even the futile attempts to shape the desert to the human will has and will become new opportunities for life to find a way. To quote my nephew, "Nature wins. Always!"

Nature is not always conservative in reclaiming or adapting to changes. It can be pretty extravagant! Joshua Tree and the surrounding area demonstrate that beauty, along with life, also abounds. We went on a walk in Big Morongo Canyon Preserve and found a lot of beauty. The birds and flowers offered color and texture to the sights and sounds. On the drive up to Joshua Tree, we saw vast acres of desert scrub filled with a carpet of yellows and purples from the Poppies and Lupines. The Joshua Trees were topped with large blooms of white flowers. Many of the smaller cacti had blooms of reds and oranges. The lizards that skittered between the shade of the bushes were bejeweled. Even the rocks would sparkle when the light hit the crystalline surface. Life abounds and can be quite extravagant. Nature can celebrate right along with human beings. 

It is worth acknowledging that celebrating nature's power can be pretty tiring. After three full days in the National Park, it was time for a Chill and Chore Day. We needed to do laundry and enjoyed the RV park for a day. We pulled out a steak and fired up the grill. It was a needed break. But this is as essential to wandering as it is in nature. Even the most active faults do not always move. The sunshine takes a break as the clouds offer respite to the ground. Rest and recreation are part of the cycle of nature, especially in the desert.

When the time came to leave the desert behind, we faced the daunting task of driving across Los Angeles to Malibu Beach RV Park in Malibu, CA. The drive lived up to my expectations. Even on a Sunday, the traffic was bumper to bumper in several places of the drive. The drivers reminded me of driving through Houston. It takes patience to drive defensively. After moving across northern LA, we crossed through the canyons to Malibu. This was the most harrowing part of the trip. Unfortunately, none of the apps came up with the best route we discovered later. But Koko handled the twists and turns very well. At the end of the drive, we settled into a beautiful park that overlooked the Pacific above the Pacific Coast Highway. 

Our first full day in Malibu was a beautiful, sunny Holiday Saturday. There were people everywhere, heading for the beach. So, we headed into the city to see a few things for fun. We visited the grounds and museum at the La Brea Tar Pits. This has been on my bucket list since before I knew what a bucket list was. And it fulfilled my 60-year-old wish. Then we went to Hollywood and walked the length and breadth of the Walk of Fame, up and down both sides of Hollywood Blvd. And Vine. We even posed for a selfie in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater. As one friend put it, that is “hard-core touristy." We then drove into the Hollywood Hills to take this picture. There was nowhere to stop with all the people crowding the narrow roads. Marlene snapped this before we headed back down into the city. Simple fun! Part of the respite of life that nature celebrates with the times "in between." In such moments we honor nature's victory and celebrate the life it offers.

The Easter dawn found us in a thick fog that covered the ocean and the campground. We had not planned on going far since the crowds would be everywhere. Therefore, after a leisurely morning, we went in and did some grocery shopping. When we got back, the fog was finally lifting, and the temps were starting to rise. You can see the mist in the distance. But it lingered and returned in the evening. We began our journey in a fog. It cleared for a while, but sooner or later, it will return.

 

It was Easter. It was a day to remember that life is a genuine gift. The thought of resurrection has always been set against nature's inability to claim us in death. But this is a gross misreading. Easter is about the triumph of life (and nature) over our pretensions to knowing all things, especially eternal things. Resurrection is a process of nature. Though our world may groan under the weight of change, life will abide. Though we may see an ending in the utter darkness of mystery, a new and even more abundant life will emerge. I must admit, my time in the desert has been a time of renewal; my Lenten experience awaiting the rebirth of life and faith. Despite all our human pretensions, nature will win. If nature can do these wonders in a desert paradise, then life will rebound. The question is whether nature’s victory will include us or not. May we not perish as a failed experiment of history but emerge as part of a wondrous journey called life!

 

Wander on, my friends! There is nothing routine about the great adventure that awaits!

 

Bob