Sandy Supposes....

Andre and I Meet Joshua

         So, someone intended for a crazy monkey and moi to stumble hike through a national park, not just any park, but Joshua Tree National Park. It's a desert! Neither of is familiar with such an arid environment. Why would Andre forsake the non-stop flow of a pub to experience the dry heat of a desert? Did I mention it's a desert? We expected to discover sand, rock, and more sand.

         Before we embarked upon our slogwalkabout, Andre and I needed to satisfy a burning question. Just what is a Joshua Tree? According to the wise and all-knowing Google it's a yucca, a symbol of faith and hope. We formed a consensus . Joshua is a more agreeable name than yucca. Andre admitted that when inebriated he's named a stalwart tree or two himself. Having something tall, strong and silent support you at your most vulnerable breeds familiarity. Andre would go out on a limb and swear the trunks he knows never betray a confidence. He's never considered the name Joshua though.

         As we perspired freely, gasped and panted our way along the barren trail known as The Desert Queen Mine and Eagle Cliff House Trail, we were not disappointed. We found a plethora of rocks both in the gravel size range and boulders. Under our every step we displaced sand which billowed 'round us and sandpapered its way under our damp clothing. We inhaled it, too. We experienced a new level of dry. We understood parched.

         Up, down, and around we trudged. The scattered rocks endeavoured to trip us. The inclines robbed our lungs of oxygen. Grit blurred our vision.

         Cacti and prickly pear stood as sentinels. Anything that survives in that California desert has earned the right to be prickly. Oh, yes, we met a yucca, or two.

         During a well-earned respite in the sizzling shade of a towering hunk of rock, Andre researched via Google as to the usefulness of a yucca. Always open to anything that could alleviate the worse-for-wear affects of a hangover he read yuccas are edible and supposedly help to alleviate stomach disorders. He has stored this tidbit for the day aspirin fails to cut it. Of course, Andre will need to be quite ill before he avails himself of a yucca fix. He assured me he hates asparagus. ( Puzzled as was I? The Joshua tree is a member of the asparagales order. I mentioned the grit, didn't I?)

         Our joint jaunt delivered many an undeniable treasure. We share a dislike, okay more a fear, of snakes. We require more than a rattle and/or a hiss to warn us of their presence. Hiking is not our first choice for an activity, an exercise, an adventure, no. We do not like wheezing. Our feet were not created to bear blisters; bleeding, cracked, excruciating. If we were so inclined and utterly dololly, we'd make perfect sand smugglers. We discovered crevices we were formerly unaware of, tender, chafe-prone spots.

( 492 words )

         June Camping Trip Prompt

*Banana* Today you and Andre are at
Joshua Tree National Park Campground, California!!! *Banana*


Select one of these trails: 10 Best Cave Trails in Joshua Tree

Then tell us how the hike went with Andre.
Did you find anything interesting?
Perhaps you ran into someone famous on the hike.
Maybe you guys found a treasure chest!