Raymond Abril

I am very fond of the desert and its cactus. They represent the virtues that derive from acclimating to a harsh, arid environment and prospering. Some day I would like to have my own Saguaro cactus, however they are quite expensive considering they are both a protected species and incredibly old. Such a symbol would serve to others as a visual representation of wealth, however a common onlooker would likely not see such a cactus as I see it: That I love the Sonoran Desert and all of its beauty.

It was a beautiful day full of fluffy clouds when my friend Aaron Z and I decided to just drive out into the desert. We took turns picking directions. When we came to a fork in the road, we would choose left, right, or straight ahead. We almost became stuck in some soft sand at one point. We came across a biker gang having a bbq about 40 miles along the highway on a side road that ended at a trash collection facility. All the while, I was enjoying the clouds as they moved across the sky; sometimes they merged and parted. I thought to myself that those little fluffy clouds were somehow the key to inner peace and tranquility. If only I could reach out to them and truly understand what they represented, however I could never reach them in my hybrid.

We eventually stumbled across the entrance to the Sonoran Desert and went for a short hike through the brush. The time of year was perfect and the temperature very comfortable. I was happy to spend time with my long time friend just wandering content knowing that as soon as the sun set, we would have to venture back home and I needed to savor as much of the experience as I could.

I don’t know how Aaron did all of the hiking in his sandals. I was prepared with multiple shoes and water, seeing as how I grew up playing in this desert as a child and as long as the basic necessities are addressed there was nothing to fear. Even if we somehow became lost, it was all part of wandering as a free soul with a free mind. I was experiencing clarity unlike any that I had experienced before and I was enjoying every moment of it.

The vastness of the desert is difficult to describe, however I created my first panorama of the desert from this very hill. You can see Aaron as a speck at the bottom left. I almost fell down the hill from tripping over my tripod.

As a young boy, I would often wander the desert surrounding South Mountain barefoot or on bike. To this day I recall experiencing the magnitude of life that persists in the desert, even as others tend to think that the desert is a lifeless biome. Indeed it is not! I have seen a family of Quail cross the dirt path, a Gila Monster wander by, and the birds and reptiles exploring the underbrush for food. I remember finding a cave along the mountain and to this day I have yet to find it again.

Today, most of that desert is gone. It was bulldozed before my very eyes so a prime housing development could take its place. This necessitates driving further into the dirt just to escape people. My connection to the desert exists on a plane of appreciative love. I still feel surprised when I find another creature, a sense of awe when I discover a 200 year old Saguaro, and humility when I consider that in the short time that humans have populated the deserts surrounding Phoenix, Arizona that constant development has not eradicated all of the beauty. The flowers I have seen on my trips are perhaps the most beautiful I have ever seen, yet to attempt to describe their beauty with a human language could never fully express the visions I hold so dear and close to my heart.

Someday others will see what I have seen, but for now it feels like it is too late. Children in the city no longer enjoy free open spaces. This is the price of progress and development, and I feel as though the last the adventurers.

Someday, would you ever wander into the desert and explore the magnitude of nature’s beauty?