Nov 15 2009
Desert Dweller
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I figured I would let the photos do the talking
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Can you feel the magic of this amazing place? Being in Joshua Tree National Park was a little slice of heaven. Peaceful with amazing sights are every turn in the road. Kris and I were just in awe of this foreign landscape. Neither one of us had spent that much time in a desert environment; and Joshua Tree is even a different class of desert. Between the trees and the rock formations, we were clicking hundreds of photos. As you can see, the day was *perfect* with stunning blue skies as a backdrop for the white, red, brown, and occasional greens of the desert.
The Park is the intersection of two deserts – the Mojave in the north, where the Joshua Trees are, and the Colorado/Sonoran desert in the southeast of the Park. The two deserts are distinctively different, and when you cross over into the next one, the landscape really changes. We spent the day in the Park enjoying every minute of the hikes. We saw so much beauty. We traveled from North to South through the Park and ended the day in the otherworldly landscape of the Colorado Desert, distinguished by the unique chullo cactus and the rugged mountains.
… and perhaps the best treat of all…
Was ending the day with an absolutely stunning moon rise. Kris and I pulled our car off the road, walked into the nearby field, set up the tripod, and just enjoyed every minute of the moon rising above the mountains. The bats were coming out, but there was not a single sound. It was a stunning silence. One of the most peaceful moments I have ever experienced.
– All Joshua Tree photos here –
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Do a birthday girl a favor, and tell me about the last place where you felt absolute peace -
I would love to hear.
Those moon-rise photos are breathtaking! Absolute peace? I often feel it sniffing the nape of my 6- and 7-year-olds’ necks when they give hugs. And I often feel it at night, when those kids are asleep, my pets are snoozing nearby, my husband is getting ready for bed, where I am already lying and holding a book with my knit-tired hands and listening to the sounds of the city outside my windows. When everyone I love most is quiet and healthy and safe and nearby…that is peace.
Thanks for such lovely pictures, as always. As much as I enjoy nature, I (college-campus bound by lack of car) last felt absolute peace walking from one end of campus to the other. It was very warm for up-state NY November and windy and the last leaves were floating. I didn’t have anywhere to go and any work to do, I had just finished working on something I loved and it was a great walk. of course, then I went home and had to clean my room, so it ended fast. but it was good.
Awesome awesome photos! I was looking forward to seeing how you’ll capture your visit to Joshua Tree. My boyfriend grew up running amok in that park (his father was stationed at 29 Palms) and a few years ago, we went on vacation to go back to where he grew up. One of the most peaceful times I’ve experienced was right there too.
We drove up late one night into the park to see the stars. It was so calm, quiet, serene and peaceful and I have never ever seen as many stars as I did that night! Definitely one of our most memorable vacations ever.
Thanks for sharing your photos.
Happy birthday!
Thank you for sharing the photos. The moonrise shots were particularly breathtaking.
I always feel peaceful at the ocean, regardless of the season. My parents say the same thing, so it must run in the family…
Oh Lolly! All the pictures are stunning! Especially the ones of the moon.
The last time I felt absolute peace is when I went to a Women’s Midsummer retreat and it was one of the most lovely things I have ever experienced. Being inside a sweat lodge was like going back into the womb and I look forward to it next year.
Happy Birthday! Looks like a beautiful trip. Your photos are amazing, as always!
After having my son and finally getting to hold him by myself at night when he was just a few hours old is one of my peaceful moments in my memory. My “happy place” is the memory of lying in a hammock at night on the beach in Maui on my honeymoon. It was relaxing and romantic at the same time. That was 11 years ago, though!
I was in Wolfstein Castle, in Neumarkt Germany. They’re excavating the site, but I remember looking through one of the windows, my hands on the windowsill, and thinking that I was literally leaning against history.
Happy Birthday L! Beautiful pictures! Years ago when I lived on the East Coast I took a trip to visit a friend in Seattle. We ended up driving all the way to Joshua Tree (stopping along the way of course)…it was an incredible trip and your photos brought those memories back. Thanks so much for sharing! I feel at peace whenever I’m outdoors away from civilization/technology. The last time was in September when I was in Yellowstone doing fieldwork. We get dropped off in the back-country via helicopter…it’s amazing to experience that part of the Park that is completely devoid of humans (once the helicopter leaves of course). One morning we were sitting on a hill waiting for our ride and had been quiet and still for about half an hour. I looked up and saw two gray wolves running across the hill about 75 yards above us. That moment I felt, among other things, absolute peace.
my last peaceful time was at lunch today. my boyfriend took me to wawa (a local convenience store). he’s pretty much the most relaxing person in the universe. to me, anyway. my next peaceful time will be in an hour or two when we are falling asleep together.
i LOVE your very first moon picture. you are a lucky one to have witnessed that. and it looks like you’re lucky to have the camera you do, too! happy birthday! (mine was four days ago–so many awesome people have november birthdays!)
First, happy birthday. Seeing your photos made me long to hop in the car and head east.
We live about 2 hours away and it was always the place we went to find that peace, that clarity.
Once on a camping trip, tim and I encountered a king snake, a Bobcat and big horn sheep. That was exciting. I am so glad you experienced one of my favorite places. Next time spend the night, the sky is breathtaking. Happy travels.
Happy Birthday Lolly!!
Hmmm, peace is sometimes hard to find here with the animals, hubby and kids but one true peaceful moment recently was on a weekend away walking on one of our beautiful NZ beaches – just the 4 of us it was pure bliss and I was walking on air!
Happy Happy Birthday!
Your photos are gorgeous! I have been wanting to go to Joshua Tree for some time now and thankfully its a pretty easy trip from Vegas! We got the National Parks Pass this summer and went to so many beautiful places (Yellowstone, Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon) but probably the most peaceful was Goblin Valley State Park in Utah. It was off the beaten path, barely anyone around and like nothing I’ve seen before. If you’re ever exploring Utah, definitely put it on your to-do list!
There are some gorgeous photos people have taken on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=goblin%20valley&w=all) but it’s definitely way cooler in person
Happy birthday Lolly! Lovely pictures. the last place I was in where I felt so peaceful was at the top of a local hill the other day looking down at the view. It was just so nice to escape from all the stuff at home and work and just to be .
Happy birthday! Love, love, love the moon photos. My peaceful place is always the beach. Always.
Happy Birthday! The very last time I felt peaceful? Looking at your desert pictures. I am normally an “ocean” person and these shots have me reconsidering the desert
Thank you for your generous sharing of spirit and soul through your blog. Always lifts me up in one way or another.
Happy Birthday!!!
I remember my first time at the beach when I moved to the East Coast – I was so surprised to be looking out onto the water, but the sun was setting behind me. That year was full of turmoil, and even though I was all kinds of confused about the sun not setting over the water, it was peaceful to be back at the beach, feeling so small next to the massiveness that is the ocean.
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday girl!! Love the blog and the amazing photos, just had to grant your wish-
When I held my baby girl for the very first time and the room went silent. It was just the two of us, the most precious moment in time. I was hooked up to all sorts of stuff, had a c-section, but at the very moment when I finally got her it was the most perfect meeting you could ever ask for.
enjoy your moments and keep capturing them for you and us who enjoy what you enjoy!!
~A
Well happy birthday.
My last time of utter and complete peace was at Yellow Point Lodge on Vancouver Island. I have a weekend there that I go with my girlfriends. We’ve been going for 7 years now and its familiarity and our “routine” of doing a puzzle (in one evening until we finish it), eating, hiking and knitting and reading just recharges me in a way nothing else can.
The wind was something fierce when we were in Joshua Tree, driving the daytime temperatures down around 3C. A slight shock from the 34C we left Palm Springs just the day before. Equally beautiful was our sunrise there but I couldn’t capture it as lovely as you did the moonrise.
Lolly, What a dream hike!
Happy birthday, Lolly! I just can’t get enough of those photos; I’ve never been to a desert, either, but now I’m really dying to go.
The last place I felt absolute peace? That was probably my own living room, a few months ago. I awoke one morning just at sunrise, which was lovely as our windows face east. I made myself some coffee, settled into my favorite chair, and my sickly old kitty cat jumped into my lap. We just sat there enjoying each other’s company, watching the sunrise, and thinking about the day to come. It was a wonderful moment.
Happy Birthday, Lolly!
What a beautiful site to spend your birthday. My most peaceful place is at the Grand Canyon all the way out to the end of the south trail, just beyond the Hermit’s Rest stop. My first husband (who died 7 years ago from brain cancer) requested his ashes be flung into the canyon at that point. It is where I can still really feel his spirit and the joy from being close to him brings me great peace. Enjoy your day and enjoy Kris!
A picture is worth 1000 words! Beautiful!
Happy birthday Lolly! The last time I felt at absolute peace somewhere was in May. My husband and I went away for the weekend to celebrate our 5th anniversary. We were in Chatham (on Cape Cod) and sitting on the beach at 11 PM, in front of a bonfire, listening to the ocean and just talking. No toddler running around screaming (not that we don’t love our screaming toddler, but I wouldn’t call it peaceful!), no other people at the beach…the moon reflecting off the water. It sounds cheesy, but it was great.
I feel a huge sense of peace every morning as I watch the sun rise over the McDowell Mountains (Arizona) from my bedroom window.
It gives me a wonderful sense of peace to start every day.
Love your photos!
Moon pictures,…priceless! XXOO
Happy Birthday. The last place I was where I felt utter peace was on the pacific coast in Washington State. We were just looking out over the ocean with the winds blowing and the fog and the salt water. It was wonderful.
Happy Birthday Lolly! One place I always go to feel some peace is the cottage we rent every August on Saddleback Lake in Rangeley, Maine. There are loons, pine trees, and the mountains all around. It is so quiet and peaceful. It really recharges me every year. I love your photos of Joshua Tree.
lolly, is your birthday today? happy birthday!!!! i hope you have a fantastic, fantastic day! those photos are stunning, by the way. the sixth one almost looks like a man made of rock! i almost always feel at peace when i’m outside and surrounded by nature. most recently, i’d say my hike in the shenandoah national park was very peaceful.
Happy birthday! I am in love with your photos! Especially the ones of the moon. Awesome!
Happy Birthday Lolly! Those pictures are gorgeous.
The last place I truly felt at peace was 5 years ago. DH and I sat in a small cafe in Jamaica for 3 hours, drinking red stripes and listening to the waves crash into the rocks below. We barely spoke, we didn’t need to. It was perfect.
I wish for you many more of those peaceful moments.
Happy birthday, Lolly! Thank you for sharing those pictures, they are stunning.
I’m trying to think of my answer to your question, but there’s only thing that comes to mind, and I’m pretty sure I didn’t feel absolute peace in that situation. It must have been something related, though, some kind of perfection to the moment and of perfectly being in the moment, because I feel like it clearly fits into the realm of peacefulness. It happened this weekend, I was simply sitting in my brother’s living room, knitting, and my 6 year old nephew wanted to knit too. So he sat on me, and I taught him how to knit. His parents wouldn’t believe their eyes – their little boy, the one who regularly comes back from school with a bad behavior note, was so calm and focused! It was really unusual, almost felt unreal to them. To me, it was magical, a beautiful moment with my favorite 6-year-old, and a chance to let him express another truth about him. That’s a memory I’ll cherish for a very long time.
What lush, gorgeous photos! I love J. Tree … went for my first time on a climbing trip last fall, and these photos made me start daydreaming about the next trip.
Vermont used to be my place of absolute peace. I grew up spending summers on one little lake, and I went to college twenty miles away, and then I married someone who lived in that same little town. Everytime I looked up at the night sky, or walked through snowy forests, or watched the morning mist swirling through the valley, I felt complete peace and resonance with natural world. But now that I live in Phoenix (not by choice), being in Vermont kind of breaks my heart.
Anyways, I’ve been trying to find a new place that gives me that same feeling of absolute peace but that isn’t tinged with bittersweetness.
Gorgeous.
Happy Birthday Lolly!! The photos are incredible.
Remember that bakery/café I brought you to in Yarmouth on Saturday morning? That’s the place where I feel at peace. Every Saturday morning I go there to eat a muffin, drink tea and read the paper. There usually aren’t a whole lot of people there really early and it’s so peaceful.
I went to friends’ wedding in Las Vegas at the end of July then to Portland for Sock Summit the next weekend. I had three days to play in Portland before the big event. On the second day, I visited the Rose Test Garden and its surrounds, which were great, but the real treat was the Japanese Garden.
It’s designed in what I would call “landscape rooms.” If you stop and sit quietly for just a moment, the sound of moving water, the play of the breeze, and the thousand different shades of green create the most incredible tranquility. It isn’t stillness–it’s almost the opposite–but it’s like being at the heart of a living thing. Nature magic.
Happy Birthday, lovely Lolly!! You and Kris spent time at one of my favorite places, I’m glad you enjoyed it! I feel at peace every time I go for a hike, but one of the more memorable places that made me feel amazing was Sequoia National Park, where I went last summer. It is a jewel of a park.
so beautiful. i badly want to go to joshua tree and go rock climbing. deserts are so completely opposite of my usual west coast rainforest environment, and i love the peace of them. i spent a few weeks climbing in bishop, ca, which is the high desert on the eastern side of the sierras, and it was so fantastic there. i do love the wet coast, but the alien-ness of the desert always fascinates me. great pictures you guys got, and happy birthday!
My peaceful place? The cabin on the lake in northwestern California… only one more week and everyone will gather there for Thanksgiving. I can’t wait!
I was also wondering if you’d ever sell prints of your photographs (I think Imagekind.com has this service). It would be great to hand your last photo above my bed, how awesome to go to sleep under such a big moon every night!?
February 2008–sitting at the top of Diamond Head in Hawaii. Looking at Honolulu in one direction and a wide expanse of ocean as far as I could see. That is the most peaceful place I have ever been.
Happy birthday! I had to think about your question for awhile. Life has been such a tizzy lately. There’s always those quick moments when you smell a flower or finish a project but I think the best was walking across a glacier in New Zealand in 1991. So breathtaking, quiet and beautiful.
Happy Birthday, dear Lolly! I loved these photos – I could feel the silence.
My happy place is our summer cottage. It’s on an island with no other cottages, so it’s a very quiet and peaceful place. I’ve been there during every summer of my life – I was only three weeks old when my parents took me there for the first time. And now Onni’s been there every summer of his life too.
We love Joshua Tree. We live about 2 hours west of there (in LA county) and love driving up for hiking. Glad you had such a great day for a visit. Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday, have a fabulous one! Amazing, awesome, stunning and much, much more! The last place I felt absolute peace was by Pitt Lake (down the road from our house). I decided to lug the camera up there on a whim when it was almost freezing outside and there was no one around, just the mountains and misty clouds and the still water in the Lake. I remember loving it and freaking out by the stillness of it all at the same time. Wierd and lovely!
Happy Birthday! This is one of my favorite places in the whole world. A close second, Letchworth State Park in Upstate New York.
Stunning photos, Lolly. I, too, find such peace in the desert.
Happy Birthday! I do love the colors you get in the desert – that red-ish brown and sage-y green with a blue, blue sky. I think the last time I felt truly at peace was when I was surrounded by those colors on the top of a mountain pass in the Maroon Bells Wilderness area of Colorado. A long, hard hike and unimaginable beauty and nothing but the sound of the wind.
Happy Birthday! Gorgeous pictures! I would have to say Crater Lake, Oregon. It is the most beautiful place. The lake is so blue it looks like they pumped dye into it. It is the deepest lake in the USA and the clearest. It is so beautfiul!
The photos are amazing. I knew where you were as soon as I saw the first photo. I love it there, and in Arizona. I have Sedona area photos on my blog.
Thank you!!!
Funnily enough, I just wrote about this on my blog. I remember feeling the most intense peace when I was visiting the Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris this past May, after having a big fight with my boyfriend/traveling companion. It was such a crazy day, and then we talked, and walked around the cemetery and the sun came out, and everything smelled so good from the rain, and it was just so…peaceful.
http://greenspell.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/when-the-veil-is-thin/
Anyway, happy birthday!!!!!!!!! And lovely pictures!
Happy Birthday! I hope it was wonderful. That moon rise sounds perfect. Like a moment you’ll remember for a very long time. A new Zen for your yoga classes.
The last time I had absolute peace was when the doctor told me that it was a healthy baby boy and put him in my arms. For just a moment, the delivery room faded, I couldn’t hear anyone else talking, just my little boy looking at me, me looking at him and both of us breathing together, but separate for the first time.
The moment of absolute peace before that was with Girly. She was a few hours old before I was able to hold her without shaking or feeling so tired I was afraid she would fall out of numb arms. We were in my room in the hospital and just like with Boyo, sounds faded and it was just the two of us looking at each other and breathing.
I think your photos made my heart break a little. I grew up in Las Vegas and adore the Mojave and the Sonoran Deserts. I miss them so much. I am in Milwaukee now. The moon rise. That is breathtaking and it makes my heart ache..just ache for the desert. Thank you for sharing and happy birthday.
I haven’t been out to Joshua Tree in ages. I think I will need to make a trip out there soon. These are gorgeous pictures.
The last time I felt total at peace was when I went to Lower Twin Lakes in the Eastern Sierra Nevada. Its just so quiet. I have so many good memories there over the years. The trip I took in September was extremely stressfull but I went to this spot before I went home and everything was right for that moment in time. Here is a link to the spot I was at:
Picture of Lower Twin Lake
That sky, that moonrise, wow. I’m sure it was even more breakthtaking in person. What a gift to be able to see that.
Happiest of happy birthdays, lady. I can’t remember off hand the last time I felt peaceful, which means I need to get some relaxation time in state! Thanks for the reminder
Wow! Stunning photos – and I can almost feel the peace of that moon rise just looking at the last ones. Peace for me is often found in a quite armchair knitting in hand.
Happy Birthday!
Me again…about the last time I felt totally peaceful. Being in AL this past weekend, I had a couple of times that come to mind. Being out in the forest, the stars were breath-taking because the weather was so nice there. I haven’t seen so many since AZ and I do love to look at them.
The most recent was the morning we left…I opened the door at 7:00 and was greeted by the most spectacular morning! The birds were singing, the sun had just risen and there was a heavy dew, so it looked like diamonds sparkling everywhere. Oh, and you know what? It was the same day I greeted my first into the world, 29 years before! XXOO
Happy birthday.
Wow, your Joshua Tree pictures are amazing. I’ve never been there; someday, I hope!
Hmmm, calm place, calm place. Well, my grandparents’ farm is one of my favorite places. They have several ponds, lovely little goats, and not a soul around for miles. It’s very calming, just walking the land, listening to the wind, and enjoying my surroundings. I get to do that very thing next week for Thanksgiving, and I can’t wait.
Happy Birthday! Your pictures are so awesome. Thanks for sharing. I remember being very awed and at peace in Havasu Canyon many years ago. The colors, the silence, the grandeur…
On a trip to Greece. Sitting outside at night at a restaurant on a hill overlooking the Acropolis. Was with my husband, a brother and sister in law and it was such a special moment and even though it’s been 8 years, I will never forget.
Happy, happy birthday! These photos are amazing—not at all surprised about that, though!
Hmmm…absolute peace? In January the Tailor and I spent a few days in Arches National Park, and the feeling of peace was just overwhelming. It was very cold (5 degrees!), there was a layer of snow on everything, and we were pretty much the only people there. We hiked up the slickrock face (normally packed like Times Square in the summer) to the secluded cliff from whence you could see Delicate Arch, and the sun slanted in to create an amazing shadow that seemed to belong to us alone. I could have sat there forever, and the peace and beauty made me completely forget the cold. There’s something about the desert that really strikes a chord with me…
Thank you for triggering the memory, and have a perfect birthday!
Wonderful ! I understand why you felt so peaceful there !
Absolute peace for me used to be in my grandmother’s garden, in Britanny. She lived in a tiny village, not far from the sea. Everything was very quiet. Sometimes a car. Sometimes a tractor. And the bell of the church to rythm the day. My grandmother and her sister used to live there, doing things old ladies do : gardening, cooking, walking, reading papers, making crosswords… I always remember these times when I need some peace of mind.
I am late but I wish you the happiest birthday !
So do you think it’s a travesty that I live in So Cal and have never been to Joshua Tree?
I think it’s *because* I live here that I am not terribly interested in the desert landscape. I am much more drawn to lush greenery. That being said, I am loving your pics. Especially the moon rise. So gorgeous.
I think the last time I experienced such peace was when R and I were camping in Sequoia. We hiked up to Tokopah Falls and it was just amazing. So quiet, so much nature surrounding us and it felt so grand to look down at the valley below.