My Desert Experiance

                                                     

       

                                                                                    My Desert Experience



        We all have a place to go when we want to feel at peace.  I too have a place where I feel most at peace.  In my hometown of El Paso, Texas, I always ran to the quiet, calm tranquility of the desert.  As I walk down winding trails, my everyday stresses fall awaywith each step.  The vast colors, shapes and sounds brining my senses in tune.

        My hometown is in West Texas, on the north side of the Mexican border north of Juarez.  Miles of desert and mountains surround the town.  At sunrise and sunsetmany colors appear in the desert sky.  Cactus and other plants are scattered acrros the vast landscape.  The mountains strech high in the sky along miles of terrain.  At sunrise in the desert, as the sun peeks over the mountaintop, brilliant colors emerge as if the place was made of gold.  As the sun rises, the sand starts showing its real colors, a collage of browns, reds, and blacks blended together like beautiful sand art made by the finger of God.

        As I walk down themaze of trails, the warm, and earthly smells collide with the smell of eucalyptus in the air bringing a cool, and moist sensation into my lungs.  Trails of birds, rabbits, and lizards are in the sand mixed with very thin fragile pieces of clay pottery with reddish-brown color hints of markings on them.  It makes me wonder how they came to rest there.  Farther down the trail a greenish-gray lizard scurries by startled by my presence.

        The sun looms overhead hiding behind the occasional puffy cloud.  The sky is a deep blue and transitions to a light blue as it comes down upon the mountains.  The Mountains farther away almost blend into the sky, as they seem to be a dark pastel blue.

        Closer to the mountainside, I see many cracks and crevasses.  It appears as if the mountain was thrust from the ground, bringing with it cactus and shrubs.  It is amazing how the cactus grows out of the sides of cliffs and crevasses.  Jackrabbits run by me at lightning-fast speeds .  Their greyish-brown color streaks as they leap forward with their long hind legs.  They seem to change direction in mid air as they scurry from sight.  In the distance hawks circle around, perhaps stalking their prey.  Occasionally one swoops down and then back up into the sky.

        The desert is quiet, except for the sporatic rattle of a rattle snake.  Rocks become unsettled making an echo as they fal down the  mountainside.  The warm breeze rustles the seedpods on the mesquit bushes.  A flock of quail startles me, silent until i get close to them.  Then flying up all at once with a deafening slapping sound, they move a short distance.  Then I see their brown bodies with a black plume extending from their tiny heads as they hid behind a distant mesquite bush.

        As I rest on a rock by the bottom of the mountainside, I take a drink of water from my canteen, wiping the sweat from my forehead just before it reaches my eyes.  Sprinkling some water on a rag, I tuck it under my hat to cover my neck.  I can feel it starting to burn.  The breeze starts to pick up, and a tumbleweed blows by.  I get up to climb one of the smaller mountains nearby.  There is one in particular that my friends and I call "Stonehedge", because it has rocks stacked in a perfect circle.  It used to be a rock quarry, but someone must have moved the rocks this way.  Its a long climb to the top.  Feeling the burn in the back of my thighs, breathing harder, and wiping sweat off my face with almost every move.  Halfway up I stop and look down, everything looks small.  Starting up again, I move at a faster pace, feeling excited that I'm almost at the top.  My heartbeat quickens as I reach the top, my chest pounding and my head throbbing.

        Drenched in sweat, I have done it.  The scenery magnificent.  I see for miles and miles all the diferant trails wind together like some giant labyrinth.  The breeze is a lot stronger up here, cooling me down.  Off in the distance, I see a dirt devil. (sand blowing like a mini tornado).  I walk over to a cliff and look down, I have butterflies in my stomach just thinking about what might happen if I fell.  I move back and sit down with my legs crossed beneath me.  I reach for the closest stone and toss it over the side of the cliff.  I count 5 seconds before I hear it bouncing off the rocks below,

        Going down the mountainside, i slide down most of the way down some gravel i found on one side.  When I reach the bottom I notice a yellow scorpian crawling along.  Its like he doesnt even notice me as he he keeps truckin along.  I dont want him to sting me though so I keep my distance.  He isn't poisonouse, but it shur does not feel good when he stings you.

        I continue on my way towards a place calle Red Sands, two mounds of sand they call :Big red and "little Red."  Red sands actually extends for miles around just on the other side of the mountain.  Many sand dunes creating hils and valleys all around look like what the Sahara would look like on Mars with is red color.  Snake trails in the sand are winding down the dunes, and the sun is coming down creating mystical shadows.

        Rushing to find a spot to watch the sunset, I pick a spot on one of the dunes facing west.  I scoop out sand to make a lawn chair in one of the dunes.  The sand is cooler the deeper I go.  The loose top sand is still hot from baking in the sun.  When I'm done, I sit in my newly formed chair.  It is very comfortable as it conforms to my body, and cools me after a long, hard journey.  It's almost like sitting on an enormous beanbag chair while kicking my feet down to make a footrest.

        As the sun goes down, more colors in the sky appear.  The desert becomes dark the shadows become bigger.  Pinks. purples, and oranges in the sky melt together with the fluffy fading clouds.  Relaxed, calmed and at peace.  My senses are back in harmony.  All of the animals and sights have melted away, and the anxieties and pressures of everyday life gone with the fall of the sun and the rise of the moon.