Desert Cruisin'

June 12, 2009

“Americans are broad-minded people. They’ll accept the fact that a person can be an alcoholic, a dope fiend, a wife beater, and even a newspaperman, but if a man doesn’t drive, there is something wrong with him.” -Art Buchwald

Driving is what many of us enjoy doing. It is an activity that landmarks many stages of adulthood and the union of many relationships. Particularly in America, driving is a normal well-befitted leisure activity. The landscape of the United States inspires to cruise and discover the frontier of a once wild America. Love at first sight: driving up the coast of California, through the southern tip of the Utah desert, across Montana, or driving from South Beach to Key West. The American landscape is as diverse as its multifarious inhabitants.

As many of us have enjoyed, my friends and I recently drove through one of the U.S. national parks: Joshua Tree. It is close to Palm Springs and an easy drive for the enjoyment of natural wonder and beauty. I actually stepped onto the desert grounds of the park; however, just a drive through may have worked out fine as well. At times, through the rear window, I was delighted and amazed of clear white lights and beautifully reflected desert colors. I saw a framed picture perfectly: wild desert flowers horizontally composed while Joshua trees balance themselves vertically. Rare beauties are these cactus palm trees. They grow suspiciously well in their environment. They stand tall and situate themselves systematically at a certain distance from one another, as if someone had planned it that way. I find cruising through this wondrous desert landscape a uniquely American experience.