Joshua Tree National Park
Our last stop on the road trip, Joshua Tree. Another place that evokes good memories for both Leo and I from many years ago.
Joshua Tree is a really cool place that is a mecca for winter rock climbing and bouldering. It is named for the Joshua Tree which we became acquainted with at the start of our trip in the Mojave Desert, but the kids decided the park should be renamed "Big Rocks Park" as it is most notable for the big boulders and piles of rocks.
Yet again the stop provided an opportunity to pause, refocus and be present. Rather than living in the past of memories, although nice to meander down memory lane, and rather than live into the future of imagining our children as young adults and "what if they chose to live out of their van at Joshua Tree" (not a bad imagining, but an imagining nonetheless), it was an opportunity to simply be present to what the moment had to offer.
Sounds cheesy, but once I settled into this it was lovely to spend a couple of hours meandering around the rocks; watching climbers, holding our collective breaths, not talking too loudly in fear we cause someone to lose their focus on the rock face, exhaling when someone made it to the top, and questioning the wisdom of the ones scampering up without a rope.
We travel to get out of our routine, to experience other cultures and ways of life and to open our minds to different ways of living. Our morning at Joshua Tree provided a chance to see how some choose to live their lives, at least for a snippet of time. It showed us that there is a community that can grow up around a passion, like rock climbing, and some can choose to make that passion a lifestyle. I am not saying I hope that my children spend all their lives living out of a van and climbing rocks, but I do hope that they are learning that there are different ways to live your life and innumerable ways to create your own path. And there I go again, in the moment but also projecting into the future. That is okay however, as it helps me remember why we are doing this trip, why we have taken ourselves out of our comfort zones, and how to prioritize what kind of experiences we have. The trick is to stay present to those experiences when we have them, and today that happened.
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| Last camping spot with the Jucy |
Joshua Tree is a really cool place that is a mecca for winter rock climbing and bouldering. It is named for the Joshua Tree which we became acquainted with at the start of our trip in the Mojave Desert, but the kids decided the park should be renamed "Big Rocks Park" as it is most notable for the big boulders and piles of rocks.
Yet again the stop provided an opportunity to pause, refocus and be present. Rather than living in the past of memories, although nice to meander down memory lane, and rather than live into the future of imagining our children as young adults and "what if they chose to live out of their van at Joshua Tree" (not a bad imagining, but an imagining nonetheless), it was an opportunity to simply be present to what the moment had to offer.
Sounds cheesy, but once I settled into this it was lovely to spend a couple of hours meandering around the rocks; watching climbers, holding our collective breaths, not talking too loudly in fear we cause someone to lose their focus on the rock face, exhaling when someone made it to the top, and questioning the wisdom of the ones scampering up without a rope.
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| We were struck by how relaxed the guy on top looked compared to his partner who was struggling up the last part of the route. |
We travel to get out of our routine, to experience other cultures and ways of life and to open our minds to different ways of living. Our morning at Joshua Tree provided a chance to see how some choose to live their lives, at least for a snippet of time. It showed us that there is a community that can grow up around a passion, like rock climbing, and some can choose to make that passion a lifestyle. I am not saying I hope that my children spend all their lives living out of a van and climbing rocks, but I do hope that they are learning that there are different ways to live your life and innumerable ways to create your own path. And there I go again, in the moment but also projecting into the future. That is okay however, as it helps me remember why we are doing this trip, why we have taken ourselves out of our comfort zones, and how to prioritize what kind of experiences we have. The trick is to stay present to those experiences when we have them, and today that happened.
I am loving this blog of outer and inner exploration, very cool. Thank you!
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