Smelling the Cactus

In my last post I talked about road trips and had a few photos from the trip. Well, one of my friends asked if I had any pictures of the desert. You would think I wound have since I drove hundreds of miles in the desert, but I really don’t. Sure, I have a few pictures that I took through the window of the car but I never stopped along the side of the road or a pull out to really get the feel of the country I was driving through. I didn’t want to take the time or just plain couldn’t be bothered.

That’s something I need to change. I talk about journey’s and all that but I never take the time to just stop and “smell the cactus”, at least not as often as I should. There were a lot of beautiful places I drove though that I captured with my minds eye but I never really captured with all my senses. When I think about it, that is kind of tragic. We spend so much time holed up inside of a car with the windows rolled up and the air conditioning on that we never really experience what is going by right outside of our window.

The kicker is, I know better than that! There have been may times I’ve stopped along the road to see something, or just experience the area, and those are some of the most memorable times I’ve had on trips. Let me give you an example from the trip I just wrote about.

On the way home, I needed to stretch and stopped at a rest area along I15 in the middle of nowhere Utah. If you don’t know, this stretch of I15, south of where it meets I70, goes through a wide valley with mountains on both sides. The road is closer to the mountains on the east side of the valley which makes sunsets especially beautiful, if one happens to be there at the right time of day.

There was nothing special about the rest area, just a basic rest area that was clean and well cared for with a nice grassy area with trees and picnic tables. What was special was the sun dipping low over the western mountains and the fields of native grass all around. The grass gave the air that special summer aroma that seems to only happen at sunsets in wide open areas with a gentle breeze blowing. It did wonders for the soul, and wonders for the aches and pains of driving the car all day. No, I didn’t get a picture of it and maybe I should have. But then a picture wouldn’t give you the effect and affect of the place.

It is those special occasions that I miss too often on drives. I seem to always be more concerned about getting there, even on journey trips, than just enjoying all the places I’m traveling through.

Another little secret, I drove across the Mojave late at night coming home and I debated on putting the top down to enjoy the night drive across the desert and really be enveloped in it. I decided not to mainly because I couldn’t be bothered to add in the extra stops. I just wanted to get home and I was tired. I should have made those stops. I should have put the top down. I missed an opportunity to enjoy that experience and I may never get another chance to do it again. Should ‘ave, could ‘ave, would ‘ave…

I’ve said all this to highlight habits I need to change so I can better experience all that surrounds me as I travel. I think folks may have done it right years ago when there were only roads like Route 66 and cars didn’t have air conditioning. You had to be in the environment by default. Sometimes progress may not be progress but it should never stop one from smelling the cactus.