1) To wake in the morning, early, quite naturally, and see the clean lines of sunrise — the geometry of the trees, the flat straightness of the pool, the cloudless clarity of the sky — is a quiet and special moment, and I am so grateful.
2) The morning I spent mostly writing. My hosts thoughtfully stocked the casita with exquisite coffee and I could figure out the coffeemaker easily.
3) This morning I learned that you could spread banana bread with butter and make it warm and crispy in an iron skillet. Amazing.
4) At noon the five of us piled into a minivan and set off for Joshua Tree National Park, which I hadn’t been able to visit last year. We drove through incredible flatness, past a wind farm of enormous white windmills that looked like a Busby Berkeley chorus line slightly out of synch, and up through mountain passes into the next county.
5) I cannot remember the last time I ate at a fried chicken fast food place, or had a Dr. Pepper, but we pulled into a Popeye’s for a late lunch and I got to enjoy both — and happy memories of Church’s Fried Chicken for Sunday lunch growing up. Om nom nom.
6) Joshua Tree National Park is enormous, obviously, and we drove through miles and miles of it, stopping three or four times to see the sights. Did Joshua trees inspire Dr. Seuss to create the Lorax? Or did they evolve from seaweed, since apparently this was originally seabed in ancient times? A couple of the many questions that came up.
7) The cholla cacti — white, “furry,” dangerous — walking through those was chilly and curious. The presence of small children and a few dogs also concerned me, not because they weren’t well minded (all the dogs were on leashes), but just because there is always a risk for injury.
8) Skull Rock, an astonishing rock formation hollowed by ancient water currents into the shape of a skull, was exceedingly popular with tourists, especially overseas tourists. One friend commented on how many different languages we heard here.
9) Finally we came to a spacious and windy scenic overlook which — praise be! — included a restroom. As Sir Roderick Bland exclaimed to the wine waiter in Noel Coward’s Bon Voyage, “The moment is urgent.”
10) Later I scrambled up to take in the view while my friends returned to the van. A young woman passing with friends insisted on taking my phone from my hands to take my picture for me with the view. She was so eager to do this for me that I didn’t dare tell here there were no sinks in the restroom.
11) The chill in the wind was starting to take its toll, and I think we were all glad to return to the vehicle, and then back to Palm Springs.
12) After an attempted nap — really more what Mother called “quiet time” — Dave and Owings and I went off to a reliable local place for prime rib. Conversation about our parents dovetailed with observance of the local color and happy interaction with our efficient, chirpy waitress.
13) I returned to a couple unexpected invitations, including one from someone I didn’t expect to be here, so pleasant speculation and happy memories need to interact with logistics, previous commitments, and what the tarot would call the Possible Future: plans other people have or might be making that I don’t yet know about.
14) Lovely to have an early night and just collapse!
Hochmina made me laugh.