Joshua Tree 1

Boulder assassin Garrat Wilkin gaining some perspective just above camp.

Amongst the Stones

After time spent in a jungle of concrete, steel and glass. Amongst the throngs of inhabitants, seeing a place like this lifts a heavy burden from my heart. The burden of civilization, of order and structure. I can't believe that man was meant to succumb to the crushing weight of city life. Yet somehow I find myself back in the jungle, my knees bent and back stooped with the weight of it all. A sacrifice perhaps, the price I must pay to achieve the success of my mission. For now all I can do is cherish the moments of solitude and serenity I find in the few places civilization forgot.

The Ditch

About 20 minutes out of Joshua Tree National Park is a strip of road running back to civilization. It's a barren landscape interrupted by bare bones dwellings and the occasional strip mall. There are a lot of closed up shops, abandoned buildings and half finished projects. Behind one of these, an empty car dealership, lies the Ditch. To say it is underutilized would be, well, an understatement. No new cars sit on the lot, no overweight greasy salesman prowl the lots for fresh customers. The circut breakers have been broken open and robbed of their copper. Pigeons make their home in the tangled wires. Lacking a broom we opted to skate the ditch "natural" and risked losing some skin. There was an empty tent set up in the field behind us, more than a little ominous. What kind of gnarled creature could inhabit such a desolate place. Perhaps they had come seeking the ditch and were hypnotized by it's epic ditchness. One scrawny Joshua Tree stood guard over the whole scene, a lone sentry, a sign of life in a dead landscape. Garratt felt the juice right away and found this nice lip to grind on. It's a perfect detour on the road to the high desert, and we'll be back soon, packing brooms of course.