Some things only seem spectacular the first time around. The hot salty bite of fresh French fries, or the first sip of a fast food chocolate malt. The highway from Flagstaff to Phoenix is one such experience (though as I was typing this, we caught sight of the first saguaro cacti of our trip, and all of a sudden I’m in love again). I first drove down this road in a shuttle to the PHX airport eight years ago. My driver was a middle aged Native American man who delighted at my enthusiasm for landscape and flora, regaling me on the three hour drive with stories of his life peppered with local plant knowledge and lore.
The saguaro is only found in its native habitat of the Sonoran Desert. Shooting up from the harsh soil, some remain single-stemmed while others branch out into many armed splendor. They are the most cactusy of cacti and I’m certain they inspired all of the images of cacti from my childhood cartoons. Since spring has followed us in our journey west and north, many of the saguaro are sporting crowns of jubilant white flowers. In a landscape characterized by sparse, low-growing vegetation, these majestic sentinels steal the show.
We were on our way to the airport for a 10-day parentheses in a little surf town on the Pacific coast of Mexico. Our week in Flagstaff ended up calling for rest and taking things slow. We are trying to conceive and when my cycle was late this month we got our hopes up. But no, not this month either. We also got some worrisome news from my side of the family and all of the emotional upheaval asked that we pause to soothe our battered hearts rather than keep up our usual antsy pace.
We stayed put, did laundry, got some much needed haircuts and processed our disappointment and worry. The number of couples I know who have struggled to conceive is truly astonishing. You hear a lot of theories about why this is happening to so many people in our generation, none of which I’ll explore here. Suffice it to say that there are many ways to make an already stressful situation worse and for someone as anxious and frustrated by failure as me, it can be difficult to keep my head in the game and not get caught up in whatever disaster stories I tell myself. Honey is a fountain of reason and optimism in those times, reassuring me time and again that it would be wonderful if we succeeded, but that we’ll ultimately be fine either way.
When our time in the campground in Flagstaff was up, we moved back to the Prescott National Forest near Jerome and camped at Potato Patch for nine nights. Our neighbors were mostly retirees who kept to their campsites and against whose dogs Goya guarded us fiercely. Partway through our stay a 74-year old old man got lost in the woods with his dog. The rescue team searched by air and foot for six days before finding the man’s body and his living, but exhausted and dehydrated dog still by his side. It was particularly hot that week and as you know, the southwest is experiencing severe drought right now, so water is not easily found in these mountains. How that dog survived such conditions for six days out of love and loyalty is beyond understanding. I hope it was of some comfort to the man’s wife to know that he died in the company of such a loving presence.
While at Potato Patch, we spent some time exploring Prescott (very cute with a lovely Western antiques district), hiking and doing some maintenance on our car. After an oil-change and new brakes and rotors, she’s ready for more adventures. Xav also had one of the best pizzas in the US so far, which was a real treat for this pizza enthusiast.
We’ve also been spoiled with the relentless march of spring across these desert landscapes. From Texas onwards spring has dogged our footsteps and charmed us with her many varied blooms. One of our hikes along Mingus Mountain was bordered on both sides by these delightful white flowered bushes. My only qualm was not seeing or hearing a single pollinator among the blooms.
Our time in Mexico will no doubt pass too quickly, but we’ll make the most of the ocean and enjoy the humidity. I know it’s odd, but a lifetime in the tropics has a way of getting under your skin! Although the surf may not be as good as we’d hoped, and this town may be experiencing a drought as well, we’re very glad to be here.