Life moves fast, and every once in a while you get a glimpse into just how quickly time passes right before your eyes. One minute you're driving your baby home from the hospital and welcoming him into your home for the first time - then next he's talking to you in full sentences and wanting to do everything on his own. Life is beautiful and crazy and at times faster than I'd prefer. However, there are those places - the places that slow things down and allow you to experience moments in different and meaningful ways. Time felt like it moved a little slower in the desert. As I watched the sun go down I was completely lost in the beauty surrounding me. I'm sure if I lived here I'd find just as many things to fill my time with, but for this moment, I liked to imagine that time somehow passed by a little slower. 

It was late winter in Southern California, and the weather was a perfect combination of warm with a cool breeze. We'd been out exploring and spent the early part of the day in Palm Springs and wanted to spend the rest of the day in Joshua Tree National Park. As we approached we began seeing the Joshua Trees popping up around us. Driving up to the park we didn't realize how incredibly different and lovely it would be once we were inside. The best way to describe how I felt to be driving through this land was privileged. So often it feels like we allow nature to exist alongside whatever we're doing - an outsider. Inside Joshua Tree we were the outsiders; the ones allowed to come in for a glimpse.

We made our way through the winding roads of the park, stopping as much as possible to record the beauty. We came to the Cholla Cactus Garden. There were so many cacti that it was hard to take them all in visually. Each cactus was so unique telling its own story. As I looked around at the open landscape of the desert, I could literally see for miles. The rays of the setting sun turned the desert colors into a visual symphony.

Sometimes it can be easy to throw out words like "magical" to describe something that is beautiful and different than what you normally experience. Our time in Joshua Tree was something so much more than magical. It was truly something that can't merely be described with words.

I hope to go back again soon and get lost on a hike. Until next time. 

|  Credits: Author - Jacintha Payne; Photography - Calvin and Jacintha Payne  |