Camping with Cacti by the Light of the Full Moon – A Challenge in the Desert

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument © 2013 Bo Mackison

“Every challenge you encounter in life is a fork in the road. You have the choice to choose which way to go – backward, forward, breakdown or breakthrough.”  ~ Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha

I love the desert.

This was a surprise to me when I first visited the Southwest.

I had driven through a part of the Mojave Desert on a family vacation many years ago, and I do not remember my reaction, negative or positive. So it came as a surprise to me when I visited Arizona and the Sonoran Desert in 2008 and had an immediate, visceral connection with this arid landscape.

I felt as if I had finally found my home.

The first time I lived in the desert for any length of time, it was a challenge on all counts. It was the first time I lived away from my husband and family for an extended time. I had lived a protected life for many years, and challenging myself to come to Arizona, alone, was a big deal. I was responsible for taking care of everything.

I succeeded, but it was difficult. There were times I found myself crying in frustration, angry that doing the grocery shopping or filling the car with gas were such obstacles. I was anxious when I had to drive after dark or when I got lost in a strange part of the city. I struggled to accomplish the daily routines I believed everyone else did with ease.

My second winter in Arizona, I learned to not only live by myself, but thrive while doing so. I explored southern Arizona, traveling the back roads and byways. I found my footing.

The third year was more difficult. I stayed longer and I had fewer visits from family and friends. But again I did quite well, and when it was time to return to the Midwest, I drove cross-country, solo. Another milestone, hard-earned, but I was proud that I was gradually accomplishing more and more.

This year, my fourth year, I was pleased that I was once again thriving in Arizona.  (I had the added advantage of extended visits from Sherpa every month, which was a great bonus.)

And then . . . I decided to go primitive camping in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, a three-hour drive from my Arizona home.

Camping with Cacti

Camping with Cacti © 2014 Bo Mackison

“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”
~ Helen Keller

The day I drove to Organ Pipe was a perfect desert day – moderate temperatures, deep blue skies, calm weather.

I dictated brief scraps of travel tidbits into my phone recorder as I drove, and then stopped at a roadside cafe for lunch before entering the park. I was in no hurry – I had the whole afternoon and evening for setting up camp and exploring, and tomorrow too.

I spent an hour enjoying a home cooked meal and writing in my journal.

By the time I left, the temperature had soared into the 90s and the wind had picked up. Neither heat nor high winds had been forecast, so this was unexpected, but not particularly unusual. I signed in at the campground, found an isolated site, and pitched my tent amidst saguaro and organ pipe cacti.

The winds made setting up the tent a challenge, and it didn’t help that I had forgotten my mallet back in Tucson. I still set up the tent, using a rock to pound in the stakes, but I ended up with cut hands from the sharp edges of the rock.

I did remember the first aid kit, and bandages, and that was a good thing.

Then off I went to explore with camera in hand. By the time I returned to camp to prepare my dinner, the winds had quieted, and the evening was immeasurably pleasant.

After the sun set, the skies were dark and it was a treat to take in the night skies.

Every star shimmered and danced in its glory. And then the moon rose – a full moon. Large as a saucer, brilliant with a few wispy clouds drifting across her face. The desert was awash with moonlight, nearly as light as on a stormy day. It was a moment to treasure.

But then, as if an early morning alarm clock had shrieked and blinked wildly, the desert awoke. The desert life joined in the noise making. Coyotes howled, birds squawked, dark furry things ambled along the dirt road, slithery sounds emerged from the tall grasses.

None of these sounds are new to me. I walk the desert several times a week. But it seemed totally different in the eerily moonlit desert. It wasn’t quite light enough to see well, but my hearing took on a well-tuned acuity. Suddenly I heard anything, and everything.

There was only one reasonable alternative I could think of  — zip myself into my tent and call it a night. I briefly considered pulling up camp and driving home. Too far. I also considered screaming that the desert was coming to life and I was afraid, but that seemed quite unreasonable. Plus I figured it would attract the wrong kind of attention. Nor did I want to succumb to a panic attack in the light of the silvery moon? No way.

So I zipped myself into my tiny tent and willed myself to get drowsy and fall into a blissful sleep.

That did not happen. I did not fall asleep until it was nearly time to get up. That is the unfortunate news.

But there were a lot of positives, too. I stayed (mostly) calm throughout the long night, drowsing a bit, then waking up to the moonlit desert and momentarily thinking the sun was rising. Disappointed? Yes. But still calm and in control.

I now have first hand proof that meditation and deep breathing are indeed helpful, even when a desert creature is rubbing against the ropes that stake the tent into the earth. Even when the tent is wobbling a bit.  And I can also practice meditation and calming while armed with a hiking stick – just in case the tent wobbling gets out of control.

Early Morning Coffee in the Desert

Early Morning Coffee in the Desert © 2013 Bo Mackison

There’s always a story. It’s all stories, really.
The sun coming up every day is a story. Everything’s got a story in it.
Change the story, change the world. ~ Terry Pratchett

Did I mention that the sun did rise through a haze of low clouds, and burst onto the desert scene, a white blaze?

Or that I crawled out of the tent, all in one piece, and immediately set up my backpacker stove to heat water for coffee?

Or that a cup of French press coffee after a long, wakeful night is one of the best morning gifts I can imagine?

Or that I was pretty darned pleased with myself for surviving an uneventful night in the desert, even if I did let myself get freaked out by the full-moon-night-concert-in-the-desert?

Or that I still love the desert?

Yes, indeed!

Challenge – A Desert Wisdom Card

Challenge

Approaching Storm © 2014 Bo Mackison

Sometimes the darkest challenges, the most difficult lessons, hold the greatest gems of light. ~ Barbara Marciniak

The desert is not all cacti and spaciousness.

Although much of the land is open, some desert habitats, especially the desert scrub lands, are open range.  An occasional four strand barbwire fence follows the roadways, separating cattle from vehicles, and these barbed wire fences get entangled with clusters of tumble weed. Bare branched mesquite trees add a touch of the macabre. High winds and encroaching dark clouds transform the high desert into a scene evoking apprehension and concern.

Traveling the back roads in the desert region is one of my joys, but it is not without its dangers.

When storms approach without warning and the winds blow sands that block my vision, I must deal with challenges of rough weather. I usually find a place to shelter, knowing that I have packed enough supplies to see me through a delay. And while I am frightened at times by the stormy weather, once the clouds move on and the sun rays filter through the clouds, I appreciate the desert-scape bathed in golden light.

Without dark clouds and stormy weather for comparison, I wouldn’t be as appreciative of blue skies and gentle desert breezes.

There are no great people in this world, only great challenges which ordinary people rise to meet. ~ William Frederick Halsey, Jr.

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This is the second card in the preview of the second series of the Desert Wisdom Cards, now in the production stage. The words on the new series of cards are letter pressed, the 16 photographs for the second set are chosen and printed. The cards are mostly cut and trimmed. Still to come are  assembly, packaging, and creating a new folio for this series. I’ll announce availability (soon) on my blog and in my newsletter.

Hanging On? Time to Let Go!

Hanging On

Hanging On, and Then… © 2013 Bo Mackison

“Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength.
However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it.”
~ Ann Landers

The old ways are so comfortable. I know this.
I hesitate when told it’s time to let go,
take flight…where am I going?
The possibilities rise endlessly,
questions to ponder, details, details.
No time for planning, just let go.

The leaf releases, takes flight,
precious, brief, free fall, wind drift. Swirl.
Does it land upon the earth – field or garden?
Blow across the prairie, catch upon a protruding stalk?
Drift into the lake, sink to the muddy bottom?

Feed the earth, feed the garden,
decomposing, new earth, crumbly and nutritive?
Wither on the stalk, get torn apart by biting winds?
Sink into the wet, matted and slimy,
transform into a home, a hiding place, for tiny critters?

I let go of the familiar,
fly away with the unpredictable winds.
The future is unknown, my game of possibility.
Though I’d plotted my course, only an unexpected gust,
and I’m in new territory, unexplored places
frightening, exciting.

Oh, the challenges ahead!
Forward, then, with open eyes, open mind, open heart.

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Bo Mackison is photographer, book-maker, collector of stories, naturalist, curator and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Life is one continual opportunity for change – sometimes adapting to those changes is as adventurous as riding a leaf in a windstorm.

Driving in Tucson – And a Visit to Tucson Botanical Gardens

"Daddy's Old Sportcoat" Cactus

“Grandpa’s Old Sports Coat” Cactus © 2011 Bo Mackison

This cactus isn’t really named “Grandpa’s Old Sports Coat”, but honestly, my grand-dad had a coat with this exact plaid pattern in the mid 1960s. He never wore yellow flowers on the top of his head, not that I remember, but still. It made me laugh. And I needed some laughing the day I visited with these plants.

It was the day I finally decided to drive in Tucson proper. It seemed time to get to know the city. For over two weeks, I’d been avoiding the busier roads, because that’s how I drive. Even in mid-sized Madison, I often choose to drive through the city rather than drive the more efficient expressway. I’m not one who particularly likes to drive when there’s lots of swerving in and out of traffic. But, being solo in Tucson means there is no one else to hand the car keys to, so I drive. Sigh!

Star Lines

Star Lines © 2011 Bo Mackison

I planned on making only three stops, first two stores and then the Tucson Botanical Gardens. I found my first destination, the bookstore. I wanted to get a decent map of Tucson, and it made sense to go there first. Later, when my iPhone ran out of power and I no longer had my “cheater” map on my phone, I was glad to have the paper map. Inconvenient though it was to keep pulling off the road to check the map, at least I had a vague idea where I was.

Actually, vague isn’t quite true. I was “lost and found” a half dozen times on that first day driving unfamiliar city streets. But I kept finding my way through.

What was it that Robert Frost said? “The only way out is through.” (It was Frost, I looked up the poem, it’s in A Servant to Servants, I always thought that poem unusual, but interesting.) And here I thought he was talking about getting out of a challenging situation, or walking through  life when you hadn’t the energy for one more step.

I didn’t realize it was a perfectly appropriate quote for my driving habits, too.

A Thorny Situations

A Thorny Situation © 2011 Bo Mackison

After an hour of driving in circles–the one-way streets are always going the wrong way–I decided I couldn’t get too terribly lost if I kept heading south, then west, then south, then west. It worked. I wove my way through the streets, and finally arrived at a place that looked familiar. Whew!

In the middle of all that lost driving, I stumbled upon the entrance to the Tucson Botanical Gardens. The house which belonged to the donor of the gardens (once a thriving landscaping business) is now the visitor center and gift store. I wandered through several gardens, including the childrens garden, a sensory garden, and a little Zen garden, though I didn’t see everything. Next time.

A few of the cactus looked like they had seen better days. The cactus have good reason for looking a little disheveled. Tucson and much of Arizona had record freezing temperatures a couple of weeks ago. The cacti are not adapted for temperature drops to 13 degrees. A docent I spoke with said it would be quite awhile before they knew the full impact of the cold spell, but many plants, including the aloe and the prickly pear, looked like they might not recover.

Packer Green and Gold in Tucson?

Packer Green and Gold in Tucson? © 2011 Bo Mackison

I never did make it to my third stop – the REI on the other side of town. I wanted to get one of those snazzy flashlights that have a stretchy band like a head band. You can wear the light around your head, like a miner’s lamp, and then your hands are free for holding camera equipment and hiking sticks when you get caught a half mile from the trail and it gets dark. I think the sun sets more rapidly in Arizona than it does in Wisconsin.

When I was at the botanical gardens, I was quite remiss in getting proper IDs for these plants. I took their photographs because they had such interesting details, but quite forgot about checking names. I even found a green and gold plant–do you think there are a lot of Green Bay Packer fans in the Southwest?

This post has been a rambling affair tonight. It’s been a long day, not driving around town or taking photos, but doing paperwork. Yes, even in Tucson, even on days that are utterly delightful, there are days when work needs to be done.

Actually, I am quite thrilled. I was invited to participate in a summer’s worth of shows in the Chicago area. And so today–for eight straight hours–I filled out paperwork and other goodies that were required for the five shows I’ll be doing. Then I had to dash to the post office before closing time to send the papers express mail. It’s exciting news and it is a great way to start planning my summer art fair season.

Now to take a little time for some R & R, and then I’ve another drive planned for tomorrow. But not in the city. I’m heading to the mountains!

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is living in Tucson for two months, exhibiting her photography in art shows, taking photographs, and blogging about photography, art fairs, and living life “solo.”  And she is discovering more than she had anticipated.