The Landscape Just Kept Changing: Hiking Within a Desert Kaleidoscope
As my wandering continued within Joshua Tree National Park, I began exploring the many boulders strewn out over this unique landscape. At times I was walking on flat ground, the sound of the sand or rock shifting beneath my steps. At other times, I was climbing up boulders, tunneling beneath them, or squeezing in through narrow spaces to reach new views. The variety in the landscape here is amazing, and it shifts and changes with every step the way a kaleidoscope changes with the slightest turn.
The further I explored, the more fascinated I became with all these shifts and changes around every corner. I began seeking out these changes--moving intentionally with the purpose of finding new perspectives. I would come across an interesting shaped boulder, and I would move around it, over it, under it--anything I could--just to experience it from different angles. The many shapes in the boulders, as well as the joshua trees and other plants, provided plenty of variety by themselves, but combined with the way the sunlight and shadows bathed their features, I had infinite possibilities to explore.
I always enjoy moment when I can become lost in the simplicity of something like this. Time slips by unnoticed and there's a growing sense of wonder that's almost tangible.
I think the contrast of different types of landscapes has an interesting effect here as well. It's not just these huge piles of towering boulders, but flat stretches of land as well. At times, I would scramble my way out through a maze of boulders and find myself gazing out at what seemed like an entirely different world--a flat expanse that gave space for the joshua trees to collect the breeze.