A trip to Prescott College for a colloquium (and to visit my son) breaks my writing routine and has brought me into a drier, sunnier winter. A 24 hour detour to the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix gave me a a taste of a desert spring. It also fulfilled a long-held fantasy of walking among the saguaros. The desert – green and lush from recent rains – did not disappoint. A hike up the Peralta Trail one afternoon and on the Hieroglyphic Trail the next morning sated my Sonoran desires for now.
Saguaro in Superstition Mountains
I also discovered a beautiful new word to roll around on my tongue: bajada. Those alluvial fans sloping down from the mountains – covered in diverse cactus, small trees and shrubs, green grass and broadleaf shoots – are as beautiful as the word.
I can’t imagine living in such a dry climate, but visiting here in February is glorious. I’m still trying to figure out what my obsession for saguaro is about. I sense an essay in there somewhere.
Arroyo Below the Hieroglyph Trail, Superstition Mountains
A part-time affiliation as graduate advisor in the Master of Arts Program at Prescott College looks likely. So I’ll have plenty of excuses for flying down here now and then to further explore and ponder my desert longings.
