Mojave National Preserve - Discovering The Universal Reflector - 2007

 

Mojave National Preserve - Discovering The Universal Reflector

Nineteen days wandering in the deserts of America does not necessarily entitle one to any significant revelations. Still, I have had a few minor revelations that I would like to share with All. Maybe that is the point. We are All in this together. Whether I make the trip “out” and “back” on your behalf does not mean that you were not Present there with me, because we all know that you were.  The picture above shows my travel trailer in the vastness of the Mojave Desert.

When I was growing up, the Mojave Desert had connotations of heat, dryness and desolation. In July or August, that may be true, but as the seasons change, the desert becomes a place of solitude, refuge and the perfect example of Nature’s abundance. At times, the only sound one hears is the wind, or the buzzing of a fly. A quick hike up a nearby hill reveals a living paradise of plant life. From a barrel cactus blooming in the autumn Sun to the desert ant carrying his small and helpless hatchling to a new nest, it is all there for us to observe.

 

With almost 3000 miles “under my belt”, yesterday morning was time to quiet my mind. Removing my watch was the first step. Letting go of my trip Home was next. That morning was my last chance for solitude, reflection and the letting go of thoughts in favor of my feelings of the moment. Before me was a huge rock amphitheater. Taking off my glasses and starring at it revealed a universal truth. As a huge reflector of energy, that rock face Allowed me to project my Love out to All That Is and to receive Love back in equal measure.

 

After watching a busy desert ground squirrel dart around my campsite, I realized it was Now time for me to “get busy” as well. One last time, I broke camp, preparing for the twenty mile drive back to Interstate 40 and then on to Simi Valley and my reunion with Carrie McCoy. While searching for the “Hole in The Wall Campground" the night before, I had become lost and burned half a tank of gas before finding my way again. When I pulled into the only gas station on an eighty-mile stretch of the highway, I had refused to buy more than ten gallons of gasoline at their “highway robbery” prices of $4.39 per gallon. If nothing more, it allowed me to realize just how expensive the Old Energy fuels have now become. 

 

As I left camp, I decided to coast my rig as far as I could, thus saving fuel for the trip west on I-40. Coasting at an average of over thirty miles per hour for ten of the twenty miles did two good things for me. First, it allowed me to “make the grade” and get all the way to a gas station in Ludlow, fifty miles west of my entry point. Second, it delayed me thirty minutes, thus Allowing me to avoid this accident between a big rig and a pickup towing a trailer. As they say, “It could have been me”.

 

After nineteen days on the road, it was great to be home and spend the night in a dwelling that does not have a hitch on the front of it. Before we take our next trip, we have some projects planned, such as writing all about our recent adventures.  

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By James McGillis at 07:29 PM | Travel | Comments (0) | Link