CHAPTER VI
Mojave Desert to The Sierra

How right Bernice was. The Mojave was no laughing matter. It was dry. In fact, it was everything we had expected. No sand dunes, date palms, dancing harem girls, here. Just miles and miles of miles, and miles of rock and scrub,

The only visual excitement were Johusa trees growing to 20 feet tall, covered with sharp toothed leaves. A curious plant, it is ironically related to the lily. It was well named by early Mormon pioneers for a Biblical lieutenant of Moses who supposedly, with arms held high made the sun stand still in the sky to allow time for a battle to be won.

These trees, even in forests gave little shade, or relief from the heat, which was unbearable. In the desert, "unbearable" and "impossible," took on new meanings. Thus far we always had a choice of alternatives, even if one was undesirable, the other, dangerous. In a sinister land where a savage sun stood still, we just had to endure. Time was measured by slow hoofbeats. Every foot forward meant that a mile had been reduced from 5,640 feet to 5,639. It was that intense of a struggle.

Yet, there is a fascination in experiencing a desert that creates a love/hate relationship with the land. Perhaps being 'touched' by the sun could be a reason. An example, of course, is the old prospector, and faithful burro, searching for a valid reason to leave the hell that is his home, while secretly hoping that day will never come .

There have been a number of beautifully done books that describe a desert from the point of view of a hawk riding a thermal updraft. Big, bold, brazen. And then, there are adventure writers that exploit the harshness almost to the point of exaggeration. But, however dramatic the words, or striking the photographs, they cannot explain the significance of what a desert really is unless you have mingled your tracks with those of horned toads.

We all suffered. Lips dried and cracked. It almost was necessary to "bite" a breath out of the superheated air. Doing so, our teeth became covered with a dull gray dust. The humidity was so low, it felt as if moisture was being evaporated deep inside our bodies. Instead of "melting down" under a hot sun, the fate that would befall the unfortunate here would be a "shriveling up," to be blown away on an endless wind.