When I tell people from other climes that I’m from the Sonoran Desert, I love interpreting their reactions. A slight wince means they define “desert” as sand and thorns. A half-hearted grin means, “oh yeah… my cousin lives there… she has a pool … it’s not half bad.” My favorite, though, is that eloquent knowing smile shining from the eyes, saying, “I’ve been there, and the sun has warmed my soul.”
This article appears in Dec 3-9, 2015.
I first came here about 30 years ago for work and spent 3 weeks in town. I remember thinking to myself “I could live in this place”, but as a Brit living in Britland, it did not seem a realistic proposition.
Fast forward 20 years and circumstances had dictated a move here. I was bewitched from the very start. Yes there are plenty of thorns, and a lot of sand, but so very much life in this desert! The harsh conditions have conspired to create a wealth of unique, urgent and thoroughly beautiful flora and fauna. There is nowhere quite like it that I have ever visited on this Earth, and I have been to a great deal of it.
I don’t know how anyone who has smelled the mesquite after a desert monsoon could ever wish to leave this place 🙂
The creosote after a rain is a even more fragrant aroma.