A Virtual Visit to the East Mojave

First, let me confirm that I am still here.  I apologize for neglecting my wonderful dedicated followers.  I have been so busy with other things that I simply have not had a spare moment to post anything. 

What has kept me away?  Well... it all relates to the desert.  My husband and I are knee-deep in the final editing and layout of a book being published by the organization we volunteer for (the Mojave Desert Heritage & Cultural Association, for those who might be interested).  I have also been busy pulling together some of my desert photos for two calendars to sell (I hope!) during the annual get-together for the organization's membership the first weekend of October.  One is scenes around the East Mojave and one is wildflowers and cactus flowers that are found there.  You can check them out at my Zazzle store.  All of this is very fun stuff, just time consuming.

Anyway, since I finally had a moment I thought I'd share one of my favorite places in the East Mojave.  This is a photo of Ford Dry Lake, taken in early October 2004.  The plant on the left is catclaw acacia and that's cholla on the right.  The mountains in the distance are the Woods Mountains.  Ford Dry Lake is named after the Ford family, who homesteaded there in the early 1900s.  It's a particularly quiet, peaceful part of the desert, as not many people wander that far off the main roads.  It's a beautiful valley and would have been a really nice place to live.  I know a lot of people find the desert to be rather desolate, but I think the silence and scenery are divine.

And on that note, I bid you adieu until I find the next opportunity to reappear.  Also, please be assured that I am keeping up with reading your comments and am trying to respond as much as possible.  I do always love hearing from you!

Not merely an absence of noise, Real Silence begins when a reasonable being withdraws from the noise in order to find peace and order in his inner sanctuary.

~ Peter Minard