Arizona To California

Flagstaff is in the mountains. It is surrounded my forests of pines. The mountain morning is nice to wake up to. The mornings are cool and refreshing. Sometimes a person can spot an elk, deer, or a coyote. You take a walk in the brisk air. It clears your head and allows you to think better. Your dog trots along side you. A rabbit runs across the pine laden path ahead of you. Your dog sees it but stays next to you. On your walk back to the vehicle you notice the birds singing around you. Their beautiful songs follow you all the way back.

You leave Flagstaff and get back on the freeway. The road is lined with pine trees. As you descend out of the mountains the morning gets warmer and the trees open up to valleys of sagebrush and tall Saguaro cactuses. You get closer to Phoenix with every passing second. There are some houses here and there, but mostly the land is dry, cracked desert. There are also some hills with a couple dead trees. You see a sign for an exit for a road to Prescott. You think about how thirsty this land is. Not even 4 years ago a fire ripped through the forest near Prescott and killed some firefighters. The whole entire west is thirsty for water. The drought is killing off plants and in turn animals.

Finally, you make it to Phoenix. It is just about in the center of the state. The city has palm trees and palmettos, but it also has the plant common in the state. The cactus. In almost every single yard. you can spot one or more cactus. They are abundant like rats in a sewer. They are a pest in ways. You certainly don't want to trip and fall on one. The sharp spines jut out of the skin like giant needles. It is as though they are waiting for some to touch them. The buildings are stucco, concrete, and brick. And most of them are white, desert tan, or a red-brown. There are some taller building in downtown. They have to stand in the heat of the sun under the constant beating of its rays.

After you get out of Phoenix the land rises and falls. The hills are riddled with a variety of cactuses species. Some are the most popular, Saguaros, others you don't know the name to but they stand tall their arms and other types of appendages reach out to give the sky a hug. When you near the border of California the land starts to loose so many cactuses and plants. You start to see land that is riddled with giant boulders the size of cars and pickups. Some are even as big as a truck. Some boulders are balancing on top of other smaller ones. These hills, then fall away to reveal the Sultan Sea. It is a massive lake, like a sea. But because of the severe drought in California, the lake's water level is very low. The water levels have pulled back, allowing you to see whole docks, plants that used to be hidden in the cool depths, and even an old rowboat that had been sunk.

You reach the outskirts of San Diego. The freeway grows to 6 lanes wide. It is dark and you can see the lights of the city. The lights go on for hundreds of miles. It is late enough that you don't get stuck in rush hour. You park near the San Diego Zoo. You are so tired you can almost hear your bed calling you. You drag yourself into the blankets and crash.