THE JOSHUA ELEGY
The Joshua Elegy
The first time I visited Joshua Tree, I was about 8 years old. Most of what I remember about that camping trip centers around two things- clambering around on huge rock forms that were so textured by the weather that it was like walking on flypaper, no matter how steep the rock, you didn’t slip! Utterly magical. The other thing I remember was my dad patiently extracting cholla spines from my sister’s arm and our dog’s snout with a pair of pliers. More than 60 years later, I still give the chollas a wide berth!
