PHOTO ESSAY: Joshua Tree, Mojave Desert

 Spring in the California desert is a rare and miraculous time.  The bosom of the earth is fresh and open, fragrant and soft.  The surprise of desert bloom will make a believer out of crusty old cynics, and gift an open heart and soul with a memorable epiphany.

 The Joshua Tree Inn

All the folk-rockers stayed here:  The Byrds, Emmylou Harris, The Eagles, and Gram Parsons famously OD’d in Room 8 - you can still stay in it if you choose.

 

 Spring in the California desert is a rare and miraculous time.  The bosom of the earth is fresh and open, fragrant and soft, and the surprise of desert bloom will make a believer out of crusty old cynics, and gift an open heart and soul with a memorable epiphany.

The 77th Marine Regiment can deploy in 48 hours to anyplace on the globe from 29 Palms, and has fought in Desert Storm, Kuwait, Afganhistan, and many past conflicts.  Mojave Viper is based here, the most realistic live-fire exercise Marines undergo in training.

Support Squadron 374 is the largest expeditionary airfieldoperated by the Marines, and the Communications Electronics School trains for vital operations support for air and ground troups.

At the motel pool, in the restaurants, you see the families sitting around, waiting.  There’s a young man, in uniform or not, looking military.  Sometimes its a wedding, but you can bet it’s their goodbye weekend before he’s deployed far away.  Children jump joyfully into the pool, and we pack our picnic, binoculars, and sunscreen for our leisure excursion, feeling vaguely guilty until the sheer beauty of the desert day enters our hearts.