Life is Like Joshua Trees

On the way driving back from San Francisco this past week, we visited the Joshua Tree National Park to see the incredibly unusual, mysterious, other-worldly-looking Joshua trees. The beauty of the trees and the park certainly lived up to its reputation.

The park has two distinctly different sections: the cooler higher Mojave Desert and the arid lower Colorado Desert. Joshua Trees are, of course, the main draw for Joshua Tree National Park, but another interesting feature is the Cholla Cactus Garden located at the merger of the two deserts.

The Cholla cactus, nicknamed the teddy bear cactus, is perhaps the cutest cactus, but one teddy bear you can not hug! On the right is a photo of the glowing cacti at early sunrise.

The higher and cooler Mojave Desert is the special habitat for the Joshua tree, or officially know as Yucca brevifolia. It turns out that Joshua tree is not really a "tree," in that it does not produce a trunk with annual rings. The Joshua Tree grows as a vertical stem with no branches for the first few decades until the first blossoms appear. After the blossoms drop off, new leaves grow beneath this dead portion and a new branch begins its growth. The new stem grow rigidly in a totally different direction. Each branching stem also abruptly ends its growth after blossoming, and further branches veer off in new directions. After many years, Joshua trees develop a complex system of twisted branches growing in many directions. Adding to the intricacy, Joshua trees are top-heavy and they are often wind-blown and tilted over in some of the more barren areas with extreme wind. The balance between this unique growth pattern and the struggle against gravity and wind, is the secret to the individuality of each Joshua tree's appearance.

With some imagination, it seems each tree resembles a person with a different gesture and each with its own unique personality. Many branches of the trees are reminiscent of arms pointing up to the heavens, alive and breathing against the beautiful sky at sunset.

Considering the current environment, there were more visitors than I had anticipated at the park for all sorts of activities including rock climbing, hiking, camping, and casual family outing. Even with everyone wearing a mask, it is very easy to forget about the pandemic when you are out in the nature and unplugged from the rest of the world. We all need some time away, and now more than ever.

While hiking in the park, I saw someone wearing a T-shirt with a very fitting quote: “life is like a cactus, thorny and beautiful”. Upon seeing the Joshua trees, I like to think that life is more like Joshua trees, mysterious, unpredictable, and living through struggles with resilience. It is the individual struggle which makes every one unique and life beautiful.

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