Christmas morning 2021 dawned windy and cold in the desert, threatening more rain. It could have been any winter day, other than we’ve held onto the tradition of playing Santa for one another and filling the Christmas stockings we hung up earlier in the week (without a hearth, we chose the sides of the prettiest wooden chair in the house). Is opening presents over tea and coffee ever a bad idea? The cat played with the ribbons while we assessed our new wares and discussed the hike of the day.
We got out to another trail in the Black Rock Canyon in the Northwest corner of Joshua Tree National Park late morning, choosing the Burnt Hill fork in the trail, a gradual, sandy ascent through a cacti, Juniper and Joshua Tree-filled valley. The wind was blowing so hard, there wasn’t much in the way of visible bird or wildlife — a few low-flying sparrows and one Red-tail Hawk likewise flew low from a juniper at out of our sight at our approach. The flora was visible changed from earlier in the week after the recent rains: the Joshua Trees themselves more vividly green while the cacti had a slight glow to them. The wind-scoured sky offered up clear vistas of the surrounding mountains.
We saw no one else on the trail! Which is not to say the park wasn’t crowded: The trailhead was parked up and the nearby campground crowded. This was simply not the most popular trail, which in Covid times, was that much more welcome.
I had a slight fear of missing out when we left town for the week, but with Omicron on the rise, I felt better about opting for a holiday retreat rather than reunion. My own family has gradually broken down over the years to the point that if I hadn’t sent a text to my siblings, I doubt we would have been in touch at all. To fill my yawning familial gaps, I’ve customarily traveled, gathered with friends, or, since we’ve owned a home, hosted a holiday open house for our chosen communities. All this desert earth has held us well this week, but human connection is still vital.
So we did as so many have done for the past two years, gathering virtually with Kwame’s relatives who Zoomed in from various part of the country to connect with others. We wore Santa hats and offered up our seasonal ditty, a sliver of our creative output this week:
Though its cold out in so many ways
Let’s give thanks and fill our days
With love and cheer and lots of play
And celebrate
Happy holidays, happy holidays to you …