En route to Mexico Laura and I spent a week at our unofficial second home, my parent’s house in Green Valley, Arizona. We’ve been lucky enough to have my parents open this door for us a few times this year. In between all our errands, sorting, and packing for Mexico, we sat around talking and eating. But none of us like to sit home idle, so we decided a day trip would provide a little fun.
Now my parents idea of a day trip is to get in the car and take the long picturesque route. At the destination get out and look around for 30 minutes. Then make the 5 hour scenic drive back home. Well it might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but they are definitely more willing than Laura and I to take long drives for a short look around.
Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area was the proposed destination. My mom swore that the drive, 2 hours each way, wasn’t really that long, that it was a beautiful drive, and the thousands of migrating cranes we would see were worth it. With a little hesitation about the drive-to-look around ratio, I said yes to the excursion.
The single lane back country roads led us through the bare dusty landscape of the Arizona desert. Occasionally we passed through small towns with a scatter of buildings and a four way intersection, then we’d disappear into the nothingness again.
After 2 hours of driving I finally saw the shimmy and shine of water off in the distance. It really was an oasis in the middle of the desert.
We climbed out of the minivan and started down the dirt path that circled through the marsh. Grasses and trees poked out of the shallow water. The water was as still and calm as a sheet of glass. Each blade and branch being reflected back in the surface. The only ripples were caused by ducks and water birds that swam here and there searching for their dinner.
Happy to be out of the car and starting our walk.
The sandhill cranes that flock to this water oasis.
We could hear the thousands of cranes before we could see them, their calls echoing off the water and mountains. As we neared the first bend in the path we saw the large flock of cranes in front of us. The serious birders and photographers had their big lens set up and were waiting for the birds to take flight. We stopped and watched several waves of the cranes take off before continuing on.
A group of cranes taking flight.
For the next hour and half we slowly zigzagged through the wildlife area. Despite the very noisy chirping and whopping of the cranes, there was a serene calmness. I could feel the stillness, the solitude of being in the middle of a flood plain in the desert.
The sun disappeared behind the western mountains leaving the eastern range glowing in a yellow orange light which faded to red purple as the sun continued dropping. Just before the last color dipped out of the sky we climbed back into the van for the 2 hour ride home.
Dusk settling in.
Reflections in the afternoon light.
A lone tree casting a reflection in the water.
Us enjoying the end of the afternoon sunlight.
So was exploring for an hour and a half worth the 4 hours of driving? Yes. I’m still not sure I’ll take up my parents’ style of day trip on a regular basis, but I’ll be more open to the possibility. One of the important aspects of travel, and life, is being open to change and new ideas. Because if I had stuck to my notions of a day trip I would have missed out. I wouldn’t have experienced the calm and peace I felt as the birds took flight and the sun set over the mountains.
The last of the light before we left.
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