Hike to the Wild Grapevines

Did you know that there are wild grapevines growing in the desert?

Well, there are. And when we heard about it, we all jumped into the car to investigate. At first the trail didn't look too promising. 

Lots of rock, lots of sand, lots of desert, lots of sage. 

But we kept walking and walking and walking, through the sage, through the rock, through the sun... 

...and then, there! Around the bend! GREEN! The actual color of green that looks like green. We don't get much of that here as most of our green has so much brown in it that it almost doesn't feel green at all. 

I can't believe I didn't get a picture of just the landscape, but you can see the vibrant color of it in the background of these pictures:

Grapevines. Who knew?

Lovely. 

The trails through the grapevines were narrow, and plentiful, and while it was only a small area, it felt like a true oasis.

A short continuation led us to these reeds that grew along a small stream. Zoomed out like this it doesn't look all that impressive, but it felt impressive to my thirsty eyes.

Just like the reeds in this picture, sometimes the pockets of peace feel small in a largely barren landscape, but if you angle your lens in just the right way and focus on that peace, you can still create some beautiful moments.

Carson wasn't thrilled when I asked him to pick up Maisy for a photo, but he scooped her up without complaint. I only knew he didn't want to because of subtle body language and that super fake smile. 

I learned after the shot that it was because Maisy's paws were wet and he didn't want to get dirty...Which made a whole lotta sense to me and which I keep remembering every time I see that wet spot on his shorts up there. It makes me feel all sorts of things for this oldest son of mine. He is an obedient soul, still learning how to express his own desires and wishes, sure, but I predict that his obedience will take him far in life. I remember the first time I noticed that obedience in him... he was crawling-on-the-floor years old, making his way to an electrical outlet. From the couch I said, "Carson, no..." fully expecting to have to put down my work and go physically redirect him, but instead he stopped and craned his neck back over his shoulder to look at me to make sure he got the message right. "No, Carson," I said again, pointing to the outlet. And he turned and crawled another way. 

I was shocked! My sweet McKenzie would have increased her speed towards the outlet had she caught wind of the fact that I might be coming to stop her! (Let's be clear, she has a million strengths, too.) But Carson listened, then obeyed. And he's been making that choice ever since. Even in as something as small as a request to "pick up Maisy and let me get a picture of you two!" 

Anyway, that's just a tangent in a post about wild grapevines. 😂