The Quiet of a Winter Night in the Anza-Borrego Desert

Winter in the Anza-Borrego Desert, east of San Diego - 8 pm, and we’ve been tucked in our sleeping bags, inside our tent, for the past hour. The rain has started up again. Earlier, the moon shone through a break in the fast-moving storm clouds, so we ventured out for one last bit of the desert night sky before hunkering down in our cozy tent for the night.

8 pm – earlier than I went to bed as a child. But that is one of the pleasures of camping – living by your natural circadian rhythms – to bed with the night sky and arising with the dawn. I have a feeling the storm will give way to a glorious morning, with the post-rain freshness and vitality I love.

So now I sit here listening to the patter of the rain on the tent – coming down hard, then just a light tap, barely discernable.

It has stopped – for now. I love the quiet out here. The kind of quiet that simply is not available in the midst of urban life. The kind of quiet you don’t realize you miss until you experience it. The kind of quiet that allows your soul to take a deep, satisfying breath and sink into the bliss. Only the mellow, smooth, whooo, whooo of the hoot owl, somewhere in the desert badlands next to us. A sound that welcomes us to this home away from home – this oasis of peace.

Here I can simply Be, and feel enveloped in nature’s welcoming arms. Sometimes I laugh, or cry, or simply smile – that sweet inner smile that says aaahh, I’m home, and all is well with the world.

There’s the rain again. I think I’ll allow it to lull me to sleep, my heart, my creative self, satisfied – for it is here that I can truly hear what calls to me … it is here that I can become myself.

Comments

[Christina Solstad]

Hi Lawrence,

Thanks so much for stopping by, and taking the time to comment! And thanks for the work you are doing to preserve the beauty and solitude of Anza-Borrego.

I'm not familiar with Oriflamme Canyon, but I did check it out on the web - looks like I'll need to explore it one of these days. Sounds like the place a friend of mine explored and recommended a while back.

The photo was taken in the Thimble Trail area (off S22), looking across to Villager Peak and Rabbit Peak. It was spectacular with the fresh snow.

I love going out to Anza-Borrego for little mini-backpack trips to get away from the city. Places like Anza-Borrego and Chaco Canyon are definitely good for my soul.

[Lawrence Hogue]

Beautiful thoughts on the value of silence! From the photo I'm going to guess that you were somewhere around Oriflamme Canyon, maybe on the PCT? There are many places in Anza-Borrego where you can experience this silence -- slot canyons and lonely mountain tops.

Follow this link to see a spot near Anza-Borrego where several groups hope to bring the silence back, after 40 years of motorized onslaught. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whCyUyPfa_s