The Creosote Bush

When we moved to Ft. Irwin, California, we were going to be living in the Mojave Desert, right next to Death Valley. I was expecting Jacob and it was also our first year of homeschooling. I didn't really know what I was doing but I decided that since we were going to be living in the desert we ought to learn about it.

So I bought a book about desert life and made copies of the pages for Nick and Sam. They would color the pictures while I read to them about the different aspects of desert life. We'd look in our Audubon Society Nature Guide at the color photos to help us know how to color the creatures. It was pretty interesting.

Our desert was covered in the creosote bush. Everywhere. So when Jacob was born the following May I decided to take a picture of all the boys sitting beneath a creosote bush to send out with his birth announcements.

Fred (3 yrs.), Sam (6 yrs.) holding Jake, and Nick (almost 8): 1993

Living at Ft. Irwin was kid-heaven for the boys. They loved it! I didn't have the same feelings, but I will say it was an interesting time. If you ever drive on I-15 through Barstow, California (where we also did actually live until we got on post) you'll see a small sign that says "Ft. Irwin 30 miles" and it is just that, 30 miles into even MORE nothingness! That's where we lived.

Four years ago we took a family vacation to Disneyland and Catalina Island, where Doug and I went on our honeymoon (Catalina, not Disneyland). We had always planned this vacation for our 20th anniversary/family birthday. On the drive home we stopped at Ft. Irwin to see all the old sights.

One of the things I wanted was a photo of everyone under a creosote bush. And here is the 2004 version of the creosote bush:

Sam (17), Jake (11), Fred (14), Abbie (5), Nick (19), and Doug

As I've been organizing my photos all summer I've been able to see the connections between photos, and better yet, I'm able to put my hands on the photos when I want them! I love seeing these two photos together. They are soon to be on a scrapbook page, but I wanted to tell this story here first.

With the passage of time I will even admit that maybe it wasn't so bad living in the desert. It was kind of fascinating.