The Tao and the desert

This morning I was again reading the Taoteching, and its message seemed particularly appropriate to our Journey:

Yes and no
aren't so far apart
lovely and ugly
aren't so unlike 

 
Then I read Wang P'ang's commenatry on this passage:  

"Everything changes into its opposite.  Beginning follows end without cease.  But people think everything is either lovely or ugly.  How absurd.  Only the sage knows that the ten thousand ages are the same, that nothing is gained or lost."

Small view of typical desert terrain - Big Bend National Park 

Edge of the Desert - Big Bend National Park 

Native flowers in Desert Hot Springs, CA 

Closeup of cactus plant in Saguaro National Park 

Century plant in Big Bend National Park 

Joshua tree in Joshua National Park 

Texas Canyon on I-10 

Flowering Barrel Cactus - Saguaro National Park 

Saguaro National Park 

On the way

Our first stop after leaving Houston was Fort Stockton.  When we got there we knew we were on the way, beginning to move into the desert.

Glenn leaning on the big tourist attraction of Fort Stockton, Texas. 

Comforts

Although we enjoyed the desert, we also enjoyed our respites from it.  Below are photos of the some of the comforts of our trip, including time with our loved ones.

Richard, Ernestine, Cameron, Dal and Helen in the backyard of their fabulous home in Simi Valley, CA - July 9, 2004 

Bogainvilla at brother's house 

Ernestine by her Bogainvilla vine 

Entrance to Marriott's Shadow Ridge Resort, Palm Desert, CA 

One of the the great pools in Shadow Ridge resort 

Helen and Richard doing some reading in our unit at Marriott's Shadow Ridge Resort in Palm Desert, CA 

Helen and Richard with Aunt Marie in her home in Torrance, CA - July 9, 2004