Dispatch: Somewhere near Barstow / by Ashley Tata

Rooftop brunch by the train. Food before flight. Fresno. Hugs and 666 and goodbyes for now.
And then there were two.

South on 101 towards Palm Springs. Traffic, traffic, traffic. Ah the thrill of “coming back” “flipping the light switch back on” get this economy moving.

We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert.

And stuck in traffic.

A second sequence of hugs and departure. Til.

Return to solitude. Car rolls to Joshua Tree. Arrive before the sun sets and the jewel of this destination: a hammock swaying in desert wind as the sun sets under a crescent moon. Howling.

Joshua Tree Moonrise from a hammock

Joshua Tree Moonrise from a hammock