Lately I've been missing Joshua Tree National Park. I have so many great memories of time spent there -- midnight hikes in the moonlight with friends, falling 40 feet while rock climbing without breaking a single bone, the first time I saw the springs, camping at Jumbo, photographing morning light at 4am.
Joshua Tree was also the place I would head to when I needed to figure things out or work out anger issues. Something about the desert space and these narled yuccas was able to clear my mind and help me find answers. It was a place of catharsis, where I could let negative emotion flow out of me and into the evil Teddy bear cholla.
There are several things I'm trying to work out in my life right now. And so I'm feeling the need for my Joshua trees, a space to escape to and ponder. I haven't found such a space in Istanbul and I really don't think one exists. It's so difficult to escape all the constant background noise, escape the throngs. You pretty much have to leave the city to find that, something which is currently not an option.
