In time we learned to love the desert. This was one of our favorite spots. The first picture is taken along the banks of a dry river bed, or wash. During the rare times when we had rain, water would run off the Big Maria Mountains (in the distance) and flash-flood the washes. The road between Midland and Blythe dipped down through all the washes. It was dangerous to drive through them during a storm as there was a chance of being caught in a flood. Sometimes large boulders would wash into the road which made driving even more dangerous.

This particular wash (see picture below) would hold water for up to two weeks, spawning the most unusual life for the desert, such as toads and some type of crustation called Fairy Shrimps. The number of trees lining the wash is also testimony to the moisture in the ground in this area.