A rattlesnake inspired this week’s inspiration photo. Yep. I know, I know. There is NO rattlesnake in this photo. That’s because I was running for my life. Actually, more like falling for my life. Let me explain.
The Accidental Hike
Last Wednesday, I headed to the Yucca Valley community center to try out their morning stretch class. I’d never been, but thought it might be fun. I got to the building, saw a guy in workout clothes go in, headed through the same door… and found nothing. No one. The front desk was unattended. All the rooms were empty. Not a soul in sight, including the guy in the workout clothes. Baffled, I left and instead headed to the Black Rock Canyon trailhead to do the two-mile loop.
A short way in, a narrow mountain bike trail caught my attention. The red-stemmed white-topped wildflowers down this path looked too cool to resist. Check out the video below to see for yourself.
The trail put me on the opposite side of where I’d planned to be. So I had an idea…
I’d take a shortcut over the hill.
I could see on the map that my parked car was directly opposite. The hill in question was pretty steep, but not all that high. I scrabbled up the sandy vertical, using my hands to help climb. The loose sand kept slipping out from under me, but I was determined to not let it whoop me. Finally, I could walk upright again and followed the overgrown path to the crest. Near the top, I spotted the most gorgeous Joshua Tree in full bloom. Spectacular! So fixated on the beauty, I failed to look at my feet as I stepped over a boulder.
That’s when I heard it.
A very loud and angry rattle.
I looked down to my hovering foot. Directly underneath was a rattlesnake, stretched across the narrow rocky trail. My foot was within an inch of making contact.
Oh, that bone-chilling sound.
Needless to say, I did not take a photo. Instead, I ran… no tumbled… down the steep hill I’d fought so hard to climb, spouting a series of expletives, the rattle still going strong, the weeds rustling. So sure he was racing down the hill trying to catch me, I lost balance and slid the rest of the way down the hill on my butt. Even then, I could still hear him rattling somewhere up above.
I’d seriously ticked him off.
The Up Side
Lesson learned, I stuck to the main trail and headed the long way back to my car… but somewhere I took a wrong turn.
And boy am I glad I did.
The trail went up to the ridge line, with the most extraordinary volume and variety of wildflowers, as you’ll see in this shaky video below.
It was magical. My planned couple-mile hike turned into a nearly nine-mile hike, thanks to my close encounter with a rattlesnake.
So yes. Even though I have only iPhone photos of wildflowers without the actual inspiration, this week’s inspiration photo is dedicated to the magnificent rattlesnake who led me to a spectacular wonderland of color. (Yes, mom. The snake was magnificent.)
Speaking of Mom…
Happy Mother’s Day!
My mommy is my best buddy. Her joyfulness inspires me every day!
Next Week’s Prompt:
Hmmmm. Not too inspired by this one since I don’t eat sugar. But perhaps I’ll do my own interpretation!
Stay tuned.
