May has been terribly rainy - so I've been reading more than expected... about wandering the desert.This is my favorite of all Mr. Child's books - i usually revisit it yearly. As he explores the SW desert for weeks and months, he poetically takes us along to wonder at the complexities and incongruities the desert and her water hold. Using his words like watercolors, he paints beautiful scenes and exploration. Then he dives deep into the pools to explore historic, scientific, and any other interesting tidbits of details in the wildlife and behavior germinated by the water in this part of the world. Facinating and fun to read.
For example: "The rolling bajadas of the Sonoran Desert consist of arroyos to the horizon. Stared at closely, each part begins to look like a math problem, decipherable into some detail about water's appetite. Rocks are eaten by sudden water, but not in clumsy, formless bites. In the scream of a flood, consummate carvings are left behind. Careful scallops are taken from the faces of canyons. This is not random work. It is artistry distilled from madness."
