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The Mojave is my home away from home. It's an arid region of southeastern California and small portions of northern Arizona, southern Nevada and southern Utah covering an area of 25,000 square miles. In principle much of the Mojave is relatively high is elevation, but low in rainfall. In fact, much of the Mojave, especially around the Death Valley region, sits at low elevation and is extremely low in precipitation. As a result the Mojave is the classic Saharan-style desert replete with sand dunes, rocky plateaus, sparse vegetation, sand and gravel basins, and slat flats. At higher elevations yucca and Joshua trees add an eerie presence to this moonscape.

The southern Mojave is the stuff of road movies and lost weekends. Dotted with lonely desert gas stations and dingy diners and bars, a trip through the Mojave is the ultimate American road trip as far as I am concerned. A stop at Roy's gas station at Amboy deep in the Mojave preserve, at least 100 miles from the next nearest gas, is a must. You can fill up with gas, have a coffee in the authentic 1950s diner, and stare out the window towards the parched wasteland of the Devil's playground. When you are ready to leave you will notice that not a single customer has entered since you arrived. Standing on the elevated forecourt of Roys you can see for 10 miles along the arrow-straight road in either direction. You are unlikely to see another vehicle. Now this is peace and quiet. Just make sure to NEVER pass a gas station without filling up. It could be a long way to the next one.

The Mojave experiences extreme variations in temperature and has a typical annual rainfall of less than 5 inches. Some parts of the Mojave, like the scorched towns of Baker and Barstow, can go without rain for ten years at a time.

Thankfully the Mojave desert preserve, as a protected wilderness, is totally undeveloped. Developing these areas into National parks presents a curious catch 22. By protecting these areas the government is required to provide safe roads, food and petrol services, and accommodation, no matter how basic. Once this process begins the tourists move in, take photos, popularise the area and before you know it the "protected" area is getting trammelled by hoards of lazy tourists who showed no interest in the "wilderness" until it was recommended by their travel guide! The city weekenders in their camper vans are scarcely aware of their impact on these precious ecosystems. Take out what you take in ("pack it in, pack it out"), stay on the roads, do not litter, do not feel wild animals, do not provoke wild animals or disturb their habitats even for the most precious photo. What you are photographing is more precious than any picture. Typically, the tour bus tourist is ignorant about nature conservation and is likely to do more damage to the ecosystem in 15 minutes than an experienced hiker does in two weeks. On the other hand unprotected areas are vulnerable to mining claims and road plans. As I said, Catch 22.

At Kelso there are the oldest sand dunes in the USA. Even better; they are "booming dunes" like several in the Sahara. These dunes or produce a nice deep humming sound from within. It's a bit of a mystery how this works but all reasonable explanations point to the movement of sand within these enormous dunes.

And of course, no trip to the Mojave is complete without a visit to Death Valley. This and other deserts are best experienced alone, although solo ventures into these areas ring the obvious associated risks. Going alone into the desert is an ancient and spiritually significant practice that is still common ins shamanic cultures. The seeker who ventures into the unknown in this way is confronting his or her fear of death and solitude in a powerfully transformative way.