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The desert road stretches out before you, all the way to the horizon,

like a black ribbon laid across the sand.

On either side of the car, the vast and open landscape extends as far as the eye can see.

Green and brown succulents, cacti, and other hardy plants, docked the arid terrain.

Patches of beige dirt fill the space between them. Here and there, a lone lizard or jack

rabbit ventures out into the sun, though most animals are tucked away during the heat of the day.

You are nice and cool in your car as you make your way across this expanse of desert

to the oasis that awaits you at the end of the road.

The miles behind you have been marked by subtle changes in the landscape.

The cacti, getting a little larger in some places. In others, the mesquite trees becoming more prominent.

It's a strikingly beautiful environment you think to yourself. It's harsh and delicate in town.

You continue down the road for several more miles until it begins to narrow and more sand

encroaches on the sides of the pavement. It's as though the desert itself knows your journey is

coming to a close and is guiding you to your final destination. A few minutes later, it comes into

view. The dense clusters of tall palm trees are pleasing to the eye after so many miles of flat

ground and sparse plant life. It truly is an oasis in the desert, a burst of greenery and life

fed by the waters of a natural spring. Water is precious in this place and the trees are

...