The story
Feel the road tilt up again, gently. You're leaving the open valley floor behind and the pavement is starting to climb toward Yaqui Pass and the south country beyond it. As you rise, look how the spacing of the brittlebush and ocotillo opens up on the rocky slopes, each plant holding its own patch of stony ground, fighting quietly for every drop of water that falls. The valley you've been crossing drops away behind your shoulder, wide and pale and ringed in mountains. Up and over is where we're headed. Stay with the grade as it lifts you into the higher desert.
