The year has hit the ground running, and it started with a first for me — a trip out to Arizona. The highlight, and the whole purpose of the journey, was to see the famous Saguaro cactus. You've seen one before without realizing it: that iconic image of a tall cactus with outstretched arms? That's a Saguaro.

These remarkable plants live well over 100 years, yet don't grow their first arm until their 70s or 80s. Some reach over three stories tall. Standing next to one puts their scale into perspective fast.

The desert is eerie, beautiful, and enchanted. I loved every moment of it. Despite the vivid colors and blazing sunlight, I found myself drawn to black and white photography on this trip. It captured the feeling of being there for me.

During one hike, we passed through a wash (a dry stream bed that floods during rainstorms) and had the most unsettling sensation that we didn't belong there. Not in a frightening way, but in a humbling one. We were visitors to a world that existed entirely on its own terms, long before us and long after.

I've hiked and traveled through a lot of wild places, but I've never felt that before. It deepened my respect for the desert and the quiet power it holds.

A lot of people assume deserts are barren wastelands with little to offer. Slow down and look more closely, and that idea falls apart completely.

There's an abundance of life here including roadrunners, lizards, javelinas (wild peccaries), and an extraordinary variety of cacti and wildflowers, all thriving in a landscape that seems, at first glance, to have no way to sustain them.

Arizona left me with a new way of seeing. The desert doesn't announce itself. It rewards patience, curiosity, and a willingness to feel small. Whether it was standing in the shadow of a centuries-old Saguaro, picking my way through a flood-carved wash, or catching a roadrunner darting between the brush, every moment reminded me that wildness doesn't need to be loud to be profound. If you ever get the chance to spend time in the Sonoran Desert, take it slowly. It has more to say than you'd expect.

PS: The food was unexpectedly amazing!!