"Tenacity"

Paria Wilderness, Arizona

In this incredibly harsh region of slickrock, scouring winds, and the relentless sun, it is hard to imagine how this bush ever came to grow here, much less persist. What is most amazing are the contortions it has gone through to survive. What appears to be a root to the right is actually the trunk and the dark lines in the cracks above the bush are actually the edges of its roots growing up in search of water. Seeing this bush hanging on to life, I was impressed by its tenacity.