I love foraging for wild Sage. Unfortunately you must brave the scorching heat of the desert in order to collect it. Luckily I had my giant gardening hat with me as we traveled across the country this summer. It was growing everywhere, from New Mexico to California, covering vast fields and hills! Wonderful! I think my harvest bundles are nearly dry so I can start wrapping them into smudge sticks. When I lived in Ontario we had to buy our white sage. This is so much more satisfying.
These pictures were taken in Utah, right before a huge thunderstorm in which the sky became dark and ominous and we could hear the thunder approaching us from miles away while we hurriedly finished our desert-roaming and returned to the safe haven of our car.
While I harvest sage, my husband Jason hunts for interesting rocks and gems, which are also located in the desert. The only people out there for miles and miles, the peace and silence is astounding. There are no birds save maybe one, wisely on it's way to somewhere else. 
When I first went to the desert I was not looking forward to it at all. I thought it would be horrid, that I would abhor the dryness and lack of foliage and life. What I encountered was a feeling of great peace and calm, where the very land itself seemed to breathe of stories from times long ago, and the earth welcomed our footsteps upon her as a wise old friend, ready for a kindly visit. It was shocking to me that a place so devoid of the usual indications of nature and life could be so alive. 
I love this one of Isabella wandering in the desert. She loves rockhounding as much as Jason and is a really good sport about the intense heat, braving the sun to look for her treasures.(-:
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