This weekend was the official holiday that signals the halfway point of summer holidays for a teacher, The B.C. Day Long Weekend. Depending on who you are you are either excited that you still have almost a month left of your hard earned freedom or you may be feeling the ennui of the summer slipping through your fingers. This year I am in the latter category and my thoughts have turned to last summer, when my holiday was still in front of me and the excitement of being on a road trip was foremost in my mind.
I am a B.C. girl, born and bred. I love the ocean, the forest, the green and grey of my home landscape…dare I say it, I even love the rain! I guess that is in part why I love the desert so much. It is such an alien environment from what I am accustomed to and the bright orange and cerulean contrasts of the Utah earth and sky are endlessly inspirational to me and have influenced so much of my art work over the past 5 years, since my first visit to the state. I can’t wait to visit it again but our current circumstances, I know, might make this an impossible feat for some time to come. So, I guess that’s also why my thoughts have turned to Utah Road Trip 2019 today.
Road tripping is my preferred form of holiday travel. I love the road! I love making lists, deciding on meals and snacks and planning the route and itinerary of stops along the way. There seems to be unlimited adventure and possibility at every turn and taking a small detour can lead to the most memorable experiences that you might never have had, had you chosen the other direction (more on this idea in a later post, “Always Stop for the Weird Stuff”). I love getting together with my travel partner, over a bottle of wine, getting the maps out and dropping pins, our excitement growing over all the adventures still to come. This leads me to the importance of Road Trip Rule #1, choosing your best road trip partner in crime.
It’s so important to road trip with a compatible partner! Last summer my “baby sis” (sister from “another mister”, no relation but family nonetheless) decided that we were driving from Vancouver to Utah, via Portland, Vegas and the Grand Canyon, over a three week trip. Now, we have been friends a long time but have never actually traveled together…what could go wrong? However, “Critter” is as solid as they come, with an adventurous spirit but a strength and groundedness that is mature for her 30 something years. I was quite confident that we were in for a trip that we would both remember fondly for years to come.
We are both such planners and managed to coordinate gear drop offs and packing well in advance and with a minimum of fuss, given that we live roughly 50km and an hour away from each other, on opposite ends of the Vancouver Metro. We were already off to a good start! We both understand the importance of being well fed and watered and on the day of our departure we both arrived with plentiful snacks in hand and a cooler of cold bevvies and a lunch, so we didn’t need to make unnecessary stops. Her home is so close to the boarder that crossing was a breeze and we were on our way, giddy and excited about the trip, as well as the newness of being together for a full three weeks as travel companions.
We are lucky to have a love of music in common, in particular an affinity toward heavy metal and hard and alternative rock…with a smattering of strange and odd thrown in. We would begin a day with Pucifer, Ginger or Rob Zombie, by mid afternoon we might be listening to the Dirty Dancing soundtrack or ABBA and be singing along to Cat, Neil Young or Sarah McLaughlan by evening. The playlists were endless, including one she named, “The Dad Playlist”, that was created specifically for the trip, to include things “your dad might listen to while driving in the desert”…it was the perfect playlist to punctuate our holiday. I think we listened to anything and everything by the end. The Grease soundtrack featured prominently from Vegas to the Grand Canyon and Cher made the list through the forested drive into Southern Oregon, on our return trip.
Driving and listening to tunes is one thing but setting up a camp, sleeping in a confined space (“Don’t throw ‘bows!”) and doing the dailies of living with someone for three weeks can be a challenge for even the best relationship. I’m glad that Critter and I are blessed to be quite easy with each other and have the type relationship flow that only comes along now and then. We quite readily fell into a groove setting up camp, cooking, tidying up, building fires and the like. Where one left off the other naturally picked up and by the morning of the first camp we were in an unspoken routine of who did what and when. Cooking under the stars in the Grand Canyon, sharing a bottle of wine and singing songs together by the fire is one of my fondest memories of last summer. We played cards and dice by the light of our lantern, until it was too cold to stay out, or we were too exhausted to stay awake, and would talk and laugh trying to get to sleep in the little tent.
Complaints were minor (“damn wasps!!!”) and arguments nonexistent, which almost never happens. We have a like mind for adventure and enjoy many of the same things, a good craft beer, strange roadside attractions, climbing and hiking and meeting the locals. We wandered down into both The Grand and Bryce Canyons and climbed the tough paths out. We waded the watery trail of The Narrows in Zion and pushed the limits of claustrophobia in Escalante’s Spooky and Peek-a-Boo slot canyons. We stood on one another’s shoulders, boosted each other up, held out a supportive hand and pep talked each other through tough climbs, the heat of midday in the desert and our aching lungs, as we pushed that last mile to the top of any given climb. Because that’s what your friends do.
What an adventure we had! Sadly, every adventure has an end date and we eventually found ourselves back on the farm, where we were greeted by a bevy of curly, grey haired beauties, Critter’s mom, aunt and cousins, ready to welcome us home, with wine in hand. Pat called out to us, “Hey, you’re still smiling and talking to each other! It must have been a good trip.” And so it was. Here’s to us! Here’s to future adventures and memories…
Thank-you, Kaitlyn “Critter” for always having my back, supporting my choices and decisions and being that “hand-up” when I need it! I love that you are my “partner in crime”.
May we all have the good luck and good sense to always surround ourselves with a community of like-minded and supportive individuals that bring joy, love, inspiration and adventure to our lives.
