When I try to recall the moment recently where I have felt the happiest, the most contentment, even the most peaceful somehow, I think of our first weekend as a group. Together for the month of November after being apart for longer than any of us had known to plan for, we made the decision to explore national parks on the weekends and isolate in an Airbnb during the week. Those few days we spent around Zion National Park were beautiful and exciting but more than anything, they brought us back to a familiar way of spending time together again. I’m so glad we had the chance to have that experience.
A Weekend of Reconnection
The weekend started before the road trip, really, not in Zion but in the Lake Havasu house we had rented for the month. Hanna finally made it after not being able to come as early as intended and it immediately felt like we were complete. We have all talked at one point or another about how each person’s individual energies add things to the dynamic and Hanna arriving made us feel like there was this balance both literally and figuratively. She made it so that there were 4 girls to the 4 guys that were there, which was just barely getting to the point of normal for us because, on the ship, we were all very used to there consistently being more girls around. It was fun to mix it up throughout the month, but all eight of us who were able to be together for a while was perfect.
After a night of drinking and dancing and catching up, we left on Friday morning to head to Utah. We went over in the same car groups that had brought us to Arizona- I rode with Steven, Gleb and Omar in the car that I was providing while Hanna volunteered her car to drive Jenna, Dragosh and Sierra. Stopping outside of Las Vegas to grab lunch, we ate at picnic tables outside of an In N Out before switching drivers and going the rest of the way.
We got to the park near sunset, leaving ourselves less time than intended to set up our tent at the hipcamp location that we had chosen for its plethora of campsite options. After a windy turn of events and moving the entire tent across a field in the dark, realizing that our masks are good for a lot more than being cautious of a virus, Hanna made us dinner and we settled in for the night. We were protected by the surrounding trees and our cars that we had strategically parked but that didn’t keep the wind from shaking our tent, collapsing the side right over Jenna at the early hour of 4 am. Sierra and Hanna graciously went out and fixed it, and we all got up about an hour after that.
The Man
The weather didn’t treat any of us well in terms of sleep, it was a pretty restless night of waking up and not being sure if we had even managed to sink into sleep at all. A fever dream is how I described it at the time, just unclear enough between the sleep and the dark and the wind constantly moving our tent. Hanna thought that there was a man outside at one point, and told us about it as we got ready and ate breakfast that morning. It was just the wind, but our conversation the night before about how a circle of tents near us gave off a cult-like energy had surely not helped her concerns in the middle of that already-restless night.
With an official wake up call at 5 am we started our day with overnight oats, got dressed in our warm clothes and set out to take down the tent, pack all our things back in the cars, and drive to the park entrance. We had decided the night before as we all sat in the tent that we would first brave Angel’s Landing in the morning and then The Narrows at the warmest point of the day. However, our plans changed as we got to the rental place to pick up our rubber boots and pants and were told that it was a terrible idea to be in the water of The Narrows that day. I believe her exact words were, “If you saw a park ranger they’d tell you you’re going to die” because the cold water and rainy conditions made for quite an unfavourable hike. We asked about changing our rental until the next day, but were told that the impending snow would make that a no-go as well.
The Hike
So, Angel’s Landing and exploring some calmer areas was our best bet. Everyone but Jenna and I made it to the very top of the peak, but our fear of heights and the fact that it was raining at that point allowed us instead to make a friend who had also chosen to stay at the bottom of that final stretch. We made the decision upon reconvening that we should ride the shuttle the whole way around, just to see what our options for a second hike were, since it was only about 1 pm. We ended up at a small waterfall and the visitors center before deciding to leave the park because the rain was making it colder and we needed to go to the store to get ingredients for dinner, not that our lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches hadn’t been enough or anything.
The store ended up being just around the corner from our airbnb and we got to catch a glimpse of the cozy town we would be spending the night in. The mountains were beginning to display snow at higher elevations and we remarked on how it felt like we were experiencing all the seasons back-to-back. After hot showers and putting on comfy clothes, simply being in the house together was so nice and it was almost like a dream to think about where we were in that moment. The lack of service, at least on my phone, only made it easier to be present and enjoy the company of everyone in that space.
The AirBnB
That night was a good one, filled with chips and salsa, good food, and my very first golden road carts. We had great conversations and played games, some of us studied or worked for a while, and we introduced Gleb to New Girl, a show that he simply could not be allowed to continue on having never seen. We even had a photo editing challenge to see who did better- in the end everyone could tell exactly who had done what, so that could be either good or bad. Somewhere between more seltzers and bed, we realized that we needed ingredients to make food for the morning, so we made Steven take a break from working and drive Jenna, Gleb, Hanna and I to the only little corner store that we could find that was still open at 9 pm. We realized how quiet the area was, brightened mostly by the Christmas lights that already adorned many buildings though it was only the beginning of November.
We all slept in for the very first time that next morning, the culmination of a week of craziness followed by little sleep from camping. Dragosh let me sit in on his Duolingo session as he practiced Spanish during some down time, and we listened to some stories while Sierra finished the pancakes. After breakfast, we packed up and spent the next few hours driving around the park, stopping to take in the beautiful views and document us all being together. I took over his spot in the car, and thus formed the infamous girls and boys cars. Hanna and Jenna were leaving the next day to go back to LA, and so Sierra and I would have to carry on that legacy ourselves and needed some guidance on how to handle being so outnumbered by the boys for the first time ever. All jokes aside, it was really nice to be driving around and just catching up with the 4 of us, it had been so long since we had been given a chance like that. The snow was falling and it was creating the most picturesque drive as the winding roads led to snow covered pines and the most beautiful type of a grey, just barely dreary looking, morning.
The Places In Between
Before we headed back toward Arizona, we stopped at a coffee shop that felt like it must have been dreamt up just for us. The most beautiful little shop looking out on the rock formations that were just barely visible as the snow danced between itself and rain and the air became just dense enough to obscure their outline so very slightly. The background music and the eccentric latte options only added to the ambience that could only be described as immaculate.
Stopping again for food in Las Vegas, we chose a Thai place this time before some of us ran to Costco to replenish our stock of Trulys and some actual meal ingredients. As Sierra drove us back, Hanna was on a zoom call to find out who her Big was for her sorority, and it was exciting to get to be a part of that moment for her that was so different from a normal year but fun nonetheless.
Back at the house, we spent at least an hour deep cleaning the cars we drove, because the dust storms had not been kind to them. It was even fun to clean, because we were all doing it together. Somewhere in that cleaning session, we made the plan to reunite sooner than expected and our new mantra, “Week 3 Joshua Tree” was born. More on that later.
To finish off our weekend together, we had a fire in our backyard and talked about long forgotten memories, and some never-before-heard ones, from our time abroad. We watched Don Jon at the request of Steven, who then explained the study behind the film and told us how he had known people who had worked on it. We all fell asleep on the couches, in typical fashion, to another movie afterward.
Monday saw us saying goodbye to two of our temporary housemates, but reminded us how much of a gift it was to be together at all.
The Little Things That Feel Big
There are so many things I don’t want to forget from that weekend- the way it felt to listen to chill music as we drove around the curves of the park, our grocery stop in the cute little store near our airbnb, then again as we ventured out for pancake materials after dark and saw all the christmas lights that were up oh so early.
The quiet of the morning that we left, when Omar and Jenna and I were up for sunrise (even if I went back to sleep because it wasn’t as vibrant as expected and I was exhausted.)
The dust storm that nearly knocked our tent down, and then all of us sleeping next to each other in that same tent relocated near the trees- an adventure in itself, really.
Our curry dinner at the campsite and Dragosh teaching us how he cuts potatoes in different ways to get them crispier the next night at the airbnb.
Our very real-life, pouring your heart out for a minute, sort of discussions for the first time in a long time while we played uno next to Steven as he worked.
The way that it felt to be in the girls car talking about our futures and how far we had all come.
The morning after we camped, driving once again in the same car that brought us to Havasu a week earlier, listening to music and heading into the sunrise on our way to the park to hike.
Thinking about how cool it was to all be together, to be in the tent reading Hanna’s dad’s book, passing it around in a circle as we all took turns reading out loud. Just being in the same small space, laughing and talking and existing under one very flimsy roof.
Our fire in the backyard of the Havasu house that Sunday night once we all got back to our temporary home, the way that it really felt like coming home after just a week.
Jenna and I making a friend near the top of angels landing because our collective fear of heights had kept us all from joining the others at the top.
We saw fall together for the first time as we drove through Utah that Friday afternoon of our arrival. We’d experienced tropical islands and desert climates and beaches together in the autumn months, most of us had even spent a weekend in the south last year. But we had never truly experienced the bright orange and yellow leaves, crisp air, perfect sweater weather, quintessential fall that we did that weekend.
Everything felt so old and familiar, yet so new and exciting. We fell back into a pattern of exploring that is often more comfortable for us as a whole than the stationary nature of so many other things in our lives. There was a renewed sense of comfort, yet awe, as we did what we do best together- exploring new places.
Driving around Zion, listening to soft music in the background, it felt like what it would be to find yourself inside a Bon Iver song. It felt like the colour orange, in its purest sense, just like the trees we passed. Like being warmed up by a cup of your favourite tea, except the warmth was fulfillment and adventure seeping back into a world that had become just a little less vibrant. It was the perfect adventure inside of a bigger one that was the month of November itself.
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