My dad and me at Death Valley in May 2009. I blame him for my love of travel.
It’s hard to believe that only one year ago I called my dad on my way to work and asked him a question that has changed the course of my life. The question was this: Should I apply for the Digital Vagabonding Roads Scholarship?
Applying for the scholarship meant that, if I won, I would have to quit my full-time job to road trip for the whole summer, writing and photographing my journey as I went. The idea of applying for a scholarship that would force me to leave the confining, restricting and suffocating but comforting full-time job in a full-time crappy economy was a scary one.
My dad, who worked in Corporate America for the same company up until the day he was forced to retire, said one word in response to my question: Yes.
And so I applied.
Like many people who had heard of Burning Man in passing, I admit that I was a bit unnerved by the thought of being surrounded by a hippie culture that was both unfamiliar and uncomfortable in my naïve view of the world. With a ticket in hand to one of the world’s most famous week-long events, though, I wasn’t going to say no.
Feathers and leather and fur … oh my!
One of our favorite stories from serving in the Peace Corps happened to a friend of ours. At dinner one night, Josie was served a heaping plate of rice, beans, ugali … something starchy. The details of what was on the plate are foggy, but the point of the story is that it was stacked high, and, as is common when visiting many countries, it is impolite not to eat what is on your plate. Josie told us that the copious amount of food was daunting … definitely more than she could eat in a sitting. Noticing her wide eyes examining the overstuffed plate in disbelief (maybe even fear?), Josie’s mama told her, “Pole, pole. You will climb the mountain.” Pole translates to slowly … and bite by bite Josie conquered that plate of food.
We’ve hiked the trails in Zion. We “did” Bryce. We’ve visited the Grand Canyon—both rims, one in the winter and one in the summer. When it comes to the spectacular parks of the Southwest, we’ve made a dent.
At the Grand Canyon, you stand at the edge, peering into a gaping hole, the splendor of the canyon sweeping before you. At Badlands National Park, the unforgiving precipices exist as far as the eye can see. In Yosemite, the waterfalls and cliff faces surround you.
