So far, my journey has included spending time in Fort Worth with my BFF, Big Bend National Park, and Saguaro National Park. Big Bend was incredible and awful. First the bad, to get it out of the way.
I had an incident with my bear spray. When I was getting my pack out of the car, it went off inside the car! I jumped out and opened all the doors and poured water all over my face and arms. It stung pretty badly, but honestly if I was a hungry bear, it wasn’t bad enough to stop me from my dinner! I had to go back to camp and scrub the whole interior of my car and everything in it. Then, rather than camping in my car again, I went to a hotel to shower, wash my hair, and all the bedding. Not how I planned on spending my time in Big Bend.
Other than that, it was really great. I met quite a few people. There was Grace, who is a 26-year-old out traveling the US in her camper with her absolutely precious Golden Retriever. He really loved belly rubs and naps in the sand. She had recently ended a horrible five-year relationship and had overcome cancer. She is so incredibly brave and strong. There was Gary who was with his two young boys. When I told him I was on a month-long trip across the US, he immediately asked if I was on sabbatical. He understood without me even explaining. I went to a sunset Q&A with the head park ranger for Big Bend, where we all got to ask questions and learn information about what’s going on in our park systems that’s not really being told.
On the way to Seguaro, I stopped at Prada Marfa. It’s an art exhibit just outside of Marfa, TX in the middle of nowhere. It’s a small, but stocked Prada store. You can’t go in, but you can see the shoes and handbags through the windows. There I met Chris. He and his friend were headed to Guadelupe National Park to hike the highest peak in Texas. He took pictures of me in front of the store and asked why I had come there. I told him I was headed to Seguaro from Big Bend, and then on to Cali. We talked about the healing properties of nature, how peaceful it is to be out in it, and how it just seems to recharge you. I told him I was on a sabbatical to have a reset. I needed to be in nature to find myself again. We exchanged numbers so we could send pics of our journeys, and then he asked if he could give me a hug. My being a hugger, of course I said yes! It was truly a beautiful moment.
Suguaro was stunning. I didn’t have time for a night there, but I did the 8-mile scenic drive around it and it took me at least an hour. I was truly amazed at how beautiful the desert is. I was stopping every few feet to take pics. It really is a peaceful place, even if it was over 100 degrees there! If you want to hike there, it’s definitely a spring/winter location. Now on to Joshua Tree!
Finding The Good 