Desertification

This isn't a curated reporting from the impossibly perfect vacation. It's just pictures from a road trip to the desert last week. It was fun. It was raw. We hung with family and talked politics. We bopped around gathering sagebrush bows and piled them on the dashboard, so when the sun beat down on the car, it bloomed with the scent of desert wind.

Speaking of, is there anything more relaxing than the desert landscape? Placing yourself under the influence of the open sky and red-rock cliffs, you're immediately at ease. You fall in line with the natural world and its beauties. You wander past sandstone monoliths thinking about the long history of the earth and how life came to be. Or maybe that's just me.

Anyway, yeah—Portland, Oregon to Moab, Utah, via a maze of roads riddled with wildfires and repaving projects. Every time I venture there, I leave wanting to plan my next visit. Next time we'll bring bikes and ride out to Klondike Bluff. Next time we'll winter camp. Next time we'll drive backroads through Capitol Reef ... Then, 15-17 hrs later I get home so burnt from driving I vow never to go back.

But, you know, it's hard to stay away.

Mark and his dad. Multiple generations of awesome dudes.

On Saturday, we meandered red-rock labyrinths with my mom and sis.

The Colorado River ran through all of it.

I really wanted to swim in this dreamy desert locale, however I was warm but not hot and the water was very cold. But I waded! 

In the canyon with the cottonwoods and cool waterfalls.

Let the world make you feel small as often as possible.

A very cute coffee situation in Moab. Piney and Rocket.

Deep thoughts at sunrise. 

The road home. Sagebrush on the wind.