October 27th, 2016

Writing from the Paria Outpost

Mood: A bit anxious due to mechanical issues.

Thinking about: Having 4-wheel drive has completely changed my perception of travel. First of all, it’s fun, counter-intuitive, challenging, and engaging. It teaches you about patience, forward thinking, and quick decision-making. But most importantly, it opens you up to all of the amazing places that don’t have a paved road to them (aka, all of them). There is nothing like being on a questionable road on the way to a completely out-there place with nothing except your rig, your camping gear, and a full tank of gas. It’s liberating.

#Vanlife tidbit: In the van, there are a lot of chores to be done….all the time. Nothing more than normal camping chores, but still, the work can pile up. Between navigation, maintenance, mechanical issues, checking the power usage, keeping the space tidy, meals, and food inventory, I sometimes find myself having to force myself to chill out. That’s one of the reasons I’m really excited to get Lexie out here, I’ll be able to take some of the load off. Realistically I’ll only let go of cooking and food inventory, but just that will make my days a lot smoother. I really don’t like thinking about what I have to make for dinner when I’m trying to diagnose that new rattle or sound coming from the engine.

So yesterday I stayed put at the Paria Outpost….all day. I spent the morning waiting to see if Steven and Logan would show up, but they never did and it turns out they were doing some stuff around the house. I tried to fiddle with the steering a bit to get it to work smoothly again, which it did for a few hours, but that didn’t last long. So I basically just hung out by myself at the Outpost, reading, and then sticking my head under the van to continue to investigate the steering issue. Although not the most exciting day, it was quite relaxing to just sit in a hammock and read…watching the clouds drift over the red-white-orange mountains.

It’s really not a bad life, but I don’t see it accomplishing much. Maybe that doesn’t matter. I’m getting through Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and it was coincidental how he touched on that subject. He called it, refueling your gumption. The Greeks called it enthousiasmos, which is the root of enthusiasm. Here’s a quick blurb from the book:

You see it often in people who return from long, quiet fishing trips. Often they’re a little defensive about having put so much time to “no account” because there’s no intellectual justification for what they’ve been doing. But the returned fisherman usually had a peculiar abundance of gumption usually for the very same things he was sick to death of a few weeks before. He hasn’t been wasting time. It’s only our limited cultural viewpoint that makes it seem so (emphasis mine).

Interesting to think about since I think a bit of my anxiety has come from just this — enjoying doing nothing.

Given my little infatuation with the tourism industry, I also thought about what it would be like to buy the business from Steven and Susan. They’ve built an immaculate spot with a considerable amount of goodwill. This is exactly the type of property that could thrive with some glamping accomodations. Not only would it bolster the tour guide business, but also it would revive the BBQ. There are so many tourists that come to the Vermillion Cliffs/Paria Plateau, yet there are no places for them to stay. With a spot like this that includes a great structure and the perfect location, there’s definitely an opportunity here. But then again, living here would be tough (just like in all the great beautiful places).

As I noted in the italics, I can’t wait for Lexie to get here. Just to see her again will be great. Also having someone to experience all these beautiful places with will be awesome. They’re great alone, but sometimes you need to tell someone, “This place is just freaking cool.” Only a few more days.

I’m about to wait another hour or so for Steven to see if he shows up. If he doesn’t I’ll just write a note. I’ve got to get going. I’m thinking of calling AAA and getting the van towed because I’m really afraid of the steering locking up while I drive. That was scary. Plus, if it happens when I’m away from service, I’m screwed. At least here, I know where I can find service.