RILEY J ROAMS

Winter came in the form of chilling wind howling through the desert and homesickness for familiar faces and places. Molly and I packed our cars in preparation for another cross-country road trip in much different weather conditions.

Sunday, December 1, 2019: Yucca Valley, CA – Death Valley National Park, CA

Snow-covered mountains towered in the distance as we wandered around our property for the last time. We returned the house back to its original state and said goodbye to our desert sanctuary. We stopped by the visitor center to buy a few last-minute souvenirs and then headed into the park before driving towards Death Valley. How was my stay here already over? This time in the desert allowed me to focus on myself and my own healing from everything that happened in college with few distractions from others.

The four and a half hour drive through the desert was magnificent. Because it was winter, the sun was setting around five, which made our days of adventuring much shorter. By the time we got to Shoshone, a town right next to the national park with zero cell service, it was dark. We found a few free campsites beforehand, but we had issues finding them without cell service. We drove back to the main road and eventually found a motel. The lady behind the front desk told us about the Shoshone RV Park, which was right down the street. When we arrived we went to the front office where a little man told us about the campsite and his favorite spots in Death Valley. We paid $22.50 for a campsite, which was lined with palm trees and had bathrooms and showers nearby. 

Monday, December 2, 2019: Death Valley National Park, CA – Area 51, NV – Las Vegas, NV

For being the hottest place in the world, it was pretty cold in my tent, but I forgot about the coldness as soon as the sun rose creating a pink-stroked sky at six in the morning. We hung out at the campsite in the early morning—taking in the unfamiliar desert—before heading into the national park. Unlike all the other national parks we had visited, there was no booth to collect a fee or check our park pass when entering on Highway 190.

Our first stop was Zabriskie Point, where rolling, tan mountains could be seen for miles. The more we walked, the more lumps appeared. To be honest, I was expecting to see mostly yellow flatness, but Death Valley is far from that.

We both hopped in Molly’s car and coasted through the openness. As we passed Furnace Creek, hundreds of palm trees were waiting to be planted around a new resort called The Oasis. I had never seen something so luxurious in a national park, and the grassy lawn really surprised me. We drove until we found Badwater Basin, the lowest elevation point in North America at 282 ft (86 m). 

I felt over-stimulated while walking on the reflective white ground as the dry, but cool, air surrounded me. The ground was so fragile that I could pick up the salt on the ground, break it apart, and eat it. The farther we walked the hotter it got; the air really does feel different here because of the dryness. 

After enjoying the salt flats that were surrounded by blue, snow-covered mountains, we got in the car and drove towards Artist Drive to see Artists Palette. This spot is known for neon colors popping out among bland hills. We stopped at the first dash of color we saw and convinced ourselves this was Artists Palette, but we found out we were wrong when we continued driving. The mounds of dirt surrounding the road made me feel like I was on a Mario Kart course. When we got to the actual Artists Palette the colors were much more vibrant, but we should have stayed until the sun set to get the best view with delicate sunlight. 

After grabbing my car at the Zabriskie Point parking lot we headed towards Las Vegas. We didn’t have cell service all day, so we followed signs until our GPS started working. We stopped at the first gas station outside of the park, and as we pulled in we realized that the green shack next to pumps said “AREA 51 ALIEN CENTER,” in huge red letters. This was our welcome back into civilization after spending the whole day in desert wilderness. When we pulled up to the pumps we realized that the shack was connected to a pink concrete building with a sign saying, “Alien Cathouse Brothel.” After pumping gas we decided to check out the alien center. When we walked up to the entrance there was a slender, old man sitting out front with two dogs. The dogs came running towards us, and the man said, “they love pretty women.” We awkwardly talked to him for a bit, and he told us he had just gotten the puppy from Mexico. The store held lots of alien-related souvenirs, drinks, and snacks such as alien jerky—a money-sucking trap for any Area 51 fanatic.

When we left the store the sky was erupting into a gorgeous sunset. Molly and I grabbed our cameras to take photos, and we soon realized we were being watched by a feral, black cat who was perched on the roof of the brothel. But the cat wasn’t the only one who had their eyes on us. All of the sudden the old man hopped out of his truck and rushed up to us.

“Do you know why you should never order a $5 hooker or an alien hooker?” he asked.

We tried to ignore him, but after he asked us the same question five times I finally shook my head.

“Because neither of them will shut up.”

We gave him no response to this “joke,” but he launched into his life story anyway.

“Do you know what my father’s name is? They call him Love. And I am Real Israel.” He kept saying that he was a seaman that came from the sea.

I tried to ignore his raspy voice while I watching the sunset.

“I can tell that I’m making you nervous,” he said to us.

“We are trying to take photos, so I won’t be listening to anything you’re saying,” I said and then completely ignored him. He must have gotten bored because he went back to his truck and drove away. I’ve learned that it’s best to give as little of a reaction as possible when in these uncomfortable situations where creepy men won’t leave me alone. I know that becoming upset or angry will only egg them on more. Once the sun set we both got back in our cars and drove the remaining two and a half hours to Las Vegas.

We got an Airbnb north of the city for $33.87 for two nights. The four-bedroom townhouse was in a gated community. While we were bringing our stuff into the sparkling clean home we noticed a huge list of rules in the kitchen right next to a camera. The rules included: no spilling, no shoes inside the house (already broke this one), no eating in the living room, etc. and we would get charged $100 or more if we broke any of them. We picked up a pizza and spent the night relaxing while trying to not break any of the rules.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019: Las Vegas, NV

We spent the day chilling in this new space and catching up on work. There was some community food in the pantry, so I made pancakes for breakfast. I felt excited for a new adventure while editing all my photos from Joshua Tree.

We cracked open some beers around sunset before heading into the city to explore. We took an uber to the Fremont Street Experience. I had visited Las Vegas two month earlier, but this time around it was desolate. We walked through the street while gazing at all the flashing lights and the zip-line that hangs from the ceiling. When we reached a cute food truck called Joy of Hot Dog, we both bought one of their jumbo dogs. I got the vegan dog, and an Elvis impersonator told me to “work it” while eating it. We walked towards the strip passing by various chapels and casinos all lit up for late night gamblers.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019: Las Vegas, NV – Zion National Park, UT

We made sure to check out promptly at 11 a.m. (or else we would be charged a couple hundred dollars) and then went to Panera to work until our third road trip buddy, Morgan, lands at McCarran International Airport around 1 p.m. After Molly picked up Morgan we drove for two and a half hours to Zion in the rain.

We stayed at a hotel right outside the park in Springdale called the Bumbleberry Inn. We walked to a nearby Italian place, Juniper Pizza, to grab dinner. They served a wide variety of pizza, pasta, and salad with both gluten free and vegetarian options.

Thursday, December 5, 2019: Zion National Park, UT

When I pulled back the curtains my mouth dropped from the fog that was hugging the red rocks while goats grazed in a field below. There was a chilly mist, but we prepared to go into the park nonetheless. We visited the goats, who ran over to us thinking we had food, before heading across the street to Oscar’s Café for a continental breakfast we received with the hotel room.

This colorful restaurant had a variety of breakfast options to satisfy anyone: carnivore, vegetarian, vegan, or gluten free. I got a stack of delicious pancakes with a side of breakfast potatoes. Our waiter, who was also from Michigan, was so friendly and made the experience rememberable. We were already excited to go again tomorrow morning.

Upon entering the park, fog covered the canyons and fresh dew rested upon dead foliage. The silent canyons were filled with our screams as we gawked at the eerie beauty. The park felt so different than it did when we visited in September. It was much more vacant, and there were rushing waterfalls in every direction.

The shuttle system does not operate in the winter, so we could drive throughout the whole park in our car. Multiple waterfalls flooded the switchbacks we hiked up to Angel’s Landing just a few months ago. We drove all the way to the the Temple of Sinawava at the end of the road

We started hiking along the trail leading up to The Narrows where we were greeted by a huge waterfall. It wasn’t long before we ran into a powerful river, so we turned around and drove towards Zion Lodge to hike Upper Emerald Pools.

We were walking in red mud the whole way while crossing small streams while being accompanied by waterfalls. When we got to the end of the trail, we found ourselves at the base of a powerful waterfall. The sound of the water crashing against rocks drowned out everything—even my own thoughts.

Darkness had fallen by the time we were driving out of the park. We had been hungry from a long day of hiking in the rain so we grabbed dinner at MeMe’s Café. The fact that they served crepes all day made me excited, but once I saw the veggie burger I decided that is what I really needed.

Friday, December 6, 2019: Zion National Park, UT – Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, UT – Page, AZ 

We grabbed continental breakfast again at Oscar’s Café, and this time I got the black bean and green chili burrito. After another amazing breakfast we headed towards Kanab for our 1 p.m. tour with Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. Getting to Kanab was a simple drive through the park, but we only had one park pass and two cars. I tried asking the ranger at the entrance if we could both drive through since it’s so slow, but he said no. I’ve come to realize that we’re more likely to get into the park for free if it is busy, because the rangers want to keep the lines moving. I asked the ranger if there was an easy way to get to Kanab without driving through the park, and he handed me the route on a map saying it only takes about 20 extra minutes to go around the park. 

And he was right. We got to the sanctuary a little before one where we played with dogs, cats, and bunnies while waiting for our tour to begin. A group of ten of us piled into a short bus after our tour guide introduced himself.

The bus took us past where the farm animals such as horses, goats, and pigs stay and into the cat area. Cats of all different breeds greeted us as we walked into the cat building. First we saw the special cats area and then walked outside to their backyard. Our next stop was the dog area where we played with two black lab puppies that were so rambunctious. The entire property, which was surrounded by red rocks, was breathtaking.

After the tour we drove an hour and a half to Page, Arizona—home to some of the most unique rock formations in the country. We drove past the reflective Lake Powell before stopping at Horseshoe Bend. Last time I visited it was free to hike down to the canyon, but this time it cost $10 per car. Because Horseshoe Bend is a part of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, and not a national park, we do not get in for free with our pass. The sun was setting as we made the short hike to the drop off where the Colorado River does a 270-degree turn. We sat on the ledge and took photos while the sun set below the horizon.

My check oil light turned on as I was driving to the Airbnb. I couldn’t believe this was happening because I had just changed my oil a month ago in Yucca Valley. We got to the Airbnb, which was an entire house all to ourselves, and I looked up places to get my oil changed. All of the places were closing, so I decided to deal with it tomorrow. I heated up my leftovers from breakfast while we figured out our last minute plans for the next day. We purchased tickets to tour Lower Antelope Canyon at 10:45 a.m. for $54 each with Dixie’s Tours. A tour must be booked to view the canyon because of flash floods that have killed people.

Saturday, December 7, 2019: Page, AZ – Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

I woke up around 6:30 a.m. stressing about getting my oil changed. I had planned to go after our tour, but because I was so stressed I got up and went to Big O Tires right when they opened at 8 a.m. When I got there I asked an employee how long it would take.

“About two days. Is that okay?” he said. He must have seen the horror in my face because he quickly said, “I’m only kidding. It will be about an hour.”

I sat in the waiting room with a little TV playing some old, Christmas movie. I paid $40 for the oil change and was back to the Airbnb by 9:30 just as Molly and Morgan were waking up.

We were only a ten-minute drive from Lower Antelope Canyon, but we made sure to arrive 30 minutes before the tour like they had asked. While we waited for our tour to begin in the middle of the desert, a Navajo Native American performed a tribal dance for us. He twirled around with multiple hula-hoops while singing along to a song he played on a speaker.

At 10:45 we were assigned guides, and our guide was a native named Teeter. Because Lower Antelope Canyon is on Navajo land they primarily employ Navajo people. I would never guess that Lower Antelope Canyon can only be seen by descending into a small crack in the earth’s surface. We climbed down steep, man-made stairs where we were greeted by smooth, twisting textures. Once at the bottom, Teeter led us through the canyon while pointing out the most photogenic formations and teaching us about Navajo culture. We learned so much from Teeter while laughing along the way. The whole tour lasted around 45 minutes while we hiked 1-mile through the canyon. I had visited this canyon in 2016, and I couldn’t believe how many more people were there this time. The touring companies can thank the social media boom for their popularity. At the end of the tour we walked up more man-made steps where we rose out of another crack. 

Before heading to the Grand Canyon we stopped at Lake Powell, which was right down the street from Lower Antelope Canyon. We found a spot to park our cars and then walked onto the orange and white-stripped rock to the lake. A sense of peace overtook us while lying in the sun near the water. There wasn’t another person in sight and I could have laid there all day absorbing the heat and serene water. 

I blasted Flume while driving away from the lake and towards the Grand Canyon. A large chunk of Arizona is Native American territory, which was desolate as we drove through it. 

We had to drive through the national park to get to the Grand Hotel. I tried asking the ranger at the entrance booth if both cars could go through with our pass since our hotel was on the other side of the park, but he said no. We all split the $35 park entrance fee to get both of our cars in and stopped at the Desert View lookout point. The colossal Grand Canyon is notable, but when compared to other national parks, it’s not as magnificent. While driving through the park or at the various lookouts, we were repeatedly looking down into the canyon instead of actually feeling immersed in the nature. We joked around calling it the “Aight Canyon,” because this was the first time during the trip we weren’t screaming about the beauty of nature. We walked up the watchtower for a panoramic view of the canyon and browsed the gift shop where I asked an employee what hike we should do tomorrow. He gave us a few options but warned us that we should buy specific shoes because of the ice.

We drove to the hotel only to find out I accidentally booked our room for the following night instead of tonight. Unfortunately this is something I do quite often. Luckily they had one room left with two beds, so we were able to switch over our reservation at no extra cost.

Sunday, December 8, 2019: Grand Canyon National Park, AZ – Albuquerque, NM

We got up early to fit in a quick hike before our long drive to Albuquerque. We hopped on the Kaibab Rim Shuttle Bus to the South Kaibab trailhead. There were a few horses standing in a round pen to the right of the trailhead, and a white horse approached us as we walked closer to the pen. We pet him as he tried to nibble on our fingers, but unfortunately we had no food for him.

It’s good we didn’t buy the shoes the ranger suggested because the trail wasn’t really icy. This is the first trail I’ve done that begins going downhill instead of uphill. The canyon was lined with switchbacks leading us further towards the earth’s surface. 

The trail was muddy from the mist and was lined with horseshoe tracks. It’s hard to believe people ride horses down these thin, cliff-side trails. We walked about two miles to the Ooh Aah Point, a lookout with a nice view of the Grand Canyon. This hike does go on for much longer, but after taking some photos we decided to turn around and hike back up the vacant trail.

We took the shuttle again, got in our cars, and drove six hours to Albuquerque. This was the cutest Airbnb we stayed in: an adobe home all to ourselves with a stocked kitchen. Molly and I made pasta for dinner while Morgan made another microwave meal.

Monday, December 9, 2019: Albuquerque, NM – Colorado Springs, CO

Although the Airbnb was cute and cozy, it was hard to sleep because of how loud the heater was. When we left the house a towering, snow-covered mountain appeared in front of us. Right before we were about to get on the highway, the Airbnb we had for tonight in Colorado Springs notified us that the heat wasn’t working and offered us a full refund if we wanted to cancel. We took that offer a booked another Airbnb. Last minute changes are bound to happen on road trips.

We drove for five and a half hours to Colorado Springs, where we stayed in someone’s basement. We went to to Phantom Canyon Brewing for dinner because they had both vegetarian and gluten free options for Morgan and I. I got the vegan burger with sweet potato fries, and it was everything I needed after a long day of driving. 

Tuesday, December 10, 2019: Colorado Springs, CO – Rocky Mountain National Park – Fort Collins, CO

We grabbed a few snacks offered by our hosts before heading to Garden of the Gods for a morning hike in the cold. The red rocks jutting out of the ground were breathtaking, as they stood high in the sky. It was crazy to see red rocks and snow covered mountains in the same view. While hiking we even stumbled upon a deer munching on leaves while basking in the winter sun. 

We filled up gas before driving two hours to Jack’s place in Fort Collins. Jack is the only person we saw on our way to California and on our way back. We got there around 2 p.m. and piled into his huge truck where we could explore Rocky Mountain National Park safely.

Driving through Rocky Mountain in the winter is much different than the summer. We barely saw anyone braving the icy roads, and the mountainous air felt fresh but frigid. We drove around the park until the sky changed from blue to pink to black. As we made our way back to Fort Collins, a full moon rose above the mountains.

Wednesday, December 11, 2019: Fort Collins, CO – Lincoln, NE

Tenseness filled the room as we groggily rose. Molly had a job interview this morning, which brought stress after a restless night. She kept complaining, and the negativity was starting to get to me. I tried mentioning how overwhelming the negativity was, but it came off a little meaner than I meant it to. She sighed saying she hasn’t been able to sleep, which is something I couldn’t imagine dealing with while driving this much, but I could tell the negativity was affecting all of us. We finished packing in silence and thanked Jack and his family before leaving. I apologized to Molly before we got into our separate cars. I didn’t mean to come off as aggressive, but sometimes it’s hard to bring something like that up in an understanding way. But Molly completely understood, and said she didn’t even realize she was being so negative.

The seven-hour drive to Lincoln actually wasn’t too bad. I blasted music while driving through the sloping hills with patches of snow. We stopped at a rest stop to go to the bathroom and the quiet atmosphere felt haunting.

The Airbnb we got in Lincoln was so nice. We each had our own room with comfortable beds. I made some pizza roles before getting a good night’s sleep.

Thursday, December 12, 2019: Lincoln, NE – Iowa City, IA

We all woke up feeling refreshed and ready for our four and a half hour drive to Iowa City. This drive felt so short compared to yesterday, and we got to our Airbnb around 4 p.m. When we pulled into the neighborhood I could tell we were back in the Midwest because of the rambler-style houses. Two, little dogs greeted us as we came in through the back door. We were sleeping in the basement of someone’s house, but unlike the other Airbnbs, this place did not have a door to shut between the basement and upstairs. 

Molly still had so much energy after actually getting a night of sleep that she wanted to drive the remaining six hours back to Lansing. I told her and Morgan to go on without me because I was going to Chicago anyway and didn’t feel like driving another three and a half hours. That was my biggest mistake of the trip. I spent the evening watching the O.J. Simpson Trial on Netflix until becoming tired.

The bed was so uncomfortable and all the linens felt dirty. There was a door leading to the outside in the basement, which made it cold. I kept thinking about the absence of the door between me and whoever else was upstairs as the dogs stomped around and barked until 2 a.m. I’ve never had such an unpleasant Airbnb experience. 

Friday, December 13, 2019: Iowa City, IA – Chicago, IL

I was ready to head out around 9 a.m. after a night of little sleep. The three and a half hour drive to Skokie, a suburb north of Chicago, wasn’t bad. After parking my car at a friend’s place, I walked to the Oakton-Skokie CTA stop. I couldn’t believe I was back in Chicago again. I transferred to the red line and rode all the way to Harrison. Even though my time in my favorite destination has come to an end, it felt good to back in this familiar city and be with friends I haven’t seen in months.

Once meeting up with two friends, we grabbed dinner at Native Foods, a plant-based restaurant, before preparing to go out. I got the Buddha Bowl, which exploded as a burst of flavors inside my mouth. Even though I was exhausted from barely sleeping and driving across the country we danced in my friend’s spacious apartment before going out to The Owl. It felt so good to be dancing with two of my favorite people again. I couldn’t believe I was back in the Midwest.

Conclusion

While I was living in Joshua Tree I constantly had friends and family asking me what I was doing out there. When I told them I moved to Joshua Tree to take a break from my normal life that somehow became overwhelmed by stress, a lot of them acted like I was crazy.

“Do you have a job out there?”

“No,” I would say.

“Do you know anyone out there?”

“No,” I would say.

It seemed absolutely crazy to some people that I wanted to take a break from the work-obsessed society we have created for our species. And when people heard I was driving back they became evermore confused as to why I drove out there in the first place. I did originally have a goal to find a job in Los Angeles for the winter while I was living in Joshua Tree, but when that didn’t work out I was more than happy to complete another cross-country road trip. There’s something therapeutic about blasting music as loud as I can during an endless drive with breathtaking scenery.

It’s so important to allow ourselves to rest in a world that views success in terms of productivity. Joshua Tree gave me that relaxation I really needed, and even though I am not longer in the place that makes me happiest, I am now able to create again with more passion than I have ever felt.