Meet Ñu (an abbreviated version of Ñandú)

In accordance with the tradition of naming our exploration vessels after cute-but-not-particularly-graceful flightless animals that inhabit the southern hemisphere and whose Spanish name start with Ñ, we have chosen the name Ñu to christen our new adventure facilitator. For those of you who do not speak the Cervantes language, ñu is wildebeest or gnu in English. Here’s the first chapter of her life: a mostly graphic essay about the long trip back to California after picking her up in Montana.

She likes it hot too

Things started the usual way: with a mechanical breakdown. Yup, the cooling system. Déjà vu all over again: the piece that holds the pulley that drives the radiator fan broke. Mercedes’ legendary reliability just didn’t stand up to my cooling system bracket karma. I’d like to know what sins I committed in previous lives that led to being flogged with such a specific punishment. On a second thought… nah, I don’t want to know. [If you are new to this blog, write “bracket” in the search box to the right.]

At some point she finally realized that I had no way of coming up with an address, and somehow figured out how to move on. But then it was time to face the towing truck bureaucracy. After all the different ways I told the road assistance lady exactly where we were, the truck driver called to ask… you guessed, where the fuck we were. Not only that, he also wanted a picture of the van. I inquired why. He said he needed to know how tall it was in order to decide what truck to bring. I told him the van was exactly 9 feet and 4 inches high. “That’s very useful information”, he said. “But I still need a picture.”

And then came the pearl that showed that roadside assistance does not  understand the ‘assistance’ part either. They offered to take only one of us in the truck cabin with the driver, while the other could get an Uber. Dude, even if there was a way to call an Uber when you have no internet, there’s no way we’re going to spend 90 minutes with strangers in an enclosed environment in the middle of a pandemic; I don’t care what the regulations say—we’re going inside the van, period. We actually had a blast riding at an even higher vantage point than usual to the repair shop.

Montana and Wyoming

It was cold. The thermostat became my best friend when we had 5 days in a row with the daily high not getting above 35°F (2°C).

Utah

Still cold for a tropics lover, but way better than Montana.

Canyonlands National Park — Island in the Sky

To our surprise, it was high season in Southeast Utah—winter is too cold and summer too hot.

Arches National Park

It’s called arches for a reason.

Canyonlands National Park — The Needles

Going South

Arizona

Grand Canyon

Our first day in Grand Canyon National Park was somewhat disappointing: it was hazy, and as we got closer to Grand Canyon Village it got more and more crowded, and less and less of a zen-like experience. We pondered leaving for good, but when we checked that the forecast called for a snowy night we decided to camp right outside the park, set the alarm for 5:15am, and get some sleep before driving back to the park. At first light, as the weather started to clear, breakfast in the heated van with a spectacular view and no-one around was a spectacular reward.

Sedona Area

Every page about Sedona on the web seems to have this description: “Sedona is an Arizona desert town near Flagstaff that’s surrounded by red-rock buttes, steep canyon walls and pine forests. It’s noted for its mild climate and vibrant arts community.” So there you go. I can be a master of copy-pasting too. On our way west we unintentionally discovered Jerome, a very interesting, funky, and “wickedest town in the west”. The last picture below, Burro Creek is not really near Sedona, but I couldn’t fit it in any other section.

California

Mojave Desert

The Mojave was… profound. There’s some mysterious magic in that tough landscape that touches your soul and makes you travel inwards. But more personally, the Mojave was the place where Kathy undertook a vision quest a few years ago, fastening in solitary for four days. It was a transformational experience for her, and marked an inflection point in our relationship as well. For me, it was the first time there, and I am immensely grateful that she let me into her space with an open heart full of joy and desire to share.

Sequoia National Park

Kings Canyon National Park