One week back from Utah, and I’m so glad I went. I had a full blown itinerary planned to see & hike 5 National Parks, and although I only made it to 2(.5), it was exactly what I needed.
After telling everyone from my Manager to my friends that I just “needed to get away and be alone for a few days” in the weeks leading up to my trip, that expressed need proved decently true.
I’m someone who gets very stressed out in places like Target or the grocery store due to my tangible sensitivity to the energy of others… god, the feeling of hurried anxiety at Target even when I PERSONALLY am not in a rush is my literal nightmare, hahaha. Makes sense why I’ve come to love the Natural Grocers on my corner– so un-busy, such better vibes, no stressful parking lot or people rushing around inside haha — 10/10 experience.
That said; while the compounding chaos of the last 3-9 months most definitely brought a ton of fun along with it (funny because looking back, it really looks like three, 3-month stages unravelled all year… hahah)– I came to realize during early September-ish that I was really in need of some time alone to recenter on what I’ve been feeling myself, away from the distractions of external things & their (positive & otherwise) energies. I can get so caught up with, distracted, and confused by outside energy because I’m not great at realizing what emotions are mine and which I’ve picked up from other people or my surroundings– which is made worse by my struggle with implementing personal boundaries that allow me to have alone time & take care of my own needs vs. what I think other people expect of me… (lol, discussion for another day) So– going to Utah, alone in a camper van, with 1700+ miles to cover was the perfect opportunity to escape.
I knew that I wanted to do a lot of thinking, and hopefully a lot of aha-moment having, but at the outset I was still so wound up from how I’d been feeling at home I was like “on god– if I still feel this way at the end of this trip, I’m going to LOSE! IT!”
Luckily, that was a lot of anxiety about not accomplishing what I wanted to accomplish… which I didn’t really know any of the details of yet, haha. I felt like something was off, but I didn’t know what was off– all I knew is that I wanted to find out ASAP so I could get on with my life in a more balanced manner. So impatient 😂
More luckily, however, the beautiful drive I had in the daylight from Denver to Grand Junction was a great start to the trip– I’d never driven through the Rockies before and two words: holy cow. Literally was in awe of something new after turning each new corner or bend in I-70– and the golden hour light that increased as the afternoon waned on made it all the more immaculate. If it hadn’t all been off the interstate + my time crunch to get to Moab to see some friends for the first night, I would’ve loved to have stopped more frequently to admire and snap some pics. Also didn’t have an SD card for my Olympus, at the time….. Rookie mistake 💀
Any who! Here are some pics 🙂 Don’t ask me my favorite, because I don’t really do favorites haha. However, I LOVED Zion & Monticello because I love the contrast of green/colorful plants against the rest of the rocks– and Arches was obviously outstanding because “arches”. My route was:
- Night 1: Monticello, UT (concert & camping with friends, deep in BLM land off Beef Basin Road)
- Night 2-3: Moab, UT (for Arches NP)
- Night 4: Camping north of Zion
- Night 5: Virgin, UT (Camping south of Zion, BLM Land)
PS: If you have to go sit and figure out your shit alone for a few days, I personally found that doing so outside in beautiful nature was a great way for me to do it. Hard to be that upset when surrounded by beautiful, natural things that (appear to) have stood the test of time– incomparably to humans, at least.
PSS: I am looking to go back to Canyonlands/the Beef Basin area specifically, as well as to Capitol Reef, & Zion for Angels Landing & The Narrows when it warms up
Through Lauren's Lens 