Forever Desert Dreamin’

Unpacking from a trip always seems to be the hardest part of any time away for me.

I unzip my suitcase and the scent of dirty socks mixed with a little sweat and long faded sunscreen hits me. Snippets of a forever memorable adventure flash before me and the reality of it being over, all smushed and wrinkled in a battered suitcase stings a little.

Each time I come home from the west; I feel a little less complete. Parts of me are slowly being left behind and I’m not sure what else but relocating there will take to put me back together. Scattered pieces of Jen; all over Southern California, Utah and Arizona. Like lost treasures.

Check, check, check.

There’s nothing like waking under the desert moon and sun with no rain fly on your tent. (Things you don’t get to do in the Midwest: Exhibit A.) The Superstition Mountains looming behind me. You never feel alone in the desert. A thousand cacti and rocks and small lizard eyes on you at all times. And flies.

The desert seems to breathe at night. The wind kicked my tent around, both nudging me awake and lulling me to sleep; feeding my dreams with visions of sandstorms.

But the sunrise is the real treat. The sky is made of watercolor splashes of fire and smoke.

3 Comments on “Forever Desert Dreamin’”

Mike.
September 27, 2018

I’m glad you wrote about this… leaving pieces behind everywhere beautiful in the west. ❤️

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- Jennifer Potts
  September 27, 2018
  
  I knew you could relate to this ❤️
  
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Mountain Maven
September 27, 2018

This is beautiful! I totally hear you. It’s why we ended up moving to Alaska after visiting. I knew that it was where I was meant to be and that there were so many things just waiting for me up here. Cross country moving is HARD (I have lots of old posts about it) but I don’t regret it at all.

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