#RSRSeesTheUSA Day 49: Utah 12 Scenic Byway
You’re allowed to go out and be you rather than something fixed. The world is changing, and we’re all part of remaking it… and we don’t have to follow the paths and patterns that we once had to follow.
—Katherine May at the end of an episode of her podcast, The Wintering Sessions
That was the quote that played at the end of the podcast I was just listening to, and it dovetails so perfectly with all of where my head is at these days. On this day of spectacular driving (4 minutes of which you can see above), and on this trip, and in a larger sense of making my way through how I want to be contributing to the world in ways that feel wholesome and collectively beneficial and adventurous. So here were some of the things I did today that felt that way:
decided to spend the day driving along Route 12 (which multiple people have recommended, including Gary, in the comments just yesterday) and seeing how far I get
did not force myself out of bed at an early hour to make a long drive to an arbitrarily determined national park I feel like I “must” see
stopped at every. damn. scenic. point. to get out of the car and marvel at what geology has done in this part of the world. I mean, sure, here are pictures, but trust me, they don’t capture how vast and twisting and colorful and inviting of exploration the whole Grand Staircase-Escalante region felt
stopped for lunch at Kiva Koffeehouse (on Anne Barrow’s recommendation) and ate a yummy wrap and drank a refreshing lemonade while I overheard bits of a conversation between two people who sounded like they’re wilderness guides/teachers (one of whom had just been living off the land for 4-5 days and was sharing his notebook sketches with his friend). They each had a dog curled up in the shade under the table, and the way they talked about their local community and the land was so full of respect (and at least one mutual friend who was turning down a teaching job because she didn’t want to get any of the required vaccinations). The Kiva Koffeehouse surroundings were so beautifully camouflaged into the canyon that I absolutely understand why it’s worth a stop in its own right.
chatted with a few other vista takers-in (including another couple from Massachusetts) about our trips and verbally claimed my in-between feeling about where I’m at in life right now
listened to an eclectic combination of Neko Case, Years & Years, and Elbow plus assorted podcasts and the audiobook of Gal Beckerman’s The Quiet Before: On the Unexpected Origins of Radical Ideas
bought a Mrs Field’s chipwich on my ride home, which ended up being my starter course for a cobbled together dinner
goggled at a lot of incredible geology on display
changed my trip itinerary plans to head back through this area for some scenic drives that a local recommended to me at lunch
felt actively proud of my combination of planning and spontaneity, which (because I have a few days of no reserved stopping place after my stay in Kanab) means I can now look forward to a couple nights of camping in beautiful central Utah in my near future
was relieved and soothed to realize that this is only night 3 of 5 sleeping in the same place in Kanab. I’ve unpacked my clothes into the closet. I’ve bought groceries and stored them in the kitchen. I’ve got a comfy bed and temperature control and a dark room with its own running water to sleep in for a few nights more
Cloud of the day: see above panorama photos for a couple examples of the combination of smeared layers with defined puffs that characterized the sky through a lot of the day today
