Desert Winter Storm

Today is the first time I’m truly sick this trip so far. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, here comes blog post numéro deux so I can distract myself from this wretched throat pain.

Since we last spoke, a fair bit has happened and I’m not even sure where to start. A quick recap:

• Climbed and celebrated American Thanksgiving for the first time with 300 other climbers at the Red River Gorge, in Kentucky. Climbers all gathered at Miguel’s Pizza, a “climber-only” campground and hangout to enjoy the holidays and the beautiful weather we had over Thanksgiving week.
• Crossed the fly-over states (Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas), had our radiator breakdown in small-town Kansas, promptly had it fixed thanks to helpful gentlemen.
• Spent five days with the most amazing hostess, Helena, in Denver. She brought us to a light show in gorgeous botanical gardens, cooked us breakfast and suppers, brought us on hikes, and introduced us to the Colorado charm. Thank you so much for setting aside so much time for us.
• Relaxed and socialized with the homie Adrian and friends in Telluride, who welcomed us into their amazing home in the mountains. We all agreed we could spend large amounts of time in this mountain town and felt right at home living with those dudes.
• Spent a week in Moab, Utah, camping in the desert under a sky so full of stars I could hardly believe it. As Ben pointed out, you could pick any dark spot in the sky, look long enough, and it would fill up with stars. The magnitude of the desert and night sky were hardly comprehensible. Cherry on top; “Wall Street” is a climbing area south of Moab with 150 routes side by side. We’ve never heard of anything like this - you can drive your car right up to the route you want to climb, and even belay sitting in your van!
• A quick stint into northern Arizona (for the ice tea). In our modern world, this is somehow the best way I can explain how deserted this area was: we drove a nearly 4 hour stretch with no cell service. We accidentally* ended up at the legendary Horse Shoe Bend before going north back into Utah to visit Bryce Canyon, Zion, Grande Escalante, etc.

*most of our entire trip has been what most would call “by accident”. Nearly every camping spot, hidden valley, remote mountain lake, and even how we came upon our van has very much been by accident. We all deeply agree that flexibility, patience, attention, and willful optimism is all we need - plans will take care of themselves (with the help of locals we chat up, friends, and the will of the wind…).


It has been an eventful past month. We now find ourselves in a cafe in Cedar City in South-Western Utah. There’s a storm warning in effect for our area, so even though it is currently a cloudless, sunny desert outside, we’re waiting for snow to hit and staying off the high-mountain roads.

I’m still trying to figure out how to write about this trip. I have them impression that recounting our days would quickly get tiresome, while exclusively posting photos may lack a personal touch. I’d like to share a few part of living in a van with your best friends that surprised me.

As much as we often try, it is very difficult to escape creating expectations, so naturally I carried a few myself before this trip. Other expectations were instilled upon us by others. For example, before leaving, many people were convinced we’d quickly get tired of each other and living in such a tiny space. Our whole van is smaller than my bedroom.

The truth is, my expectation and those of others have all been shattered. I love living in our cozy van and am never tired of having nightly sleepovers with my best friends. Yes, it’s true that when living outside, you occasionally go weeks where your feet never truly warm up, but you learn to simply notice the cold instead of getting upset by it - cold feet wont kill you. At the start, the lack of showers stirred up a bit of disgust in my mind, however there’s an abundance of bathrooms in America and a face wash and towel down goes a long way. I thought we’d be eating rice and chickpeas every day, but turns out three people can eat very cheaply, including allowing ourselves various veggies daily.

There’s also the shear scale of our freedom. With a rolling home, the world is our playground. For the last number of days, we’ve spend sunrise and sunset in different stunning locations. I fell asleep in the sand cuddled next to a fire in the Utah desert last week. We sat with deer while they grazed last night, and hiked 10km before 10am this morning through Bryce Canyon. I never could have anticipated how good this much freedom feels.

Those who follow us on Instagram (@goosecompany) are getting a glimpse of the huge amount of photos we’ve been taking. I tried to cut these photos down to something manageable, but it was too hard. I've decided to start a Facebook album for the trip, which I'll link in the comments when it's completed.

For those still reading... 

Book of the moment: Thinking Fast and Slow - Daniel Kahneman
This is a pretty popular book, I can't say much about it that hasn't been said. The author won a Nobel prize in economics and changed the way we look at the "rational person". Easy and clear read which helps you distinguish between two systems in your mind, your "fast" system which is automatic and out of your control, and your "slow" system, which is who you think you are, and is also the system that allows us to do math and statistics. 

Music of the moment: A slightly older album, but In the Shower by Homeshake is a strong favourite. He's a Montrealer, and was previously the longtime guitarist for Mac Demarco. A go-to in the morning or evening. 

Another album we bumped the other night that we really enjoyed was King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard's "Flying Microtonal Banana". The music is just as out there as the name, so maybe don't play it in moms kitchen.