It's been two weeks road tripping in the USA - what a different journey it has been so far.
If usually, travelling means for me embracing the art of letting go, this time, it’s been two weeks full of stress and learning. But first, let me introduce my two travel companions for those of you who don’t know them yet : Emilie and Speedy D.
EMILIE
Emilie is my cousin, my twin cousin as we called each other when we were young. We were born one month appart. And we spent our childhood spending a lot of time together. We always have been very close & pretty similar. We would always like the same things. I remember going to a family dinner one night and we were both wearing the same clothes. One in blue, the other in yellow. We would also have similar ways of thinking but yet, two very different childhood and family system we grow up in. She has been a huge part of my life, and always there through the good and the bad times. We have travelled a bit together before but never just the two of us. And especially not since we’ve done so much work on ourselves the last few years.
So if this journey is announcing itself full of love and adventures, I know it will also be an amazing journey for our personal growth and the growth within our relationship. But more on this later.
SPEEDY D
As to Speedy D, my little van, it’s been a short love and hate story.
I went to check it out and pick him up at the end of march, 4 hours away from Nelson. I’ve spent the month of April building up the inside, a project that was close to my heart. It was very special for me to spend some time on my own, building this. Especially because the last van was Toto, in New Zealand, and I had done it while calling my dad every two days, in France, to ask him for help. This time, no more Dad to call :(, but I can tell he was with me during the whole process as I found tricks here and there to fix my mistakes and be the next generation of Mac Gyver :). I had to "undress" Speedy D from the old structure, take down the walls and everything that was left inside, do the insulation, build the walls, make a hole in the roof to install a roof vent, call for help for a bit of electrical and build the furniture and the plumbing. I know he would have been proud of my work.
On the mechanical side, completely reliable at first, we met a few troubles on the road since the start. Unfortunately, it costed me a few more repair and maintenance jobs than expected, especially because I don’t do much in the mechanic world (I don’t dare, but I need to say I’ve learned a lot about mechanic since April!) . But to live in, it’s been a pleasure. I’m pretty happy of the built so far and it’s been a good journey together overall. Once the last few repair will be done, he will be ready for more travel!
THE START OF THE ROAD TRIP
So, the idea was to do some of the National Parks in the interior West of the USA, and to do parts of the West Coast. A first for the three of us who had never been to the US before. But we ended up planning our travel a bit differently to avoid peaks of tourism. We will head first first for bits of the interior, then to the coast, then back to the interior before heading back to Canada end of July.
First step was to fly back to Canada, pick up the van at the airport parking, get the alignment done and some more camping stuff, and head to the border for the big start of the trip.
The border experience wasn’t as bad as I had been told, but I need to confess I was pretty stressed about it. After a few questions on why and how we could get such long holidays, (Americans only get two weeks of paid holidays a year) they let us go through, keeping our avocados, tomatoes, eggs and lemon. I had no idea we couldn’t cross the border with those, funny especially because they were coming from Mexico and the USA originally.
SEATTLE
Seattle was our first experience of the big American city. It’s been very paradoxal there. And very stressful for me. I remember being confused by the emptiness of most streets and the crowds in others. It was all about contrast, everywhere. Tourists, cars, homeless and outcasts, locals… The cacophony of the market meeting the silence of these men and women left out. Poverty and money existing together. The noises, the bright colours, neons everywhere. It’s garish and loud. Everything is excessive. La démesure as we call it in French.
What I remember of Seattle is being attracted by all of this while wanting to run away. It was intense in emotions. The overwhelm, the reality, the white privilege, the easy fall-down of the capitalistic society we live in, the guilt of being a tourist and in some ways a part of this…
Thankfully, it was not all stormy inside. I did enjoy the architecture, the feeling of « grandeur » and the colorful Museum of Pop Culture, designed by the famous Frank O Gehry, that I could finally experience with all of my senses after studying it at school 12 years ago. And we also found an incredible spot to spend the night, right by the water, couldn't have been more grateful for it.
PORTLAND
Portland was a special experience for me. If I believe what I had been told before going there, it is the trendy place to be. But my experience of Portland has been a long stressful wait as Speedy D had encounter some trouble on the rough road that separate Seattle from Portland.
When we arrived the first day, we went for a walk with Mily, to try to explore and change my mind a bit. But I was so stressed to start the travel this way, that I couldn’t stay present. I tried my hardest to enjoy this city but Emilie can tell, I couldn’t. We even encounter our first big struggle at that point because her empathy was making her experience my feelings and she would need me not to be so stressed and unhappy but I simply couldn’t. When I’m going through a storm, I can’t lie. I often loose my footing and it can be shattering for someone with as much empathy as her. Unfortunately, I've learned with the years that it is ok to have those emotions and moments. And there was not much I could do to help her except offering her some space. I know that when that happens, there is only one way out for me and it’s through. And we did, separately and together :)
The second day then, we dropped the van in the morning to a garage, & spent the day in a cafe waiting for an answer. We got back to the shop in the afternoon & their story was that we had a piece of rubber that got stuck in the suspension during our travel and the noise was just coming from this. It was hard to believe but they seemed nice and honest so we agreed. They also found a bunch of other problems (like they love doing even though you didn’t ask them for that) which left me feeling more insecure about the drive. But well, we hit the road again, direction Salt Lake City.
And it's only after a few dozen of miles that the noise came back… Too late to turn back and talk to them...That’s when I understood we probably got scammed in Portland and that we were gonna need more repair…
ONTARIO - THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.
We then ended up in Ontario, a town in the middle of nowhere, in the direction of Salt Lake City. We stopped and tried to find a good place, with good recommendations to get the van fixed. We ended up spending two days there, one to get it checked, one to get it fixed. We managed to find a very nice cafe and a nice thrift store to spend some time in. So many times we wondered what people do in this town because there is nothing to do. Literally nothing appart from malls, shops and big chains of restaurants.
We slept on the garage carpark and the second day, we got Speedy D back. The guys did a good job even though I believe I ended up paying an expensive bill for the job. That was reassuring to know Speedy D was good to go again. But my whole budget for this trip has just disappeared in one day, that pill was rough to swallow...
GREAT SALT LAKE - ANTELOPE ISLAND
That’s when I felt like the trip was finally starting. Spending a day on this Island, in the middle of so much nature and wilderness, felt so good.
My whole body could relax for a bit. We went for a swim, or a float should I say, in the salty water. Then we went exploring the trails all around. It was such a beautiful experience, meeting up with bisons for the very first time and watching an antelope or two running around.
We finally could sit down with the van and get some of it more settled for the trip too. Sewing some of our mosquito net on top of the viewpoint was definitely a good highlight for the trip. (Despite Emilie's anger & frustration against those same mosquitoes/sandflies/midges who loved our skin way too much)
CANYONLAND & ARCHES NATIONAL PARK
After this little break close to water, we headed to Canyonland to visit Island in the Sky, one of the 3 districts that makes this National Park. It was our very first time in the desert and facing canyons like this. The sensations were crazy. I felt so small in the gigantic landscape and at the same time, I felt so powerful… It’s like if I could sense how all of this and me, we’re just one. Like if this nature in front of me is a part of me. The drought, the search for water, the little resilient bushes here and there, the blazing reds and oranges, the strength of these giant rocks, the resilience of nature, the character very special of this place… it all felt like my own story.
We went to see the Grand View Point Overlook, the Green River Overlook, Emilie kept on going with the Upheaval Dome but I stopped there for a nap and a bit of alone time. And our way out, we stopped at the famous Mesa Arch, where tourists were queuing for their photo. That’s when we had enough of this park and headed out to a campsite for the night. The next morning we woke up super early to enter Arches National Park before 7am, as they now require you a time slot for entrance between 7am and 4pm. Another day full of giant, but an experience somewhat more enjoyable. Speedy D didn’t enjoy that much the heat and I must say, I don’t either. But the landscapes, full of arches and bridges, hence the name of the park, were definitely worth the early alarm. It has been my favorite park so far.
The third day, we headed to The Needles, second district of Canyonland National Park for a slower and quieter day in the canyons. I enjoyed a bit less the landscapes there, but we both enjoyed the quiet of this park compare to the crowds we just had navigated. The highlight for me was looking at some very old pictographs on the walls. Quite magic to try understand what ancient people tried to teach or say with these!
GOOSENECKS
On our way south to Monument Valley, we stopped for a night at the Gooseneck State Park. We originally had planned to only stop by for the sunset but the campsite was so cheap (10$ including the 5$ fee of the park), so we decided it was worth the night. And when I see my photos, heck yeah it was worth the night! It was once again one of those places where I feel so good, I can forget about everything and appreciate the present moment.
MONUMENT VALLEY
That morning, we had set up the alarm in hope of a colorful sunrise before heading to Monument Valley hoping to avoid the tourists (like us). In the end, we took our time and we ended up quite late on the road. We still got our famous Forest Gump photo, but decided not to do the drive through the famous Valley... First, because it was already crowded, Second, because our budget already exploded since we arrived despite our slow and cheap lifestyle. One point we’ve learned : the USA are expensive…more than we thought. (and I don’t include the van repair in that one >.<)
LAKE POWELL
At the time I'm writing this blog post, we are in a cafe in Page, near Lake Powell. We took two days off traveling, to recharge, catch up with friends and family online and spend some time updating our online life too. Speedy D isn’t doing well with the heat and is having some hard start, which I’m exploring again in the mechanic world. Please send the gods to the mechanic to me, so I can whether get rich and fix everything or be lucky for the rest of the trip. ;)
Lake Powell is an artificial lake, in the middle of the desert, in Arizona. This is our 5th state, after Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah. We have done more than 3000 km already. It goes fast here.
It feels so good to have some water around even though the temperatures are unbearable for me. And it’s only June !! It’s funny but I hadn’t looked into where we were going at all with this trip and I wasn’t expecting so much heat and desert. I had no idea this was the life of a lot of Americans… Suddenly, I like my Canadian cold weather !
We experienced a few storms too, with thunder and lightning which has been so refreshing. Our TV screen got so much bigger watching the lightning patterns far ahead of us.
Even though I am so happy to have seen all of those landscapes the last two weeks, I need to say I cannot wait for California and the ocean. I think my body need some salty water and ocean views.
FUN FACTS ABOUT THE USA
Ok, so when I first came to Canada I had a bunch of clichés in mind about North America. Coming to the USA for a trip has never really been a desire of mine. The idea was born just from wanting to travel together with Mily in a foreign place for both of us. Canada was my home, and the USA was right under. That’s how we came here.
The first two weeks have been full of surprises, good and bad but here are the main two :
First, Americans are so friendly. They talk to you randomly in the streets, they offer help even when you didn’t ask for it, they try to make conversations out of nothing, it’s straight forward, no « hello », no « excuse me », it’s straight to : « oh where are you from?! » « Are you looking for something? » « Do you need directions? ». It's funny but it's what I love sometimes about the english language. No "prise de tête" as we say in French.
Second, in most of the states we crossed, Americans seemed to not really care about recycling. I am shocked by how many single use cups they consume, even when you sit somewhere. Cuttlery, plates, cups, lids… Everything is disposable. It is sad and crazy to see. I don’t get it. It feels like it’s not a question here for anyone. And what could be recycled isn’t. Everything goes to the same bin. It’s sad and frustrating to know most countries seem to be trying, France, New Zealand, Norway, Canada, but some bigger guys like this one, doesn’t care… For me and my eco anxiety, it’s been a tough reality to face…
TRAVEL REFLECTION
Each one of my travel has been a learning experience and this one is any different.
As I’m in a special period of my life, after 6 intense months of therapy, a travel back home facing the origins of my traumas, my life-coaching diploma and some other heart break stories, I feel like this journey came right on time. It’s been incredibly tough to be around my soul sister while navigating my own struggle. Because her big heart and big empathy is taking over my need of her just holding space for me. We don't get mad at each other. We just trigger each other. And where usually I would have shut down and tried to push my emotions deep inside of me, I decided that even with her, I’d be myself and accept them even though it’s hard for her. It's all about balance and I'm proud of us for trying and finding it.
It took us a few days to find our bearings around each other but things have been so much more enjoyable since we left the big cities. I get so stressed in crowded and loud places. That’s one thing I had discovered in New Zealand with my Cachou, but that’s even more accurate in a country like the USA.
Even though I have no idea what I want to do after August and where I want to go, even though I miss the feeling of Home I had in Nelson, I have a deep sensation that tells me that I need to keep on digging that path I took with life-coaching and that this is what will bring me answers about where I want to settle and with who.
In the meantime, I know I am not a desert person, I am not a Utah, Arizona kind of person. I did love Oregon, despite the bad mechanics we encountered. And I cannot wait for some ocean.
I’ll talk to you soon,
Love. Co
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