A Narrative Journey Into the U.S. National Parks and Around the Globe
The second largest cliff dwelling in Mesa Verde National Park, Long House is also one of the most isolated: Reaching the complex requires a lengthy drive from the park’s visitor’s center, a tram ride, and, finally, a mile-long hike through the backcountry. So, when our tram puttered to a stop beside the trailhead, I hopped …
Fluted vases proudly positioned themselves beside short pots with geometric designs. Starlight radiated from bowls with glossy finishes, and horse hair burned into the glaze of an ostentatious amphora slithered across its surface. Everywhere I looked, pottery crowded wooden tables and glass shelves, each piece vying for my attention. Heather and I had just finished …
In the heat of the early morning sun, Heather and I made our way down a narrow gravel path to an outlook already clogged with hiking boots and dusty tennis shoes. After checking the time, I milled over to a wooden fence to look out over the valley below. This was our second day in …
Early Monday morning, a feeling of unease extracted me from some indistinct dream and deposited me back into a fusty motel room in Utah. I opened my eyes a fraction to check the time and was greeted by the sun’s rays gilding the floral curtains hung over the window. Perhaps if I lay still beneath …
Less than a mile after we had pulled out of Four Corners Monument, we crossed into Colorado, the only state of the southwestern quartet we hadn’t yet visited. As we drove, the land rippled in anticipation of the Rockies, and grass appeared where only sand and stone had for most of our travels. Tucked into …
(A version of this essay was a semifinalist in the 2017 I Must Be Off! travel writing competition.) “We made it!” I whooped as our rental car rushed past a mustard-yellow sign decorated with chili peppers. After several hours on the road, we had entered New Mexico. “Make sure you pick up a rock for …
The Barefooted Soul 