Go west, young (wo)man!

Just a little over a week now until I'm finally off in that vast arid wilderness known as 'Arizona.' It's going to be quite a change from the rolling, fertile mountains of the Blue Ridge, where the closest thing to a desert is the shore at Virginia Beach. Even before I set out, I can honestly say I've never been any place like it before. Australia is the driest continent on Earth, and there I still huddled mostly near the temperate southern coast and the comforts of civilization. With this newest venture of mine, I will be working at Tonto National Monument (named after the Lone Ranger's faithful life mate, one can only assume), about a two hour drive east of Phoenix, on the northern edge of the Sonoran Desert. The park will be providing me with housing, and since all the regular volunteer accommodations will be occupied, I will have the privilege of inhabiting what has been described to me as a "26 ft. travel trailer." I believe that means something along the line of this:


While a lack of television and only occasional internet will simply be RE-adjustments for me, my immediate surrounds will be quite a far leap from the Appalachia I've come to know and love and sometimes hate, but usually love. Consider the following (mostly stolen from Wikipedia)...

• Arizona's average annual precipitation is 12.7" compared to Virginia's 42.7". If you can't do the math, that's difference of 2.5 feet. And that whole foot of rain in Arizona comes from two specific rainy seasons - that's right monsoons. I will be living in a place that has monsoons.
• According to weather.com, today's high in Christiansburg is 38, with a low of 21. In Phoenix, the high is 78 and the low is 53. Even at it's coldest, Phoenix is still warmer than C'burg.
  
• The highest point in Virginia is Mount Rogers at 5,729 ft. The highest point in Arizona is Humphreys Peak at 12,633 ft. Again, if simple math escapes you, that's over twice a high.
• Languages spoken in Virginia include 94.6% English and 5.9% Spanish. In Arizona - 74.1% English, 19.5% Spanish, and 1.9% Navajo. NAVAJO?! What...is that some wacky made-up language like Esperanto?
  
• Virginia was one of the original 13 colonies and became a state in 1788. Back then Arizona was still part of Mexico and it didn't even become a state until 1912 (on Valentine's Day, no less) - the last of the lower 48. (A somewhat comforting side note: While still only a territory, Arizona did secede from the Union in 1861 and was recognized as part of the Confederacy by Jefferson Davis in 1862. Good to know I can still fly the Stars and Bars!)
• Arizona has a professional (NFC champion) football team, baseball team, basketball team, hockey team, and even lacrosse team. Virginia can only wish that it were D.C. or Baltimore.
• Arizona's state neckwear is the bolo tie. Virginia doesn't even have one.

Arizona, and the entire Southwest, will truly be a whole new world. I think part of me is still denying the fact that this is not merely a quick vacation. I will undoubtedly miss the rose-tinted memories of my hillbilly home, but I know that once I hit these uncharted lands my inner explorer will arise and every day will be wondrous and new. First I've just got to get this nasty thing called "packing" out of the way...

So long VA! It was great while it lasted. But your bluegrass and your delicious ham can only distract me from the call of the wild for so long.

The Young and the Restless

Recently, I've been getting a lot of comments along the lines of, "You sure are having a lot of adventures," and "I could never do anything like that." Generally these remarks come from coworkers or friends of my parents, usually in passing, and my answers are usually limited to "Yup," and "Maybe." Yet a much more detailed response is always brewing in my tumultuous mind. I present it to you now, anonymous Internet spirit, because I know you shall haunt me eternally if you are not appeased.

When confronted with these unsolicited assertions, part of me is inclined to agree, however humbly. It's nice to think of oneself as a Romantic hero(ine), roaming the earth, seeking new quests with each step. Compared to the "average" American, my most recent life choices are quite adventurous. Consider the population as a whole - what percentage of people actually set out to hike the Appalachian Trail? I'd say a pretty damn small one; an even smaller one if you only count those who reach Maine. How many people sign up to live in a camper in the Arizona desert? Not a whole lot. I've taken a few steps off the well-beaten path of college >> grad school (optional) >> career. That's not to say that one day I won't settle into the creature comforts of Middle America, but I'm not taking the straightest route from Point A to Point B. I'll take the road where surprise and danger lurk around every corner!

However, another part of me instinctively disagrees with such hasty, declarative statements. While picturing myself as an adventure-seeker can be quite a self-esteem boost, this was not my major motivation in pursuing these travels. I didn't decide to hike the AT because of some life-long ambition or a great disillusionment with modern society. I hiked it simply because I needed something to do after graduation. As mentioned before, some people might pursue another degree, some people might enter the workforce, some people might even sit around and wait to marry into a rich family. I was not particularly interested in any of these options. I would have found something to do, no matter what, but it just so happened that my totally awesome friend, Becka, was way ahead of me on the trail thing, leading to a thought process similar to the following:

"Hey, when Becka hiked the AT that seemed pretty fun. Plus, I could make a trip like that last for quite awhile without a huge amount of money. Sounds like as good a plan as any!"

The air of excitement and peril that came along with such a decision was just an added benefit. I, like most of my peers at the time, was just trying to find something to do with my immediate future.

Likewise, as I begin this new internship in just a couple of weeks, I'm also seeking a path for my future, and not a very unusual path - I want to move out of my parents' house, I want to find a career I can be content with, and I want to be a self-sufficient adult. If there's an adventure at all, it's the adventure of life, as cliche as that is. And this time I'm not even setting out by myself; Shawn will be with me through it all, just like he has been since our adventurous paths crossed.

As to the truth of whether the commenter could undertake a journey such as mine, I'm not sure it's so much a matter of "can" or "can't" as it is a matter of "want to." Every year, you can find people from all walks of life hiking the AT. Anyone can do it if they really want to. Sometimes I think, "I could never work in a cubicle, or in a lab, or in retail," etc. But the truth is, I really don't want to. Some people might have greater opportunities than others to travel, or change careers, or whatever, but I think it's true that you can really do whatever you earnestly set your mind to, no matter what. It seems to be widely accepted that youth is the time to get out and experience the world, before you're riddled with responsibilities. I don't see why that should be the case. Yes, you may have a little more red-tape to get through later in life, but that shouldn't stop you from trying new things and seeing new places, if you truly want to. More often than not, when someone tells me "I couldn't do that," I think what they really mean is "I wouldn't do that," or "I'm afraid to do that," - perhaps afraid of how others might see them, or simply afraid of uncertainty.

I don't quite agree with all the recent over-hyped critical infatuation with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I thought it was a well-made film with a pretty "alright" story, that certainly worked on tugging at people's heart-strings. However, one of Ben's parting thoughts in the film did strike accord with me. He writes to his daughter:

For what it's worth, it's never too late, or in my case too early - to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit; stop whenever you want. You can change, or stay the same - there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.

It's fairly cheesy and cliche, but I think there's truth to it. I think people sometimes believe there's a set path to life; you gotta do what you gotta do to get by. Suddenly, if your life wanders off the path, you're on some wacky adventure! But who's to say life can't be adventurous? If you want it to veer in a different direction, then go for it! Who's stopping you?

So I guess my point in all of this digression is that my response to those casual assertions is both "yes" and "no." I am a seeker of the adventure of life. And you can be, too.

You know...if you feel like it.

Salutations

Yes, you there!

You may recall, when last we met I had just been thrust back into the modern world of Man - ripped from the filthy and unforgiving (yet overly-romanticized) bosom of nature, like so many other feral children and dirty, dirty hippies, who found their vagrant, escapist sojourns coming to a close.

If you do not recall this, then for shame! I take the time and effort to diligently recount every irrelevant detail of my life, demanding your unwavering devotion, and this is how I am repaid? Not even an absent-minded glance out of sheer guilt? I have no choice but to employ the height of my passive-aggressivity and casually hint that you might like to take a little time now to review. Don't worry, I'll wait...

There, was that so hard? Shall we proceed?

As sudden and drastic as this transition was, it didn't take long for me to become reacquainted, chummy even, with magnificent time-wasting technology and its warm, glowing, warming glow. Film, television (in various definitions), hydrated food, near daily showers, the INTERNET, and of course Snuggies. I resumed my unfulfilling, yet undemanding job as a coffee jockey and thusly my transformation from itinerant slacker to "productive" citizen was complete.

However, through all of this I remained confident in my one major advantage over a latte-making robot - love ( the robot's major advantages being it's ability to understand hip coffee jargon and its laser vision). You may also recall from your recent refresher on me, not only did I return from Maine with a lack of funds and a moose skull*, but also with something previously absent from the greater part of my existence - that is, a boyfriend. And an amazing one at that. So amazing that, despite my presently disenchanting status, I had (and have) an overwhelming excitement for the future and everything it may hold for us.

Separated by a mere six states (due to post-Trail financial woes) we wasted no time in furiously scheming our way back together, reunited at last, lesser beings will tremble at our might! Plans were concocted, abandoned, reanimated, bludgeoned to death, and then tentatively left to the wheel of time, careening toward the ditch of serendipity. Then one day, our vehicle of hope crashed into the tree of dreams and exploded into a fireball of salvation.

Not long after I had reached my final breaking point for bagels and steamed milk, I found out that I had been selected for an internship with the National Park Service, through the Student Conservation Association (SCA). Oh, fraptious day! No more aprons and tiny hats (except when especially funny or sexy)! And what's more, the job is located in Arizona, only two hours from the quaint desert settlement of Phoenix.

Which brings us all back around to the here and now (assuming that you are not reading this after traveling through time). In only a little less than two weeks, I will be packing my various bags, boxes, and steamer trunks and finally extricating myself from my parents' basement, once and for all. The actual internship is only a three month commitment, but if all goes accordingly, 1) Shawn will soon be procuring his own means of income in the fruitful southwestern land of milk and honey (read "barren wilderness"), 2) I will be joining him upon completion of my conservationing, 3) World domination. From there, the future is ours to mold to our collective iron will! So stay tuned to see what plans we have in store for your future of obsequious servitude. Brown-nosing and flattery will not spare you, but are encouraged nonetheless.

*Did you really read it?