Just doing things

Or, turns out you can just do things. Can it be that stupid simple?

I woke up ready to have a better day. I spent five minutes trying to get myself excited for an ice cold shower before there was a hint of warmth… that eventually turned into the hot shower I was wanting. Starting with that win may have set the stage for the day.

So, what did I do today?

I hadn’t made any actual plans for the day. I knew I was going to end the day in Las Vegas. That was it. But when I woke up I decided I wanted to do Zion. I had some hotel breakfast and then just… went? Like, I just put it in the map and went.

When I got there, I parked, looked at the map I’d gotten from the ranger to whom I paid my entry fee. I picked a couple of easy to moderate hikes, changed my shoes (remember the box of shoes? Had my hiking boots in there), and off I went. There were a lot of people very heavily kitted up in jackets and walking poles and noisy pants. But I was just wearing jeans and a hoodie (I did have a backpack with water, first aid, more clothes, rain gear, etc., so I’m still me, never fear). It reminded me of skiing in Switzerland when I was a teenager. I wore jeans then, too, and got looks from the people in their expensive snow bibs. I ended up just in my T-shirt at one point when it got warm enough.

And it was great. As I type this I’m at 16,759 steps, which I love because I have been concerned about not getting my runs in while I’m gone (though I did run in Denver, which was… wow, only two days ago?). I hiked the easy trail, then took the bus back to the Visitor’s Center, chatted with one of the women working at the gift shop, who told me to do one of the moderate hikes, and to do the loop offered at the end, rather than just stopping at the end of the trail. So… I did. And it was great.

I visited with her at least three different times, bought postcards and a cute hat, got her advice for a restaurant, and when she asked, we talked about my road trip. It was great.

No surprises here, but the scenery was gorgeous.

Then I drove to Las Vegas. This hotel is kind of great? It’s at the very edge of the north side of town, and when I say the edge I mean north is desert and no other buildings. South is the city.

It’s a refurbished Motel 6 by the speedway, and it feels like it, but also, I like a functional space.

Yes, that one of my moving boxes. This one has clean clothes in it, because it’s time to reload the backpack.

Now I’m in Vegas, and had no plans… until about 15 minutes ago. I’m planning to go The Phoenix (a queer bar/restaurant) for a burlesque show. On a Monday night!? Yes, please.

I don’t mind living this way on this trip.

Did I have any big thinks today?

I did, actually. I took a lot of notes of thoughts that popped into my head. I sent some texts and some pictures to people who are important to me. And I had some big thinks.

Here’s one. As I was walking up to Watchman (the second hike today, the moderate one) and I was climbing and getting out of breath and feeling good about the effort and my abilities, I wrote this down.

”Is every walk or run or hike now an opportunity to push myself? Have I become that person? It seems yes, especially if I’m on my own. (I’ll always pace the person I’m with if I’m with someone.) I don’t think this is bad, tho? And what about this can I take to non-exercise things? Like work, or writing, or relationships. Huh.”

“Huh,” is code for me that means I want to think about this some more. And I do, because it feels like this thought is teetering on the edge of being actually a significant breakthrough for me?

How was being alone today?

I didn’t mind it today. I talked to strangers, which may have had something to do with it, at the shop, on the shuttle, on the trail. I also wasn’t driving all day, which might actually be part of it, for real. I’ll have to keep an eye on that. I don’t have another 7+ hour drive until the end of the week. As usual, staying busy seems to be the trick, and driving all day doesn’t seem to keep my brain busy.

Tweets

So, since Twitter is dead, can we just keep using the term “tweet” to mean a short but interesting commentary, divorced from the actual site? I say yes. Here are some tweets from the day.

• I am definitely a person who goes on a four mile fast hike on an already sore ankle. YOLO or something.
  
• I had a wax on, wax off moment as I was coming down from the second hike at a good clip, knees and legs acting like shock absorbers. At my gym, they have been having me do two footed jumps up onto a platform. And when I land, they tell me to bend my knees a little to absorb the hit, and have me stay there a couple of seconds. Enough to notice. And yeah, I noticed on this hike.
  
• Getting to Zion really early (basically when they opened) was a good idea. No traffic, parking close, nobody on the shuttle bus, etc. I returned to the car a couple of times during the day, and had to wave off people hoping for my parking spot. They were at a premium. When I finally did leave, somebody won the lottery.
  
• I’m really proud of myself, because these hikes were listed as taking twice as long as they took me.
  
• These park shuttle buses are posh. They look like urban commuter buses, but the nice, clean ones. When we were in Denali the buses looked like decommissioned school buses from a while ago. I guess when you have as many visitors as Zion has…
  
• There is very little connectivity out here, cell phone wise. Shockingly, it hasn’t been a problem, really. Huh. (And I do like that it falls back to an SOS satellite option.)
  
• I had a lovely Hefeweizen at a brew pub I walked to from the park (thus not moving my car but disappointing someone when I stopped by to exchange my backpack for my purse). I also had a burger, not just a beer. Both were good.
  
• btw, Goblin Valley yesterday was the 1,000 mile mark on the trip.
  
• Um, there’s an election tomorrow. I’ve already voted. I’m hopeful. I have a friend to ride out election night with tomorrow.