Getting away

I need to get away. I really do. With all the stress (real and imagined) I've been dealing with lately, a little vacation is in order. This year, since I'm still saving up for my printemps au Paris trip, I am hoping to take some smaller minibreaks so that I don't go postal and kill all my family and friends in one fatal swoop. One can only hope.

My dilemma enters, however, when I consider that my family had been planning such an excursion in 2 weeks time, but pretty much everyone has bailed on me. My whole family, for some reason or other, has decided that work is more important than my sanity. How selfish of them. So with 2 weeks to go, I'm trying to organize some friends to go down to the desert for the weekend with me.

I really hope at least someone else comes along, because otherwise I'll be relegated to going by myself. That probably isn't the safest thing for me, but I'm getting desperate.

I still have hope, though, since one friend says she wants go with me and others who are seeing if they can come. The other problem is convincing people who don't usually go camping that spending a few days out in the desert, hours from civilization and without running water or a functioning toilet, is one of the best experiences you can have.

People have lost their appreciation for the exquisite beauty in nature. I want to get away from the crowds from time to time. I want to go where the only sounds heard are the birds sounding a wake up call in the morning and the coyotes baying at the moon at night. There are times when I need to get away from the world and find myself once again.

And who can blame me for wanting to get away with incredible vistas like these? There is something so peaceful and tranquil about the desert. I love the high red-rock walls that surround the valleys, the delicate structures and paintings left by the canyon's ancient inhabitants. A visit each spring to the swell has been a family tradition for as long as I can remember, and for good reason. There is something spectacular about the area that renews me each time I see it.

I'll find a way to get there. It'll be good for the soul. And even better if I can convince anyone else to make the journey with me.