The Great Escape: Landing in La La Land
Go west, Young Professionals, Go West (part 3)
Onward, to Dallas! We were visiting Dallas mainly to see a good friend of mine whom I have known since I was young in Thailand. We arrived in the evening, just in time for dinner. We went to a local Tex-Mex place close to their home (I am a huge fan of Tex-Mex), and I was very excited to introduce Arie to queso. We spent the rest of the night catching up with our friends. It was a successful stop. The next day we were on the road to Santa Fe.
By the time we arrived in Santa Fe it was late. We had planned to camp in a campground in the Santa Fe National Forest, but all of the designated sites were full. It was already dark, and we did not want to drive back into town to find a hotel. Backcountry camping in national forests is allowed if done so off trail; we decided to hike in to find a place to pitch our tent. As I mentioned, it was already dark, and in the forest, it is impossible to see in the night. As we hiked in, we noticed a few other campers with dogs, but we could not find a spot for ourselves. Arie decided to hike in a bit farther, asking me to wait with the gear until he found a suitable spot. Armed only with my headlamp, as soon as he was out of sight, I knew it was a bad decision. What if he doesn’t come back? What if he gets lost in the dark? How long do I wait before I worry? As my mind was churning with these questions, I noticed two glowing eyes trotting towards me. Suddenly a whole new wave of panic raced through me. Is this a wolf? What do I do? Act calm Liana, act calm. It doesn’t want to hurt you. Just as I begin to stumble backwards from fear, Arie reappeared, and I realized the glowing eyes belonged to a brave pup from a nearby camp.
We finally settled on a spot and set up the tent. It was very dark and very cold, but still beautiful. Tucked into our cozy sleeping bags, we drifted off to sleep; the hushed sounds of the forest were our lullaby. I could have stayed for days.
The next morning we headed straight to a coffee shop, Modern General, for some green juice and logistics planning. Oh man, driving through the South is tasty, but very greasy. I really needed some green juice! A few more hours of Internet and one turmeric latte later, I was feeling reorganized and reenergized.
I have a very good family friend in Santa Fe whom I had to see. While visiting her in her art studio, she said we had to visit Meow Wolf. In fact, everyone who we know who has been to Santa Fe has told us to visit Meow Wolf. And no one who told us to visit Meow Wolf could provide an explanation of what this place was. The only response we’d get was, “Trust us, just go.” Even the website provided little insight into what we could actually expect, Meow Wolf creates immersive, interactive experiences to transport audiences of all ages into fantastic realms of story and exploration. So… we went to Meow Wolf – and it was amazing. Now, all l we can say is, “Just go!”
We finished the day with a tasty Mexican meal with our family friends. I really loved Santa Fe. I wish we had more time to explore the town, but we had to keep moving west. We camped one more night and were off again.
Looking at the map, I realized we would be passing by the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest. Never one to pass up an opportunity to visit a natural beauty, I suggested we stop. I’ve always been fascinated with deserts. I find them to have a mystical beauty that comes from being so desolate. Any creature that lives in a desert must be highly specialized to survive. It was very hot in this desert, too hot to stay for very long. (It turned out to be the hottest weekend of the summer, so hot that the Phoenix airport had to cancel all of their weekend flights!)
Our trip westward was about visiting friends and family scattered across the country, folks we don’t get to see often. I chose our next stop, Flagstaff, AZ, because another really good friend of mine from childhood in Thailand is living there. Arie had never been to Flagstaff, and I think it may have been love at first site. Flagstaff is extremely underrated. It has tough competition, sitting between Sedona and Phoenix below, and the Grand Canyon and Zion above. It truly is a very special place.
We spent the weekend seeing the sights. We visited Sedona’s red rocks, crystal shops, and a vortex (to charge our newly purchased crystals of course). We had lunch at the very laid-back vegan spot, ChocolaTree. As I was still recovering from a lack of fresh vegetables, the green goddess salad was just what the energy-gods ordered. We explored Flagstaff’s pine forests, lakes, and grassy vistas.
Lastly, we went to one of the best birthday parties that I have been to. So what if the birthday girl was only turning two! There were baby goats, amazing vegetarian food, fresh bee pollen (passed around as an appetizer), and homebrewed kombucha with wild-harvested prickly pear. Even Arie-the-carnivore couldn’t stop raving about the vegetable filled meal! Feeling emotionally, physically and spiritually renewed from our weekend in Flag, we were in the perfect mindset for our next and most westward stop, La La Land.
Missed the beginning? See how this road trip got started: The Great Escape: Here We Go
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