Sedona

Each year my mom, my sister, and I meet up for a girl’s weekend.  My mom has lovingly named it MAD weekend (Mother And Daughter) and this was our 3rd annual trip.  Since we are spread all over the country (Michigan, North Carolina, and Utah) it gives us a chance to get together and explore a new city.  This year’s trip was to Sedona, Arizona and since Sedona isn’t too far from Utah, I took this opportunity to take Forrest on a test run! It was going to be about a 9 hour drive, with more for stops, and I’d be doing it in Forrest, as-is.  Which means super bare bones, everything ripped out, metal floor and walls, but at least we had an upgraded stereo system! The hotel where I’d be meeting my mom and sister was dog-friendly so Dakota would be able to stay in the hotel with us and be my adventure buddy on the road.

We set out early on Friday morning to give us plenty of time to enjoy the ride and stop along the way as we saw fit.  I had packed a cooler full of snacks so that I could stop somewhere for lunch and had made Dakota a platform bed so that she could lay down in the front seat and hopefully be more comfortable than her previous rides where she would awkwardly fall asleep sitting up in the passenger seat.  We hit the road with some great playlists and podcasts and I was excited to simulate vanlife with my pup! Dakota eventually figured out how to lay down across the new platform and it was smooth sailing!

The journey to Sedona was stunning.  I had made the trip south to St. George and Moab MANY times over the last few months when my ex and I would go camping so the first few hours were very familiar and also a little sad.  Besides the van being a constant reminder of him, each rest stop was filled with memories and inside jokes from what felt like a lifetime ago. The landscape changed from the tall, snowy peaks of northern Utah to the stunning red rocks and desert of southern Utah and Arizona.  Even though I hadn’t driven through this far south, it all felt very familiar. I’ve always felt at home in the mountains among the tall pines and icy rivers, but I never thought the desert would feel as comforting as it did on this drive. It seemed that all the time I had spent in the desert this fall and winter had made that landscape my home too.  It made me wonder if after this vanlife journey whether I’d start to feel at home everywhere or if Utah would still really be “my place”.

As the sun continued to come up, the temperature quickly rose.  Forrest has AC but he also has a HUGE space to cool down. So while cold air might be blowing from the vents up front, the heat from the road and from the sun quickly turns my metal box into a toaster.  My windows also don’t have any tint to them so when the sun shines in, you take ALL the rays straight to the skin. It wasn’t too long before we were uncomfortable and I could tell I was getting sunburned.  I knew I had my camp towel in a nearby bag so I grabbed it out and managed to turn it into a makeshift sun shade. The relief was immediate but the temps would be rising to 100 degrees on this drive and so even with the sun blocked, it still got very hot, so I got very sleepy.  I kept thinking that I could pull over and take a quick nap, except that it was SO HOT there was no way Dakota and I could stay in the van without keeping the AC running. Vanlife is definitely not meant to be done in Arizona in June! So we trucked along: I found music to sing to, podcasts to keep my brain busy, and friends to catch up with on the phone so that I wouldn’t fall asleep.  

I was getting hungry and wanted to find a spot where we could stop and have some lunch.  It was really hot so my lunch spot needed to be strategic! Plus I had Dakota with me so it had to be dog-friendly.  I was driving through a beautiful canyon just past Kanab, Utah and I could see the Virgin River down below. I decided that the next dirt road I saw, I would get brave and turn off.  I was getting used to driving this beast of a vehicle but going from my Subaru Outback, which was meant for these kinds of adventures, to this giant, empty, rear-wheel drive cargo van was not the easiest adjustment and my biggest fear was getting stuck without cell reception.  Of course I didn’t have any cell reception in this canyon. But like I promised myself, the next dirt road I turned off and slowly drove Forrest towards the river. There were several dispersed camping sites along this road, so I found one with a tree where I could park Forrest in the shade, then Dakota and I ventured down to the river to eat lunch and cool off.  This spot was so quiet and peaceful. Dakota walked through the river and explored the surrounding area while I set up my camp chair, made a sandwich, and soaked my feet in the cold river. After a nice, relaxing lunch I was eager to get back on the road. I packed up my things and then went to see where Dakota was at. Normally when a car door is open, she jumps in.  I turned around to find her sitting in the sand, about 20 feet from the van, just watching me. I called her over, but she wouldn’t budge. This was very uncharacteristic for her so I walked over to her, grabbed her collar, and led her to the van. She finally jumped in and then we were ready to continue our journey!

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Being on the road with Forrest for the first time taught me a LOT of important lessons.  All of which I learned the hard way.

Lesson #1– Not every gas station has diesel.

Lesson #2– If a gas station has diesel, not every pump has diesel.

Lesson #3– When getting in and out of the van, be very sure that the cover for the gas tank hasn’t swung open before you close the door.  You will notice as soon as you hit freeway speeds. (the door holds it closed as you can see in the picture, but I learned the hard way that it doesn’t always stay closed)

Lesson #4– If you can’t find a spot to park in the shade, it’s too hot to leave Dakota in the car (didn’t have to learn that the hard way- obviously already knew this) but this means you don’t get a chance to go to the bathroom 🙂

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Eventually we made it to somewhere in Arizona and it was time to pull over and feed Dakota dinner.  It was still incredibly hot outside but we both needed to stretch our legs and I knew she needed a bathroom break (I did too, but please reference Lesson #4).  We found a place to pull off and I let Dakota out of the van. I fed her dinner and walked her around for a minute, but again it was unbearably hot and I couldn’t handle being outside for long.  I went to get her back into the van and she wouldn’t budge. I asked… then I begged… and she still didn’t budge. I grabbed a handful of food and tried to entice my food-motivated dog into the van.  Nothing. This is when I start to panic. If you’ve never met Dakota, she’s 80lbs with LONG legs and is stubborn as a mule. If she doesn’t want to do something, good luck to you. I had her on her leash so I started to pull towards the van and she instantly put on the brakes and yanked me the other direction.  I finally had to get behind her and lift her front legs up into the van and then she jumped the rest of the way in. We still had about 2 more hours to drive and these next 2 hours weren’t going to be easy.

Dakota had stopped laying down on her bed was now sitting up, hunched over, panting like crazy, and trembling.  The seat was covered in fur because the stress was making her shed at an alarming rate. And now the sun was at an angle so that it was baking her side of the van.  I had fashioned the camp towel “sun shade” on her side of the van but as soon as we pulled back on the freeway she sat on the corner of the towel and pulled it down on top of her.  I had to pull off again, try and keep her calm, and find another way to get the towel to stay (this time it included a chip clip I found in the back). I was realizing that it was likely the noise from the van that was scaring my dog.  She has always been afraid of loud noises (thunder, fireworks, etc.) and the empty van rattled over every tiny crack in the road. The back doors slammed and the walls shook. And I was realizing that the road we were on had a nice little seam every couple hundred feet so the noise was constant and my dog was in misery.  

I’m not sure I’ve ever been so stressed.  There is nothing worse than watching your distressed dog and knowing there is nothing you can do.  The van’s interior temperature was probably a balmy 85 degrees, the sun was bearing in around my “sun shade” and my dog was losing her mind.  And so was I. I’ve never noticed how many bumps their could be in a road until the last 2 hours of that drive.

After what seemed like 42 years, we finally arrived in Sedona.  We got there before my mom and sister so we checked into the hotel and unloaded the van.  Dakota was more than happy to leave that van and make herself at home on a clean, hotel bed.  I had fed Dakota dinner on the drive home but I hadn’t fed myself dinner yet, so I took Dakota with me to the hotel restaurant where dogs were allowed to join you outside on the patio.  I sat down, tied her to my chair, and opened the menu. It was at that moment when I finally took a second to look around that I realized I was sitting in a VERY fancy restaurant. I had been sweating for the last 12 hours, my dog still had sand in her fur, and I was in running clothes and Chacos.  All around me were couples out for a romantic meal, and I was on a dirtbag date with my dog. I also quickly realized that I didn’t care and that vanlife really fit me well! I looked at the menu and suddenly panicked as I saw the prices. Luckily, the concierge had given me 2 free wine tickets that I could use at this restaurant and I found a $20 appetizer that I hoped would be big enough to be considered a meal.  Worst case I could go back to the room and make myself another sandwich from my cooler. The appetizer ended up being perfect (and delicious) and I had enough wine to make up for the stressful van ride. My mom and my sister arrived shortly after that and it was time to head to bed!

The next 2 days were incredible.  We hiked, took an amazing Jeep tour, shopped around downtown, saw a psychic (I mean come on, I’m in Sedona), ate incredible food, drank more than our fair share of wine, and spent quality time together.  Dakota got to join us each morning for breakfast and for happy hour and she was thrilled to sleep in the air conditioned hotel room. My mom and my sister left early on Sunday morning and I packed up the van not too long after that.  I was already feeling stressed about the drive home because of how traumatic the drive out was, but I didn’t have any other options than to just get it done.

I had brought all of my camping stuff with me and had planned to take some time to sight-see on the way back and do my first solo night of camping.  I  planned to find some free camping around Lake Powell and really wanted to stop at Horeshoe Bend as well. I had also talked to a few different Uber drivers who had given me great suggestions of cool spots that were less well-known and I had one of those on my list as well.  I walked Dakota to the van and had to lift her up and put her inside and she immediately started trembling again. It was going to be a tough trip back.

Stay tuned for our journey home…