July 20, 2008
Drive
It's safe to say that the last three weeks has been difficult and strange.
With our own mortality on our mind after the loss of friends or family,
we're shaken but not yet broken. Friendship lost and friendship gained,
it's evident that life is in constant motion and there's no time to sit still.
So a saturday night at another house party, rather uneventful. Four
friends all needing something more, and not quite knowing what it is
begin to drive home.
1:45am
an idea: drive
a destination: The Salton Sea
Nobody willing to back down from the idea, on the road by 2:00am.
A case of beer, some doritos, pretzels, cigarettes, and a soundtrack
meant for driving, it begins. Our first stop, a lookout point 1000 feet
above the desert floor. The moon lighting up both the vast desert and
our faces, words are spoken and nothing in life is taken for granted.
Realizations of what we have, who we are, and where we are headed
are all revealed. I could not even explain the feeling in this moment,
except that whatever it was that we were feeling, we had been
awaiting for a very long time. The four of us howled at the moonlit
desert and the coyotes replied. Lighting flashed in the distance, and
the dark sky began to turn a lighter blue. We traveled on.
With the music playing loud, we made our way across the valley.
Dawn in this valley was one of the most gorgeous sights any of us
had ever seen. We stopped at one point to get out, stretch our legs
and enjoy what was all around us. I came across a brick sized piece
of petrified wood, a pretty nice find just 10 yards away from the car.
We had another beer, shot some more pictures with a disposable
camera, maybe one more group hug, then continued our journey.
6:00 am
Delirium begins to set in.
Music was the a key element in this journey, it made every moment
just a little more interesting. | We pulled up on the wasteland known
as the Salton Sea, a sight I've seen before, but not ever seen by the
other three. The air became hotter, the flies began to swarm, and
our sanity slipped further away. A quick breakfast before our furthest
destination had us sitting across from each other wondering if we
were awake or dreaming. If this was in fact just a dream, it was a
dream not worth waking up from, it was a revelation.
We carried on to the east side of the sea where our mad delirium
found a home, Salvation Mountain. This place is proof that "faith
in God" can be altered by the dessert heat and paint fumes. It's like
somebody took the same journey in the same state of mind as us,
but decided to stay. I can only imagine that is what might happen.
We had finally made it, four people needing to let go of everything
too heavy to hold on to, four people with the realization that it all
becomes easier when you have four to sort it all out. It only took
12 hours to learn so much about 3 other people and learn a bit more
about myself. 12 hours to see experience so many things that may
never be forgotten.
It was time to head home.
Don't ask me what time it was,
I have no idea.
The drive back through the desert was beautiful. The stop at the
Border Patrol checkpoint was hilarious when the officer looks at only
me and asks "what is your citizenship?", racial profiling CAN be funny!
We stopped in Julian for some chocolate shakes, a root beer float, a
scoop of strawberry ice cream, and some french fries. What else
would you eat after a sleepless drive through the desert???
We made it home safe, mentally cleansed and physically filthy.
The only thing we could think of was sleep and shower.
We all walked away from that experience with something gained,
maybe that something is something different for each of us, but it
was done together, and that's what will be shared in all our minds
for a long long time.
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