North to Flagstaff

As Celeste and I drove north Friday evening, the air outside the van slowly cooled and sweat dried from our skin. Driving through the winding mountains in the dark is something I usually try to avoid, but we made the best of it, taking our time and letting the cool night air blow in the windows. We arrived around 9 pm and pulled the fire wood from the back of the van. We had an early morning in Flagstaff, but I did not want to miss the chance to sit by the fire. I had been dreaming of the smell of the smoke and the warmth of the flames since leaving in the van a few weeks ago. Without much effort, the fire grew large and hot. Dry pine needles and tree bark covered the ground, making it easy to feed the fire as we sat on the log beside it. The stars grew brighter in the sky beyond the trees and the moon lit up the land around us. The coolness of the mountains was a welcome gift, a solace from the heat of Phoenix. As Celeste put the fire out I turned on the propane and tried to turn on the heat for the first time. With the thermostat set, we climbed into bed, setting our alarms for the following morning. 

I woke from a deep, much needed sleep when our alarms rang into the van. We got ready and headed into Flagstaff on time, only struggling with parking for a few minutes in my oversized vehicle. The Climate Summit opened at 8am for breakfast, speakers joining around 9am. We piled our plates with fresh melon, muffins, and bagels. We stocked up on coffee and water and settled in for the first speakers. This was the first intentional education I have seeked since college. And it felt really good to act on my desire to learn more about things that I love. 

We spent the day listening to students, professors, journalists, filmmakers, and environmental professionals discuss the action their communities and organizations are taking to change the conversation around climate. I listened to sessions titled ‘Higher Education’s role in climate action’, ‘How to Talk to your neighbors about Climate change’, and a really informative session about Climate ready tribes. We heard a lot of positive ideas and shared common fears and concerns. We both walked away feeling inspired to take the discussions back to our own communities. On the way back to Phoenix the next day I thought a lot about the action I would like to take, in this space on this blog and elsewhere. A reoccuring theme that was discussed: Tell your stories. Tell the stories of those who are being impacted. Statistics are helpful in certain forums-- but what really touches people are the stories of others. 

I have always loved being outdoors. As a suburban kid you could find me deep in the woods making clubhouses and exploring until the sun began to set. When my family moved to the country, I played in the pond and the creek for hours and spent countless evenings looking up into the stars on the roof of our earth-contact home. It wasn’t until I was old enough to travel and fall in love with distant places that I understood we weren’t taking care of the planet the way it needed us to. I climbed mountains and found endurance and strength, I sat beside waterfalls and lakes and found moments of peace I struggled to find in the city. I was made to feel small beneath the most stars I have ever seen, settling my anxieties about my small problems. As I hiked and saw mountains and beaches and desert lands, I heard more about endangered species, forest fires, and contaminated water. I know there is a lot of skepticism around climate change. I know it is often a privilege to be able to worry about the warming of the planet on top of every problem life is already throwing at us. But I am afraid for the future of the people and this planet. I am afraid that my niece and nephew will know a world that is more dangerous for their health and less wondrous and full of life. Less inviting and healing. I wish the change was as simple as convincing everyone to recycle more, drive less, use less plastic. These are things that I believe everyone should do, simple changes to foster a better relationship with the environment. But what we really need to tackle this major problem is action from our government. Which currently feels like a dead end, hopeless even. 

A reoccuring theme discussed at the summit, ‘Make people love the Earth Immensely’. Earth needs some advocates. Lots and lots of advocates. So I am going to make it a goal in this space to bring the wild to people in cities, to remind people of the importance and the beauty of the natural world. I want to contribute to the fight of depoliticizing this issue. We don’t have to agree on everything, but can’t we agree to treat our home with care and respect? Can’t we err on the side of caution rather than disbelief and denial? I hope so. 

Stepping off my soapbox today. I will continue to post my usual content and share stories of this life in a van on the road. The photos in the post are from different times I have enjoyed nature this year. Here’s to so many more of those.

I apologize for the late post- due to Squarespace being down and some personal stuff that I will share more about later. Thanks as always for reading.