Thoughts on Packing the Carry Ons

(303 represent!)

As most who know me will attest to-I'm a little crazy when it comes to packing. I'm a minimalist and love chances to compress life into as small a quantity as possible and down to the bare necessities. Packing for the Peace Corps presented a challenge since I don't really know what the bare necessities of a developing country are, let alone when staying for two years, and I plan on jotting down any efficiencies or key things for me to remember over the course of these 2 years.

On my flight over here, I took a computer bag that had a ton of stuff in it, all stuff that I figured would be useful for the full day of flights and layovers. But when it came down to it, all I really used were the Kindle, my journal/pen, the Board Game Book, and iPod/iPhone/Headphones. I could have just as easily used my Nike satchel rather than a full backpack.

My second carry on was packed perfectly for arrival. I basically packed two suitcases, one that I could live out of for at least five days and a second, massive one with everything else, that I've hardly yet gone into and if it was lost, would not have missed it until it was found. The only regret I have is that I know I am already going to need a bigger backpack for traveling purposes and I wish I got it in the states rather then being forced to order it online. I have a feeling I'll be utilizing the expertise of my stateside sister and resident Ehrenreich wilderness expert to help with this.

Carry On Contents:

2 pairs of pants (wearing 1 pair of jeans)

2 short sleeve collars (wearing 1 collar)

2 long sleeve shirts

1 sweater

1 suit jacket

1 light jacket

5 undershirts

5 pairs of briefs

3 pairs of socks

1 pair of shoes (wearing loafers)

1 pair of athletic shorts

toiletries

yoga block

suspenders/belt

Day 17 and 18: Dead Horse State Park and Hanging Lake

It is easy to fall in love with the American Southwest. It has a martian like quality, red monoliths towering above you, striated cliffs, plateaus thousands of feet above sea level just hundreds of feet from canyon drop-offs. As we wandered around, from camping spot to mountain town to camping spot I had to balance a rational knowledge that it would be too rural to truly live here with a captivation rarely felt before. You become infatuated with this mountainous deserts and obsess over how to stay in a past moment.

Our last campground was beautiful, the ground was a red sand the color of a schoolhouse and soft as chalk. Our tent had had enough however, and struggled to stay up as one of the poles finally broke. We dined better than any other campfire, making grilled zucchini, onion, and pepper quesadillas.

The next morning, in a flash of genius, Nick remembered that Hanging Lake was open again after being closed for the season and as we drove back to Denver, we took a detour at Glenwood Springs and take the steeply graded hike up to the mirrored lake. We ate lunch in front of a waterfall that poured 30 feet down into the lake below. It was our last hike together and the last activity on Nick's, MD's and my mental checklist of things we wanted to do together.

We were blessed with another road trip miracle when we pulled up to Nick's house, his parents mysteriously away from the premises. We were able to unpack, put away, and get out, with only moments to spare. Pulling up to MDs we inhaled relief and exhaled nostalgia for our long and epic journey that had finally come to an end.

Day 16: Zion Canyon

Today was our last campfire. We're camping tomorrow but we're only allowed to use charcoal, so this one mattered. It was a very low pit but we made a huge fire anyway-Nick's become quite the fire genius after getting into the swing of things again. We pressed paninis with turkey, ham, avocado and swiss. Then we made Jiffy Pop, the popcorn in the covered aluminum pouch that you hold over the fire with a provided for handle. It came out wonderfully, probably the best popcorn that I've had. I'm not saying this because we were at our last campfire of the roadtrip, this popcorn was immaculately popped and perfectly buttered, not a single bad kernel.

This came as somewhat of a surprise because the cashier at Wal-Mart was rather ominous about our Jiffy Pop. "You can return this if it doesn't work, like if it all burns, you know. I mean, there doesn't even have to be popcorn in it". We weren't sure if this was a warning spoken from experience or a bit of Wal-Mart insider knowledge on how to beat the corporate machine. Watch out Wal-Mart, you've got a disgruntled employee at the Scottsdale store.

This evening was a perfect cap to a near-perfect day (more perfect only if Evan was still on the road with us). We spent the day in Zion, an incredible and spectacular National Park. This was by far the best run Park we've been to. Visitors used a free bus running every five minutes instead of your own cars. It would go up through the major trail heads and scenic views, narrated by a tour guide giving a bit of history and explanation of the park. And the trails were amazing.

We put on our watershoes and swimsuits one last time (..le sigh) to hike the Narrows, a great multi-terrain (read: land and water) hike through Zion canyon. The bus dropped us off at the top of the route and we hiked up another mile to a river bank. At this point we had to begin wading the river. Soon enough we were waist deep in the water laughing and splashing and taking photos. The hike continues down the river, at times we'd be wading waist deep or more across the river. Other times picking over rocks on land or under small rapids. Each meandered turn revealed a unique spot. Some beautiful, others dramatic, others still ancient. Eventually we had to turn back, if only to ensure we would be out of the narrows by sunset.

hustlers at a roller rink, blues in a jazz club

Yeezy's latest G.O.O.D Friday track is over seven minutes long, and it opens with Mos Def. Mos can be hit or miss, but here his lazy voice is poetry reclining under shimmering strings with a deep bass floor. Ye, Rae, Swizz Beats, and Charlie Wilson each pour out their soul rolling down on the beat. This is worth checking out.

From Mr. West's University himself: Lord Lord Lord

Shuffle/Play #6

A while ago I had a series called shuffle/play, where instead of designing playlists I would throw up the 25 minutes or so of music I had been most frequently listening to. With 7 days left, these are the seven songs I've been listening to most extensively. Its safe to say that if I'm listening to music on my computer, I've probably listened to one of these songs in the last 20 minutes.

Eminem-Cold Wind Blows

David Bowie-Rebel Rebel (2003 version)

Drake feat. Kanye West, Jamie Foxx, and The-Dream-Digital Girl

Robyn feat. Snoop Dog-U Should Know Better

Discovery-I Want You Back

Ben Folds Five-Not the Same

Kanye West feat. Pusha T-Runaway Love

Copy paste this link into your browser to get it: files.me.com/joshehr/bl13n5