A pariah on the Paria

One advantage of the van dwelling life is that plans can change. Rapidly.

Judy and Bob are headed to Alaska, and the first part of their trek goes through the same parts of the country I'd planned on covering. So I decided to tag along for a while. I can stick with them or peel off on my own.

That's how I ended up camped with them on the banks of the Paria River, between Page, AZ and Kanab, UT. Those familiar with the area know it's the gateway to Buckskin Gulch and The Wave. But we were just passing through. I'll come back some day and put my name in for the permit lottery. We just mellowed out in the shade of a cottonwood tree instead.

There was a pleasant aroma in the air, like warm, dry wood. Not resinous wood, like pine. I thought it might be the cottonwood, so I sniffed it closely. Nope. Something else upwind. Maybe it was the soil. I wish I could have taken whatever it was with me.