recap of the past week!

as eli just posted, we're coming down from kind of an intense day of the worst of texas -- militantly aggressive border patrol and prolific oil rigs. so, in ways it feels trite and faraway to share lighter moments of the past week, but it's truly been a blast so here are some highlights:

joshua tree was wildly beautiful. so different than the lush coastal landscapes i'm spoiled with in the bay area, but far from barren. we hiked for 6 or 7 miles into the desert and only saw two other hikers, close to the end where we started. that night, we were abruptly awoken by a pack of yipping and howling coyotes. it was so dramatic and high-pitched, eli and i both sat up straight and basically woke up laughing. 

we also got our first "junior ranger" badge at the joshua tree visitors center! previously unknown to us, there is a program (mostly designed for children, but open to "kids of all ages") at all national parks where you can fill out activities/puzzles about the designated park and be sworn in a "junior ranger." you recite an oath, sign a certificate, and get a badge. we even got a bonus children's book written by one of the J-Tree rangers!

next came zion national park in utah, and our ventures here were brief but magnificent. the park is relatively small, only seven miles long, but the canyons are breathtaking. i've really never seen, let alone been in, anything like it. we also observed many mormons in formalwear and did our best not to stare, and i can only assume in good faith they were doing their best to not stare at us, either.

from zion we headed to taos, new mexico, where we spent several nights relaxing thanks to a friend of a friend letting us stay in her folks' unoccupied apartment. without a doubt the most magical thing we experienced in taos was an undeveloped hot spring on the rio grande. it was just a 15-20 minute hike down the gorge until we came to several steaming pools where people have built little rock walls around. we had the good fortune of having the place totally to ourselves both times we went, with the exception of a small herd of desert bighorn sheep (!!!) grazing on the other side of the river. 

as eli mentioned in their last post, we spent last night in truth or consequences, new mexico, with fellow traveling queers julia and pete, and it was a sweet time! i've so been appreciating opportunities to do little interviews for my "home" project, and so appreciating peoples' vulnerability and willingness to really get into the subject matter when the moment arises.

after the intense border patrol experience today, which i won't further get into for now... we BEASTED our way through the carlsbad caverns. it's supposed to take 3-4 hours to get through and its about a thousand foot descent into darkness and intense smells of guano. but we had a lot of energy to get out and powered through in under two hours. it was a magical and a totally unique place and i was worried eli was going to stay there and i'd have to do the rest of the roadtrip on my own.

next, onward to austin, then new orleans, then tennessee! looking forward to being with and making more friends along the way.

xoxo freddie

a few days on the road can feel like a lifetime...

Phew. We just arrived at a highway motel to crash for the night after a loooooong day. We woke up at Truth or Consequences after spending a fun night with our friends Julia and Pete who were passing through going the opposite direction on a cross country road trip. It was a silly place to meet up, and I loved it. We sat around, shared road stories, played set and had a slumber party. Then we woke up this morning and headed off our separate ways. Freddie and I drove for a few hours and then were unexpectedly stopped at a border patrol station along the highway that rides the edge of the U.S. Mexico border. It wasn't the worst, but it wasn't the best....Honestly, I kinda freaked out at thought of some worst case scenarios. They pulled us over as we watched them allow many other cars fly by. They had us get out of the car and searched its entirety with a dog. The dog had a reaction to our car so they were really insistent that we were carrying narcotics and/or marijuana. The only thing they could find was jars of "mysterious" herbs and trinkets and I think they were frustrated with going through our fully packed weird car.

A snapshot of our freaky fresh dashboard

In all seriousness, it was really intense and they ended up bringing us inside and running Freddie's drivers license. Thanks to Freddie's squeaky clean record, they came back in the room where we were being detained and said "Freddie, have a good day" and opened the door for us to leave. Woah. I feel so lucky in this instance AND I feel so enraged by the militarization of borders. And it makes me think of how Trump wants to build a big concrete wall between here and Mexico....which brings us here...

We finally arrived in Fort Stockton where we planned to spend the night on the way to Austin and I got out of the car to go to the gas station. I walked in. Fox news was on. Surround sound. Donald Trump. #ProudAmerican. I took a deep breath and tried to escape into the fantasy that it just isn't real. But when I looked around, I couldn't deny it. Surrounded by oil rigs, pipelines, and toxic waste, I could not deny the reality of this country. It is devastating. I feel deeply truly scared about where we are, and where we are headed. Blegh. While we were in New Mexico I found myself thinking a lot about the colonization of indigenous people and land. It is so palpable there, everywhere you turn there are signs of appropriation, imperialism and colonialism. The Taos pueblo (descendants of Mesa Verde tribe) is confined to a small area after they spent years resisting the U.S. government acquiring their land and selling it off to private and public agencies like Carson National Park including Blue Lake which was a ceremonial site destroyed by logging roads and inconsiderate campers. There is so much more to say about all of this....But for now, I'll just say, I am learning a lot about this country: the geography, the politics, the culture...and I know there are so many layers and so much more to come. It is a lot to hold, but I am grateful to have family and political and queer community to hold it all together.

--- Eli

Map of Native American Tribes in U.S.

a zany drive across the southwest

Hello friends! Updates on Joshua Tree and Zion to come when Eli and I have more time to devote to a proper entry, but wanted to give a brief update and tidbits from yesterday's lonnng drive from Zion National Park in Utah to Taos, New Mexico, where we are happily resting today.

1) We are getting creative with car snacks. Only 6+ hours of driving can make the following combo taste delicious and interesting. Please note the "Secret Aardvark" sauce product placement. They aren't paying me but considering how I've converted Eli's entire family into paying customers, they should be. 

2) I haven't been doing flambouyant roadside exercises hardly at all. Kicking off this routine right outside the Santa Fe National Forest in just above freezing weather at an altitude of 7000 feet was not my most strategic move. Some judgemental livestock looked on. But it sure was beautiful...

3) Long story short, after riding a serious collective wave of indecision and subsequently grappling with going in and out of cell service for several hours, we sprung for tickets to see Beyonce on Eli's birthday, several days after we're expecting to return to Bay from this road trip in May. Pretty exciting.

Did I mention it's been snowing in Taos?
Looking forward to updating with more photos, stories, and reflections!

xoxo freddie

onward to the desert

Good evening from the Joshua Tree Inn! Eli and I expected to be camping in Joshua Tree National Park tonight, but got here a little later than expected after leaving UC Irvine, so now we are kicking back in "the home of the ghost of Gram Parsons" and I am reveling in my not-so-secret love of kitch. Anyway, there are still lots of stars and even a couple of joshua trees, so I am happy.

L.A. was fun and we had the pleasure of hanging with many sweet people, but honestly the city kind of overwhelms me, and definitely tests my intention for keeping road rage at bay. Eli's Aunt Fran took us on a jaunt around Venice Beach where she managed to make friends with every vendor there and I managed to walk away with a pair of very cute sunglasses and a belly full of Salt n' Straw ice cream.

In hanging out with some friends, I kicked off my personal project of the roadtrip: I'm doing short interviews with friends and other people I meet on the road on the subject of home. I hope people won't feel limited to talking about a geographic home or home of origin, but rather the many forms home may take. The biggest questions I'm asking are: in what ways do you seek home, and in what ways have you found it? My hope is ultimately to create a podcast and/or zine to share this collection of thoughts and feelings.

Tomorrow morning we will wake up early to stake out outside the Joshua Tree park entrance and hopefully score a camping site for the night. In any case, I am doing my best to let my gemini rising sign take the lead (those who know me best know my inner virgo is dominant, to say the least) and be excited for the many twists and turns our journey takes. In this case, it's safe to say excitment and gratitude are definitely my most prevalent experiences of the last few days! 

xoxo freddie

ps - in honor of Mr. Parsons... (don't worry, we are staying in room #4). Apparently he doesn't get credit for being the true writer of the song the Rolling Stones made famous: 

day three and four: from the hills, to the valley, and into the desert

Yesterday we went hiking in the Santa Monica National Park, it was nice to see some of the natural beauty outside the bustling cities of Southern California. After a nice jaunt, I headed over to UCLA for the first presentation of the political tour component of this trip. And then today, did another workshop at UC Irvine. They both went pretty well and the students seemed engaged. I feel relieved to have gotten through the first couple events and have the next week or two to relax and focus my energy in other places.

Also, today, I woke up with my period! What a way to start the trip. I struggle with chronic dysmenorrhea (a fancy word for menstrual pain) so periods are usually a time where I cannot do much more than curl up and toss and turn in bed. It was hard to get myself to a place where I could get done what needed to happen today but pain killers and magical herbs from my dear friend Carleigh helped a lot. Now we are relaxing at a weird little motel in Joshua Tree. I was bummed to not get into a campground, but perhaps it is all for the best so we can have a comfortable cozy night's sleep. I feel hopeful that I will have more energy and less pain tomorrow.

Till soon,

Eli

day two: still in L.A...

so, we spent the day with my totally amazing, totally zany aunt fran. this city moves at such an intense consuming pace. i feel overstimulated, wiped out, and grateful for the time to ease into our adventure/jump in head first (still not sure which one). and its raining in southern California for the 3rd time this year! i can feel the crispy burnt earth trying to soak in the raindrops and i smell the pavement steaming as the wasted water runs through city drains.

tomorrow we are planning to hit the trails and take a hike through the canyons before heading over to UCLA for my first presentation on the tour...so many different worlds weaving together already. loving it.

xo- eli

day one: the bay to L.A.

this morning, we packed the car (eugenia) up with all our trinkets, snacks, and cd throwbacks and headed south out of the bay on 101. tonight we're going to sleep in los angeles. looking forward to sharing stories here!

xoxo freddie & eli