It’s been nearly six months since I arrived at my new home in Gig Harbor, Washington.
It took three long days of driving ‘cross the west in late September 2020 to get here. We charged through wind and occasional snow in the Rockies, safely arriving at an Airbnb in Salt Lake for the night. We were off to Boise a little late the next morning. We passed through the blazing hot desert and onto Idaho’s plains, where we almost had to stop to wait out a dust storm we encountered along the way. But, we again arrived safely at our Airbnb for the night, and were back on the road before dawn the next day. Before we knew it, we were pulling up the steep drive to our new house in the woods, where we hunkered down for the winter.
But, spring has sprung yet again. The cold, stormy weather of Washington winter has since passed. Nearly everyone I know and love has gotten at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine, and it won’t be long before the last guests of the season leave our Ken Caryl house. I’ve been waiting for this time of the year for a long, gueling time. It won’t be long now, and I’ll be back home on the Front Range.
However, I will admit, Gig Harbor’s really grown on me this last half a year or so. I arrived not knowing which direction the sun came up from. But, now I’ve got my whole little area mapped out in my mind, and I’ve come to know a handful of familiar faces in this small town quite well. I even managed to mend my rocky relationships with my relatives out here, and have since forgiven the past and learned to enjoy their company. But, now I’m homeward bound, at least for a few months. I’ll be back in this quiet, bird-infested rainforest in the fall. Just in time for college!
The Xterra’s once again loaded down with luggage, freshly tuned up and ready for another summer of road-tripping and off-roading. Thankfully, it’s not nearly as packed as it was when we drove it from Colorado last September. We’ve given away a lot of stuff, and packed everything else away in the garage, leaving out only the essentials we’ll be taking to Colorado with us.
The trip back home will be much more laid back, too. Instead of hauling ass for three days, we’ll be venturing through the west over the course of a few weeks. We’ll spend a few days in Boise, and a week or two in Salt Lake. Perhaps, we’ll revisit Moab. Then, we’ll take a scenic tour of the Colorado mountains, before finally arriving at our Ken Caryl home.
Like last time, I have a playlist of music prepared for the trip ahead, full of songs that I think reflect how I’m feeling about everything. I don’t usually connect to the lyrics, but I do often connect to the tune, beat, and instruments in the music. However, unlike last time, I’m much more chilled out. I no longer feel like Reverend Horton Heat’s song “Five-O-Ford” ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmQ5wEebtKs ), or Tyler Childers’ song “Hard Times” ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icRQxlhTahQ ).
Of course, I still listen to those songs frequently as they’re among my favorites, but they no longer reflect how I’m currently feeling. I’m no longer grieved about leaving Colorado, or frantically trying to keep my anxiety at bay while everything is chaotic and terrifying.
