February 15, 2010

A year in the life... (Part 3: United States)

Burning Man [September]

Attending Burning Man was one of the nonnegotiable goals I set for myself this year. It didn’t matter that I didn’t have a ride, or know anyone else that was going; I had my ticket and my pack and I was going to make it there somehow. Luckily, I was able to get a ride part way with a good friend from high school who I reconnected with. After our intense pre-burn road trip where we were able to successfully bamboozle unsuspecting locals, I was left to my own devices. So I took to a busy intersection in downtown Klamath Falls with my thumb and a grocery cart full of supplies for a week in the desert. Veteran Burners might call me crazy; Virgin Burners even more so; but everything worked out as I suspected it would. Brian, my saviour, even had an extra bike and tent for me to use! Weeks of minimal anxiety in the back of my head vanished within seconds as we made a few last stops for glow sticks and batteries. We had a soak in some hidden natural hot springs along the way and basked in the desert sunset with a cold beer in hand; a perfect way to begin my first burn.

“Welcome home!” I will say no more except that this has been one of the single most important experiences of my travels. I finally discovered that which I knew existed but had been unable to find thus far. Burners are my family; Black Rock is my spiritual home. Let the pictures give you a glimpse, but to really understand what Burning Man is, you have to go and experience the magic of the playa dust for yourself.

(I also know now to bring a real camera next year…)

Some more plugs: check out the sites of these other travelers and nomads who I met on the playa. (http://www.joannahaugen.com/) (http://www.technomadia.com/)


Fellow nomads at happy hour. (Photo: Joanna) My Asian sistahs! Or rather: “self described exhibitionist Asians who enjoy seeing their photos on the internet”. (Photo: Brian) Which is why I include this next one. :) (Photo: Brian)


Is she wearing a skirt?! (Those of you who know me solely as a hobo and a dirtbag are probably thinking that… I’ll have you know I own several skirts and dresses, which sit idly in a box all year.) (Photos: Ben Tang)

Utah [September]

With the wonders of Burning Man behind me, I set off with my new found sense of inner peace to explore more of the surrounding states. Don’t ask me why I ended up in Salina. All I can say is that unless you are a cultural anthropologist who is interested in studying the extent of ignorance and misery in small-town USA, do not go here. Here is an excerpt from my journal:

“I am literally cowering in the corner of a parking lot waiting for the cover of darkness because I am too afraid to do anything else. I can't go out in public anymore, I cant move freely about the town [without being persecuted]. I’m shivering; my feet are wet; I’m intensely sad that the people are so ignorant here. If there ever was a hobo hell, Salina would be it.”

Enough said.

Barefoot Chuck [September]

I rarely, if ever, have the privilege of meeting people who live a similar lifestyle to me. That’s why I was overcome with curiosity and joy when a young guy with a beard, military pack, and a piece of cardboard unexpectedly showed up in the same park as me in Hurricane, Utah. Unless you have been to small-town Utah, it’s hard to understand how incredible of a coincidence this is. Furthermore, he was educated, friendly, and homeless by choice; a conscious objector of the system as well! We immediately bonded over shared granola (insert hippy joke) and packing strategies. The next three days were spent camping under the stars, bathing in ice-cold rivers, and soaking up the beauty of Zion National Park. We attended a wonderful outdoor music festival in Springdale where we enjoyed the absolute generosity and kindness of the locals, as well as barefoot dance parties in the grass. We were collectively known as “the hitchhikers” by the end of the day, with people even singing the Canadian national anthem to me in random outbursts.

Chuck is my bro on the road; he is the only other perma-hobo I’ve met other than Neil, and our shared lifestyle and ideas make us immediate kin. I encourage you to check out his travel blog at (http://nomadiczen.com/). The post entitled “Spaceship Broken, Need Ride” goes into more depth about our serendipitous meeting.

P.S. Im sorry I made fun of your shovel Chuck...! But I am secretly laughing!


Chuck! (Photo: Chuck) This one goes out to my mom who always tells me that I won’t have any friends if I don’t shower. Finally: photographic evidence. (Photo: Chuck) Our hobo camp on the side of the road. We prefer the vast night sky to enclosed nylon tents. (Photo: Chuck)

Colorado City [September]

The home of the Merry Wives Café, I was able to spend a few days in town with some friends from the road. Most of what I know is through word of mouth so I had no idea what to expect, but I can truly say that I met some extremely kind and welcoming people. I had a great time on a family hike to the narrows, and enjoyed learning about the history of the town first hand.

The Willow Way Hotel [October - December]

My stay in Arizona is officially the longest I have lived in one place in the past year and a half. It was really great to be a part of a community again. While I truly love my adventurous lifestyle, it does get exhausting to always be traveling and always be connecting with great people who I will most likely never see again. There is little consistency from day to day, so I really enjoyed the stability and sense of home that I had in Sedona. However, that is not to say that my life was stationary; I was privileged enough to be able to go on various road trips across the state visiting poetic awesomeness, and exploring the natural beauties of the original Wild West.

To keep it brief, my stay can be characterized by poetry, love, lightsabers, road trips with good friends, polygamous, Flagslams, unapologetic egos, tipsy art walks, upscale open bars and resulting gong shows, live music and hotel jam sessions, guns, pimps and hos, canyon switchbacks, good home cookin’, an endless supply of clean socks, peace, art, community, laughing hard, riding in the back of pickup trucks, backyard bonfires, stunning sunsets and starry nights, howling, fire-wielding burners, dancing on tables, general toplessness in the City of Sin, Canadian attempts at busking, duct tape madness, Thanksgiving cooking blitzes, and blind tours of the Grand Canyon.

Thanks to everyone in Arizona who made my stay the best! Whether it was a ride up the canyon, or an epic lightsaber duel in the middle of downtown, you know who you are …

Some more cool stuff to check out: (http://www.bdeckermusic.com/) (http://www.myspace.com/yinyangshows) (http://www.myspace.com/buskereaton) (http://yzurblog.blogspot.com/) (http://www.pyroklectic.com/) (http://www.wickedhoops.com/)


A road trip through beautiful southeastern Utah with another nomad, Mike. We had fun debating the ramifications of scarcity and trying to kidnap stray dogs, but our best adventure was a camping excursion to a large cave that we found along a deserted stretch of highway. We had a fire to keep us warm while the wind raged around us and the first snow of the season covered the landscape. (Photo of truck: Mike) (Photos of cave: me)


A spattering of selected photos: a day at the creek in Sedona (Photo: Fox); the Juice Box (ie. the hobo shack) my home in Flagstaff for a few days (Photo: me); a gorgeous Arizona sunset (Photo: me); taking in the depth of the Grand Canyon (Photo: Emily); my favourite road tripping buddies (Photo: Emily); a sunset on the Navajo Nation (Photo: Emily); a hoop jam in the park in ‘Preskit’ (Photo: Fox); prepping for Vegas (Photo: Nika) conquering Vegas in spandex and legwarmers (Photo: me).

Final notes

Thanks again to all those who rose above the disposition of fear, and took a chance on me by picking up a random stranger off the side of the road. It is these encounters which have restored my faith in humanity, and given me new hope for the future. I highly enjoyed connecting with each and every one of you.

That was my effort at briefly summarizing my year on the road with my pack. I have slept in countless forests, fields, ditches, and the occasional motel garden. Since I dropped out of university in 2008, I have traveled over 33,000 kilometers across this continent by the power of thumb alone, not including buses, planes, and organized rides…

There is a wonderful and inspiring world out there. Sometimes you just have to dig a little…

Peace, Az





PS. Have YOU seen the gun show? I certainly have… (Yes, I realize the juxtaposition of the word ‘peace’ right above this…)

1 comment:

  1. Azami Ishihara this is very cool!!! To think you're doing all this makes me very jealous and happy for you!! If you are around Rochester, NY, drop by!

    ReplyDelete