Day 21 | The Adventure Continues…

March 30, 2017

Last night we had another adventure, but this time, unlike most of the other times, it was a fun adventure!

Unfortunately the bad sleeping bag contaminated our tent a lot and we no longer feel that it’s a safe place for me to sleep. The last time I got in the tent, my throat started to close up.

The car has also started to feel mildly contaminated but I suspect that is just due to all the toxins that my own body is releasing as it detoxifies. I was considering just taking Benadryl and dealing with sleeping in the car, but Sara Mattson pointed out that there was an option we hadn’t considered. We could just sleep outside under the stars like cowboys!

I felt a little nervous when I first considered the idea but most of that anxiety melted away once we were all cozy in our blankets and sleeping bags. Thankfully, we found a sleeping bag that feels decent to me. All we could see were the beautiful stars in the sky and we actually felt like we were having a fun adventure.

As we stared into the vast expanse, a giant shooting star leaped across the sky. It was magnificent! I don’t remember ever seeing a shooting star before! It was so strikingly beautiful that I almost felt like crying. Brett told me it was the biggest one he’d ever seen. A few minutes later we saw another smaller one.

Eventually we closed our eyes and fell into a peaceful sleep. I am so thankful that God allowed us to have these truly enjoyable moments together in the middle of all the chaos. It was really special to reconnect with that sense of wonder that we are all born with.

We definitely needed it because a hard day lay ahead. The weather reports were saying that the strong winds were going to pick up again this morning. A severe weather advisory had been issued and they were predicting gusts up to 50mph.

We needed to get up early to pack up our stuff and start driving so we could escape before the airborne dust got really bad. Breathing in dust is bad for anyone, but with my health issues, we were especially concerned about Valley Fever (a fungal lung infection that is endemic in many parts of the southwest).

Heading south would have been the easiest way to escape the dust but unfortunately we would have had to drive through some pretty bad areas of California. Bad for people who are hyper-reactive to biotoxins, that is. We didn’t feel like it was worth the risk so we made plans to head to St. George, Utah. I didn’t feel amazing there but I also didn’t have any super dangerous reactions. It was the closest town that was outside of the wind advisory area. Plus, a halfway decent known quantity felt safer than the potential of heading somewhere I might have a dangerous reaction.

Unfortunately, we woke up to find that the St. George area had also issued a wind advisory! We had no idea where to go now. Northern Nevada and Utah were predicting snow and we just aren’t equipped to deal with that kind of weather.

We packed up anyway, only leaving behind a few contaminated items so that they could continue to denature out in bright sunshine. I was able to do a lot to help get ready and only had to take short breaks. I folded all the clothes and blankets, packed up our cots and cleaned our camp stove with wet paper towels. I always feel a little guilty using paper towels but sometimes you just have to do what you can to survive. I like to think that camping off-grid has greatly reduced our net impact on the planet in spite of increased paper towel use.

Then we got in the car and started driving, still not knowing where we were going. We called my dad and he was able to look at the severe weather advisory map for us while Brett drove and I looked at the locations ratings map (a map where other biotoxin illness sufferers rate locations).

Unfortunately, the whole southwest was expecting the same kinds of winds, with gusts up to 50mph in most places. After an extended discussion we decided that the only viable option was to head towards Moab, Utah and hope we could beat the snow. Parts of the route were predicting severe winter weather but Moab itself was not.

The drive took 7 hours. I did pretty well for the first half. During the second half I got hit with some biotoxin and had to stop to decontaminate.  Unfortunately, the place we stopped ended up being even worse than the original exposure. My lip swelled up a lot and I started to feel pretty sick after that.

We arrived in Moab at 9:30pm but Brett still needed to get some work done. So we found a spot to park where he could take out his computer. I decontaminated again but didn’t feel much better. I’m wondering if this town isn’t so good after all. It’s going to be a late night! But at least we’re safe from the dust!

I send out a weekly digest with updates about our adventures. To receive these updates click here.

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8 Comments

  • Alex

    Wow, Ana! The adventures never stop! Glad you were able to enjoy a good night’s rest under the stars and avoid the dust storm. Praying that Moab won’t be a bad place for you and that you’ll have wisdom on where to go next! We love you guys so much!

    March 31, 2017 at 7:18 pm Reply
    • AnaHarris

      Thanks so much Alex! We love you guys too and appreciate your support so much.

      April 1, 2017 at 6:33 pm Reply
  • Bethany Rose

    Ana, I didn’t know you had a blog! I’ve been praying for you and Brett. May the Lord continue to give you peace and comfort.

    March 31, 2017 at 7:20 pm Reply
    • AnaHarris

      Thank you Bethany!

      April 1, 2017 at 6:33 pm Reply
  • Courtney

    Wow! Shooting stars are so cool! Hopefully you didn’t wake up too stiff.
    P.S. You don’t have to feel bad about using paper towels. God is perfectly able to make sure there are enough trees in the world. So you don’t have to feel guilty.

    April 1, 2017 at 6:07 pm Reply
    • AnaHarris

      Haha! 😊 Thank you! Yes, the shooting stars were amazing!

      April 1, 2017 at 6:34 pm Reply
  • Amanda Cunningham

    Praying for both of you and thinking of you often. So glad you’re having some fun times mixed in with the not-so-fun ones! I’m glad you set up this blog, Ana; it’s so good to hear straight from you now you’re doing. Praying that God continues to give you both strength and peace and show you where He wants you to go! ❤️

    April 2, 2017 at 12:49 pm Reply
  • Ellie

    Wow Ana! Such an adventure! I hope that you will be able to get read of the mold problems!

    April 26, 2017 at 5:07 pm Reply
  • Leave a Reply to Courtney