Day 19 | A Cold Night

Let’s just say we did not enjoy our night in Arizona! We both got dreadfully cold and our blankets did very little to protect us from the near freezing overnight temperature. We were so cold that we ended up huddled together on the same seat in an extremely uncomfortable cuddle. Needless to say, we didn’t sleep much.

When I woke up this morning I was covered in hives! I guess I had misjudged the place. There was litter all around us, including two full trash bags that we hadn’t noticed in the dark last night. Lovely.

Brett had been up for a while already and he told me that the day was not off to a good start. Our cooler had leaked water all over the back seat and he had spent about 30 minutes trying to mop up the water with paper towels. Moisture is a big concern for mold growth.

He also said that a police officer had stopped by to check on us. I’m so glad I was asleep because I would have freaked out. I’m always a little nervous when we sleep in the car. I worry that we’ll get into trouble for accidentally parking somewhere we’re not supposed to. Brett reassured me that we weren’t in trouble and that the officer just wanted to make sure we were okay. Phew!

We decided to get on the road since I was obviously reacting to the area. Apparently the winds have died down back at our campsite but they are supposed to be picking up again on Thursday. If we want to go back for our stuff it has to be today. Brett needed to get to somewhere where he could work too. He had commited to helping with the launch of an exciting new book for young people and today is the deadline.

We planned to stop in Vegas so he could do that but when we got there it became clear that I was not doing well in civilization. I told Brett I would be okay and that he should go ahead and work. We both have to make sacrifices during this difficult time and it was definitely my turn. Brett refused however and instead chose to bring me back to our campsite first so that I could stay safe while he worked.

We drove the additional two hours and then he left to go work at the McDonald’s in Pahrump. Believe it or not there aren’t any good coffee shops in town.

When he’s done we’ll have to figure out how we’re going to stay warm tonight and what to do about our tent. It feels risky to use the bad sleeping bags, especially when they’re cross-contaminating other things. And the tent is obviously not safe anymore either. We may just end up sleeping in the car again.

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