The Road to Rainbow Rock
While the thrill of spontaneity can sometimes lead to an imbalance of wise life decisions, the hunger for adventure that one of my dearest friends and I possess has blessed us with a road trip full of experiences that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives. Upon hearing about Rainbow Rock, a music festival held in the Redwoods of Big Sur, California, we loaded up Faith’s car and began our journey across the country just three weeks later. From sights so grand we had to observe them twice to properly absorb them, to interactions that set our hearts ablaze, every second of our week-long journey was filled with memorable moments that we will tell our grandchildren about someday.
We chased the sun to the highway as we started our journey across the states, a trip we had not planned to take a month prior. My hands, hair, and worries flew out of the passenger seat window while I admired one of the prettiest sunrises I have ever witnessed, the first of many jaw-dropping beauties admired on this heart-fueling trip. We spent the day listening to our “The Most Girly Babe Road Trip Ever” playlist, with moods fluctuating significantly to match the comical range of diverse genres we both enjoy.
We had just reached Arizona during golden hour, admiring the beauty of the desert, when “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus started playing. It was such a movie scene moment. Faith and I both looked at each other whenever she sang, “These are the moments I’m gonna remember most,” because it was a statement that we both felt so profoundly. At that moment, I began absorbing everything a bit more intensely. I observed as the sun created a saturation so intense over the red rocks you could almost taste the glow. I sat in admiration while I thought about how blessed I was to be where I was, looking at what I was viewing, sitting next to who I was sitting with. An overwhelming sense of gratitude came over me for my life, the people I love, and the ability to love and be loved. “Light My Love” by Greta Van Fleet followed in the queue; at this point, I was holding back tears. The trip had begun hours before this moment, but this was when I truly began to comprehend the week ahead of me.
We started the next day in Phoenix, adoring our first few sights of mountain ranges and crying over gas prices as we headed for our first campsite in the redwoods.
Six hours into our eleven-hour drive, our weariness of being in the car and our eagerness to reach our destination were beginning to create a bit of restlessness within us. We put our energy into the beauty of the mountains surrounding us as best as possible until a giant semi threw a rock at Faith’s windshield, causing a rather big crack across the glass. At this point, we were both in significant need of a mental reset outside the car. We pulled into the nearest rest stop we could find, which happened to be Pyramid Lake, a reservoir surrounded by the San Emigdio mountains. We couldn’t have picked a more perfect place to refresh and regather ourselves, with sights we wouldn’t have been graced with without spontaneously stopping. As my eyes set into the view that we had no plan of witnessing, I was reminded of the sheer loveliness found in the unexpected.
The following day, we woke up at our campsite, and the cumulative twenty-six-hour drive was instantly made worth it by the atmosphere that greeted us. After breakfast and a self-guided tour of the environment around us, we headed for Henry Cowell State Park.
The scale of the pulchritude we witnessed of these gigantic trees was so grand that we could not fully absorb what we were looking at. The grandness of the Redwoods exuded so much strength, that I couldn’t help but hug almost every tree in passing. We met a very kind man there named Pete, who walks the trail every morning. He showed us a few must-see spots that some tourists tend to miss. As we said goodbye to leave the park, we told Pete we were off to find some coffee. He replied, “I have a pick-me-up of my own,” and proceeded to pull a mini bottle of vodka from under his sleeve. I miss his energy.
After a stop for coffee and a little lunch break, we decided to venture to Wilder Ranch State Park. We headed down the Old Cove Landing Trail, three miles of coastline slowly being weathered by the mighty waves of the Pacific. We befriended a seagull shortly into our hike, who waddled curiously alongside us as we admired our breathtaking ocean view. As we continued walking, the views gradually increased in their magnificence. We eventually ran into two locals, an older couple, who admitted that they were modeling after all of our stopping points for the best views, which to me was one of the highest compliments. We took photos of each other on our cameras and finished our hike, where we were blessed enough to encounter a group of seals lying out in the sun and playing along the rocks. We then drove back to our campsite, where we took some alone time to journal and reflect on the incredible day that we had experienced.
Before we left for Big Sur, Faith and I admitted to each other that we were both too astounded by the marvel of the Redwoods to have effectively processed them the day before, so we decided to visit them again before leaving Felton. This was one of the best decisions we have ever made. We returned to Henry Cowell, this time with what seemed to be a set of new eyes. With a new capacity to take in my surroundings, every step felt meditative as we strolled through the pathways in silence. Our spirits were so overcome with awe, that there was no room to get words out. There is something oddly comforting about the validation of our diminutiveness as humans on this bountiful earth. With every touch of a tree trunk, I was met with the presence of strength and wisdom much more powerful than anything I could ever inhabit.
From illuminated deserts to salty swells and some of the biggest trees in the world, our first three and a half days were bursting with enough significance to fuel decades' worth of recollection. The experiences we encountered at this point were already worth the spontaneous journey. Had the trip ended here, I would have returned home with enough wealth in my heart to fuel me for the rest of the year. However, the excitement of this trip had not even begun to peak at this point, and I am incredibly eager to share the stories that follow in my next piece.