Nevertheless, She Adventured: Joshua Tree Part 5, Journey Home.

I remember sitting in my AirBnB bed my last morning, Tuesday, feeling so satisfied, fulfilled beyond measure , and so in awe that my body had made it through all of those amazing experiences so smoothly!

I will make a post more focused on my health and management of it while on this trip later. However I will say that those days in Joshua Tree, my fibromyalgia was almost entirely absent. I know lower elevations have consistently made a big difference when traveling, and that I worked pretty hard to eat well, hydrate, all the things I have control over. However there was another factor that my husband and I have started referring to as the "secret sauce".

So there I sat, feeling really good in my body, well rested, and just satisfied. However I could not get rid of the awareness that now begins the trip home. I had been so buoyed through the trip there by excitement and eagerness, but it was a very long drive to manage alone. Suddenly I was faced with repeating it.

I love the many colors and layers in this landscape.

I planned to drive from Joshua Tree to Las Vegas, and the reassess and see if I could push on another few hours. By the time I reached the outskirts of Vegas, after crossing desert for hours and having sun beat down on me through the windshield, it all started to catch up with me. I had to get out of my car, out of the sun, and maybe crawl into a hole.

My husband helped me find a nice room on the outskirts of Las Vegas, and I collapsed onto my bed around 5pm, fully intending to get up and go to the pool right away to rehydrate my body because I felt like a dessicated sponge. I woke hours later, after dark, to an odd fluttering above me.

I turned on the light, and disbelievingly saw something quite bat-like flying back and forth across my room. (I had vaulted ceilings, but not vaulted enough for THIS!) I watched it, dodged it, tried to trap it in the bathroom, called the front desk for help (twice!), and eventually confirmed it was absolutely a bat, and not some mutant desert moth, when it clung to the curtain. Once I did get someone from maintenance up there with thick leather gloves and a bedsheet, clearly experienced at this, I felt a bit less insane. It turns out that he has to remove a few each month. People open their windows to let the desert night air in, and a bat unknowingly ends up holing up in the curtains as the sun comes up.

I never made it to the pool. It would have been really good for the growing pain, but I was so very tired. I slept fitfully, with aches. After taking advantage of my "Free breakfast buffet" I decided that I really should try my luck at the slots. Really, my entire trip had felt so charmed! I spent about $3 on penny slots, but had a huge payout ($3.04)and called it good. I went up to my room and gathered my bags for another day in the car, but feeling home getting closer.

The next day I made it as far as Glenwood Springs. I had planned to stay with my wonderful hospitable in-law's on the way home, but suddenly the extra 2 hours to my total drive time that lovely stay would have added felt absolutely impossible.

I spent that night in a lovely motel my Mother in Law helped me find, and I again slept poorly. However the last day I had less than 4 hours worth of driving. 182 miles, over the Rockies one more time. That last day was so difficult, physically, emotionally, and mentally. I had been in my car for 6 out of the previous 11 days. No amount of stretch breaks, distracting podcasts, and seat modifications really could eliminate the reality that driving for 6 days is really hard on someone with fibromyalgia. I wanted to be anywhere but in my car, with more sun beating in through the windshield.

It did take days to feel strong again, rested, to get my pain back under control from overdoing it for so long. However my spirit felt so strong! I had really accomplished something amazing. A solo trip across the southwest, finding my tribe, making some new friends, and just being immersed in something I find so exciting for a few days.

I am going to add a few more pictures from the trip in here, but have got to call this trip completely blogged! It has taken me months to wrap this up, and to really process it all. What a joy it has all been!