I'll Miss You More Than You'll Miss Me

Utah was transient last go round; Jordan and I hardly caught glimpse of her before sinking below the border into Arizona. The crisp, bright colors of an unexplored atlas page excited me. A wide green line of national parks and forests courses through the entire state like a vein.

Zion. No National Park was better named. I'd watch Vegas cumble before tampling an inch of soil here ill tempered. That night we slept on the ground while the old trees swayed hard in the wind. The next day Justin and I were trammed into the park interior where no cars are allowed. With our shoes over our shoulders we hiked barefoot up the bucolic Virgin River, sandstone canyon walls drawing in closer all the way. Nearly a mile up river, our hushed voices echoed tightly around us. You can leave your heart in San Francisco, but I promise you'll leave a little of your soul in Zion.