Notes From the Road — 2 April 2025

Wandering updates from my travels in Van Gogh, trails I'm exploring, photos I've taken, and more

Snow Canyon State Park, Utah, April 2025

WANDERING UPDATE

Hello Friends and Fellow Seekers of the Good True Beautiful!

Surprise! I’m in Utah. At least, this comes as a surprise to me, as this was not the plan. The “plan” (such a pretentious word, I’m finding, at least as far as vanlife is concerned) was to travel up the easternmost edge of California, along the cusp of Death Valley at the foot of the Sierras. But then Mother Nature cast her vote on the matter, tossing high wind warnings, rain, sleet, and snow into the mix, and I declared with little hesitation: NO NOT THAT. So, rather than north, I tracked east-northeast, to St. George, a jewel of a town that sits nestled in a bowl of red rock majesty, not thirty minutes from Zion National Park, which, as anyone who has been there will tell you, is magnificent.

But Zion is not the only magnificence in this corner of the state, and since I have been to Zion several times already, I chose this time to focus on other sites in the region—in particular, Snow Canyon State Park, which was also really quite stunning (and much less crowded than Zion typically is). Check the photos below for a sample of the beauty I found there.

I need to do better on posting to my Instagram more regularly, but if you want to follow along with my adventures in (nearly) real time, you can follow me there @the.sojournist.

TRAILS I’VE BEEN EXPLORING

Here are 5 trails I’ve been exploring recently:

READING: Ever since I read the wonderful butt-kicker of a book, Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life by James Hollis, I have been recording my dreams. It’s a practice Hollis strongly recommends, and makes a truly compelling argument as to why it is so useful. Having done it for over a year now, I definitely agree. However, on occasion, I experience a dream that’s so wild or fantastical I haven’t the slightest idea how to interpret it. So, to get some help on this, I decided to dive into C.G. Jung’s Memories, Dreams, Reflections, an autobiographical memoir of Jung’s life, his history with his own dreams, how he developed his framework for interpreting them, and how this led to his immense contribution to dream interpretation work in the field of psychotherapy. There are three things you’ve got to know about this book: 1) It is thick (there is a lot of book here to read); 2) It is personal, and surprisingly easy to read, like sitting down with Jung over a coffee, and listening to him tell the story of his life; and 3) It is rich with insight and wisdom, and challenges you in ways you would never expect but are delighted to encounter. If you’d like to sit across the table with one of the greatest minds of the past century and just listen to him tell his story, this is your chance. It’s an opportunity I’m glad I didn’t pass up!

LISTENING: “The Inner Work” Album by St. Finnikin. This artist appeared on my radar a few years back with the song “Agape,” which I just loved. I’ve since learned of Finnikin’s interesting history: a one-time worship pastor at Max Lucado’s church, he branched out on his own several years ago, and has since forged a unique musical path, weaving his Christian roots with other mystical traditions while keeping his music and lyrics focused on themes of healing, love, forgiveness, and the daunting but joyful process of becoming whole. He created this latest work as a response and companion to a book by the same name.

WATCHING: Paul Kingsnorth is another of those “Brilliant Brits” I’ve been collecting of late. A one-time atheist and environmental activist, he experienced a dramatic conversion to Orthodox Christianity a few years back, and now focuses both his writing and speaking on what faith in general, and Christian faith in particular, has to offer in our increasingly VUCA world. In his “Erasmus Lecture,” given in New York City on 28th October 2024, Kingsnorth argues that the idea of forcing Western civilizations to be “Christian,” far from being a solution to the many challenges we are facing in these turbulent times, is a deadly trap that Christians should avoid. The whole talk is worth a listen, but you can start at minute 28 to get to the heart of it.

SEEING: While I’m not exactly what you’d call a bird watcher yet, I will say that life on the road has attuned my ears and eyes in a new way to the presence of birds all around me: how the birdsongs change from location to location, and how that naturally leads me to seek out the source of that music and learn the various species I encounter in my travels. In that spirit, I was captured by this delightful sidequest last week: “38 of the Most Colorful Birds on the Planet”.

PONDERING: “Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow, Bright blue his jacket is, and his boots are yellow. None has ever caught him yet, for Tom, he is the Master: His songs are stronger songs, and his feet are faster.” — J.R.R. Tolkien (Inspired by Malcolm Guite’s recent pair of videos on Tom Bambadil: here and here).

PHOTOS I’VE TAKEN

YOUR TURN

What new trails have you been exploring lately that you would love other people to know about? Share them in the comments.

Until next time!

Michael

p.s. The Sojournist is an entirely reader-supported project I create on the go as I live on the road. Your support makes my writing possible and keeps it growing. Every time you hit “like,” it tells the algorithm to share the post more widely. Every time you share a post with someone, it spreads the word even more. Every new free subscription expands our growing tribe. Every new paid subscription keeps food on the table and fuel in Van Gogh. Whatever way you can help is hugely appreciated. Thank you.