The Vignettes

Walk with me down the trail.

For two years, we lived in a tent trailer while traveling the American West. To document the kind of adventure I’d never have again, I told our stories through weekly vignettes.

We’ve left the RV life for now, but still continue to recount adventure’s ups and downs, our relationship with the outdoors, the wonderful disaster of parenting, and the struggle to catch lightening in the creative bottle.

Beth Downing 2/6/24 Beth Downing 2/6/24

A Bird, a Plane, and Their Place

I hope the bird found its way out. I hope I do too, eventually. To get where I was going but also to understand existence in a place you’re not supposed to be. For them, the building. For me, the air.

Beth Downing 1/30/24 Beth Downing 1/30/24

It’s a Five and Maybe Enough

I got here by fist fighting my tendency toward fear. It’s a grinding thing to do, and it is not a battle complete.

Beth Downing 1/23/24 Beth Downing 1/23/24

First Time, But Up

All the town lights twinkled and sparked. I turned to start up again, towards the line of headlamps. Up the steepest part. Up the throat of the mountain that I get to call home.

Beth Downing 1/16/24 Beth Downing 1/16/24

Under Duress

It’s a good time to wonder what happens when something is under pressure long enough with no room to escape. Or rather, no room to transform into what it needs to be to withstand the pressure.

Beth Downing 1/9/24 Beth Downing 1/9/24

The Middle Distance

Change happens when you’re driving down the freeway and it happens when you’re in the shower and it happens when you put your phone facedown on the counter.