Inhabiting the San Juan River

This is my friend Heather Narwid, wearing one of my tee’s and being generally the amazing human that she is. The photo was taken from the front of a raft rowed by her boyfriend Dave, while our group of seven floated down the San Juan River a few weekends ago - two rafts, a canoe and an inflatable kayak all drifting along between those radiant sandstone canyon walls. I saw a Canada Goose perched on a tiny ledge halfway up a 200’ cliff and Heather and I spied an eagle’s nest tucked into an airy nook. Bighorn Desert Sheep stepped tentatively down to the riverbank to drink as we floated by. The springtime wind blew, the evenings were chilly and the days were bluebird sunny. It was the perfect opportunity to catch up on a year’s worth of disorientation, challenges and changes. But also to just absorb the joy of companionship in the safe, wide-open outdoors, without masks or worry.

Friendship, home, place: three notions I find so interconnected I think they quite possibly might be just one thing. Doesn’t home feel like a friend? Is there a difference between friendships with places and friendships with people? Isn’t home inextricable from friends and place? These notions have consistently meandered through all of my considerings and creativity, but as this past year unfolded as a year of lessoning - less movement, less contact, less certainty - their significance seemed to grow to fill the voids. When all seems unsteady and sorrowful, isn’t it our close relationships and our home - our place in the world - that gives us comfort?

Inhabiting the San Juan River canyon for a few days feels like an actual merging of place and friendship with a certain deep affinity circulating between the humans and the landscape. It’s an immersion into something that’s equally comforting, awe-inspiring, and joyful. As the sand works its way under our clothes and into our sleeping bags maybe we’re reminded of our animal selves living in this place that cares for us in so many ways. Shelter, food, comfort, inspiration. Home.

I believe I’ll always be exploring my relationship with the idea of home/friendship/place, how it shapes my life, how it shapes all lives. The more I learn about how to appreciate and cultivate these three, the more it feels I can ground myself in a deep-rooted identity. A way of knowing in relation to what I’ve chosen to gather around, in relation to what has chosen to gather around me. Sage plains, desert rivers, sandstone, cottonwoods, skies, clouds, wind, magpies, foxes, humans - all friends, all essential, all benefiting from time and attention.

Thank you for reading. Send me a note if you feel inclined, I always love to hear from you.

Love, Rosie

P.S. Heather is a vintage clothing maven and retro fashion designer who can set you up with the clothes to make you look and feel a-m-a-z-i-n-g! Take a look at what she does here: Sideshow Studio