Neoprene waders and Gandalf staffs
Turning 40 on tour
(Walking The Narrows with my birthday crew)
“You’re not going to make me turn 40 somewhere awful are you?”, I had whined to our manager when I noticed two days off on the tour schedule coinciding with my big 4-0.
Being a touring musician means frequently missing other people’s birthdays, weddings, and important parties. Sometimes it also means having some of your own big celebrations in places you don’t get to choose and with people you might not celebrate with otherwise, and I was nervous.
I wasn’t worried about the people - I was lucky to be on tour with people I really liked and considered good friends outside of work.
I was concerned about the location for my nomadic birthday because we often end up having our off days in dusty little towns that have - ahem - not much going on.
Big-city hotels are more expensive than those in smaller towns and usually, off-day locations are decided by picking whichever relatively cheap spot falls bang smack between the previous show and wherever the next one happens to be.
Armed with the knowledge that our manager’s birthday is the day before mine, I had hope, suspecting she was less likely to park us somewhere lame since it was her birthday as well.
On this rare occasion, whining had actually worked!
After a few weeks of waiting with bated breath for the schedule to be completed, we were notified we would be having our two days off in Zion National Park, Utah - two whole days in an amazing place! Glorious!
Our faces were pressed up against the windows as we rolled into Springdale, Utah in our dusty tour bus, all of us awed by the burnt orange cliffs towering over the tiny town.
We checked into the lodge and wandered into the town, drinking coffee and perusing the crystal stores.
The idea had been floated that we might “walk The Narrows” in Zion National Park the following day, and upon arrival in Springdale, our manager presented us with the gift of a guided tour, including waterproof boots, a full wader outfit, and a Gandalf style walking staff for balance.
It was my birthday eve, and the whole band went to the rental place to get kitted out, giggling like teenagers as we tried on various oversized waders and silly-looking rubber boots.
On the morning of my fortieth, I woke early to Facetime with my boyfriend and open the gifts he’d hidden in my suitcase.
Coffee scarfed down and peanut butter sandwiches made in the bus kitchen, we donned our neoprene suits and piled into a sprinter van to drive into the park.
We hiked a short distance from the parking lot and then descended into the water, the cold water rushing into our boots, our toes dry and toasty thanks to the ingenuity of the waterproof stitching on our waders.
The Narrows was utterly spectacular, the cliffs towering high above us as we waded through the gorge, with beautiful, distinct layers of stratification created over millions of years.
Our tour guide led us back and forward across the water, mostly in the shallows but getting up to waist high in places. The current was strong and the walking staff a life-saver against the flowing water and slippery rocks underfoot.
We tumbled back into the van at the end of the day, happily tired from the exertion, and the band took me out for Mexican food for my birthday dinner.
A life lived on tour has some downsides, but if you keep a positive attitude and open mind, you will have some of the most spectacular experiences as well. It’s all about keeping an open heart, an adventurous spirit, and living with an abundance mentality rather than a scarcity mindset. Focusing on all the amazing things you stumble upon in your travels, rather than bemoaning the things you might be missing at home.
This tour birthday ended up being one of the most memorable and amazing birthdays I’ve ever had, spent in a truly spectacular part of the country.
We left Springdale late that night and I woke not long after we left the lodge to feel the bus lurching and the transmission whining under my bunk. The bus broke down only 15 miles out of town and our driver had had to roll the bus backwards down the highway to get us off the road when the transmission went out.
But that, my friends, is a story for another time… :)
