When you go to the desert, there will be no wifi.
When you go to the desert, the service will be spotty.
When you go to the desert, you will actually relax.
When you go to the desert, you will read four slim paperbacks and one very thick magazine.
When you go to the desert, your creeping anxiety will fade.
When you go to the desert, you will take too many outfits. These are the “summer clothes” you purchased in early quarantine, most of which have heretofore only been seen by your plants. Now you will introduce them to new kinds of vegetation.
When you go to the desert, you will prepare all of your own meals. Sure, you are already quite accustomed to cooking, but your Airbnb host will have better taste in knives. You will time your meal with the sunset. You will dress for dinner with nothing underneath.
“You will time your meal with the sunset”
When you go to the desert, you will take better care of yourself. You will tote an enormous amount of materials with you for this.
When you go to the desert, your program will run as follows:
You sunscreen daily and swipe the SPF 50 wherever you’re extra-prone to burning.
You will cover your entire body with a clay mask at least twice during your stay. It will remind you of fingerpainting. You will treat your feet and calves to a Deep Detox Bath Soak after your hike.
When you go to the desert, you hydrate your body with gallons of water, you hydrate your skin with a Geranium Leaf Body Balm, and hydrate your soul with Wet Dreams Playlist.
When you go to the desert, you will light a Muse CBD Spliff and position your chair to catch the sunset as it dips below the vast desert horizon, and let the stary twilight wash over your perfect day.
Margaret Williamson Bechtold is a stylist, brand consultant, and writer living between New York and Austin, Texas. You can find her here and here.