Moab - Potluck and KZMU

Alex drove Brandon, Daniel, and me into Moab after spending the night with Daniel's family. He also ended up camping out with us for a couple of nights, before he headed back home. Here's a summary of our fun-filled Sunday, before we camped outside of Moab that night.

Open-range cattle along 128.

The La Sals as we get closer to Moab.

Passing Castle Valley.

Alex brought us to Pete's house, a friend of Daniel's. The weekly Potlatch Potluck at Rotary Park would be in a few hours, so Daniel threw a dish together to bring. Here's the link to the event page on Facebook.

Daniel playing the freenotes at the park, while Alex records footage for a documentary.

Brandon and I relaxed and had a nice chat before the others showed up.

From left to right:  Alex, Pete, Brandon, Freebird, Dan, Daniel Suelo, Francois, and Monty.



The potluck went as none of us would have ever expected. We all met Francois and Monty for the first time, and then later, Emily and Stephen serendipitously crossed paths with us. Interestingly enough, all four of these people had read The Man Who Quit Money by Mark Sundeen, a book about Daniel Suelo. In the midst of the conversation, in which we learned so much, the freenotes and Pete's classical guitar music permeated the air. What a beautiful experience. I feel beyond blessed that the timing worked out so I could arrive in Moab today.

But there's so much more to the day! As stated before, Emily and Stephen joined us. They showed up just when everyone was packing up to leave. We talked to them briefly, and decided that we would meet them in the same place tomorrow. Together we would venture up-canyon and camp out in a cave.

That night Daniel aired a radio show on KZMU, "Tune In, Turn On, Drop Out," about moneyless living. Alex, Brandon, and I attended. I learned so much from the show, and actually the whole day, immersed in a completely different culture than how I lived in the Midwest. Daniel accompanied his show with world-wide indigenous music, which added a whole another mystical element. What a lovely night it was. I've heard that it is one of the best shows that he's done so far, and I'm grateful that I could attend this as well.

Some pictures taken during Daniel's prior preparations, as well as the show itself...

As Daniel prepared, I wandered around outside, awaiting the sunset.







After the show, Alex drove us to our camp just outside of Moab. I slept outside for the first time ever in my life, and it went so well. I'm so much stronger than I ever thought possible!

The entire day touched my heart in ways that I could never put into words. I'm doing what most people told me I couldn't do. I'm in the care of loving people, and my face has not wound up on a milk carton as one girl feared would happen. Nor am I throwing my life away, as another person expressed to me. I'm feeling more alive than I've ever felt before. I anticipate watching this journey unfold with each day.