Moving Day: From Tiny Tent to Desert ‘Penthouse’

So far on this journey, I’ve been incredibly lucky. Thanks to my amazing friends and a few generous strangers who have now become cherished friends, I’ve had a place to crash almost every night—whether it was a couch, a spare bed, or even a hotel room gifted with points. But the seven nights I’ve had to camp? Those were spent in my one-person tent.

And when I say one-person tent, I mean it in the most literal sense. This thing was barely a tent. It was more of a high-tech body sock with a zipper, just roomy enough for me to slide inside like a human burrito and hope for the best. My stuff didn’t fit inside so much as on top of me, which was great for security but less great for breathing.

But today? Today is moving day.

I stand in the Arizona desert, staring at my two-person tent like a proud new homeowner. This is real estate. This is an upgrade. This is a New York City studio apartment—if a studio apartment were made of ripstop nylon and subject to spontaneous wind attacks.

I take a deep breath and step inside.

Oh. My. God. The SPACE.

I can sit up without getting smacked in the head by the ceiling! I can stretch out without hitting a wall! My stuff has its own designated area instead of doubling as a very uncomfortable pillow! I do a slow spin in the middle of the tent, reveling in the sheer luxury of square footage.

“I should have guests over,” I say to myself. Maybe a little housewarming party. The tumbleweeds are obviously invited. The lizards can come too, but only if they RSVP. Coyotes? Strictly on the ‘do not admit’ list.

And then—the pièce de résistance—my hammock.

My desert terrace.

Slung between two trees at my campsite, it is my penthouse escape. My personal rooftop lounge. No overpriced drinks, no city noise—just me, the open sky, and the vague feeling that something in the distance is watching me (probably a rabbit, possibly an alien).

I flop onto it dramatically, gazing up at the sky, feeling like a desert mogul. My home may be made of fabric and stakes, but under the vast Arizona sky, it feels like the most luxurious property on Earth.

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