The Hippie That Emerged From The Desert

Living off-grid can leave you with psychedelic memories. Here’s one I’ll never forget.

Doug Saltzman
4 min readSep 12, 2022

For a year, I traveled the United States in an off-grid van with my partner and our cat. It was a magical time. We experienced the beauty of the country and met many incredible humans along the way.

Some people stood out more than others.

While boondocking outside of Sedona, AZ, I had a truly memorable experience.

As I was finishing work I heard footsteps behind me. The thing was, we were in the middle of the desert with no other vans, RVs, or campers in sight. I thought I was out there alone. Outside of the roaming animals, it was just us. That was until the hippie emerged from the desert.

Our boondocking spot outside of Sedona, AZ

“What are you doing out here?”

Those were the first words out of his mouth. Admittedly, I get where he was coming from. I was in the middle of nowhere with my laptop. Oh, I should also mention. My partner took the van into town to pick up a package from a UPS store, so I was in a camping chair with a folding table, a hotspot, my laptop, and my water…

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Doug Saltzman
Doug Saltzman

Written by Doug Saltzman

🌵Digital Marketer 🎹 Musician 📝 Creator 🚐 Part-time Nomad

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