Happy New Year, everyone, I'm Willow Belden, and you're listening to Out There.

On this show, we explore big questions through intimate stories in the great outdoors.

Before we get started, I have some exciting news.

I'm now producing the show twice a month rather than just once a month.

I'll have a new episode on the first and third Thursday of each month.

So happy listening.

On today's episode, we have a story about falling in love, with a place and maybe also with a person.

The place is Moab, Utah. In case you're not familiar with it, Moab is this adorable town in the desert,

and it's surrounded by some of the most

magnificent rock formations you can imagine. Towering red arches, gorgeous rock canyons,

impossibly tall cliffs. That's Moab. Our guest today is Brooklyn-based writer Rebecca Warby.

She first visited Moab in 2011, and the place totally stole her

heart. But her love affair with Moab was complicated, because her real life was rooted thousands

of miles away in New York City. Today, she shares an essay she wrote called The Desert Half.

It's a story about relationships and about the difficult question of whether to live in the place you love.

Matt and I meet for the first time at a house party.

I've tagged along with friends I made at the farmer's market a few weeks ago,

interns at Moab's Youth Garden Project.

Through them, I've met a slew of other summer hires,

mostly from outward bound and other outdoor groups,

temporary locals.

It's no surprise that my first friends in Moab are as transient here as I am.

...