First, let me tell you that the 'hub' works overtime to make me happy. He understands that I'm a bit 'out of sorts' and so he came up w/a wonderful plan to take a drive via the back road up to the Grand Canyon and camp overnight. He came home from work yesterday w/the plan and I was overjoyed. We spent the rest of the evening gathering supplies. About 4 a.m. this morning we both realized we were awake. He jokes, "I can't sleep because I'm more excited then you." lol.. We headed out about noon after he spent some time at work. The road is primitive. We aren't sure what to expect but we know that our 4-wheel drive is required (no Acura's please). We made sure to call our first born to let her know that we would be "going dark" (Jack Bauer lingo) for a day or so and also so she could know our plans just in case we ran into problems and weren't heard from for a week or two. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. We listened to XM, 70's station and talked non-stop while our trail blazer shimmied and swerved up to the canyon. Approximately 2 hours, 60 miles and loads of mud later we came to a sign that said "Road Closed." AYKM!!! Apparently, there had been to much snow. Back when we visited the North Rim in the fall we had been told that there can be anywhere in access of 15 feet of snow in the winter. So we head back down. However, we decide to turn off and set up camp on the edge of a mountain for the night. After all, no need to waste all the time it took to get there. The 'hub' sets out to put up our tent and I worked on getting a fire ready. After we blew up our air mattress and we're getting ready to put it in the tent I heard a distinct hissing sound. Not hard to hear since it was so quiet up where we were that you could hear lil' Skully's tail blowing in the breeze. At first, I thought the air mattress had sprung a leak. Oh if only that would have been the case. I moved over to our trusty vehicle and leaned down by one of the front tires. Seems we had a flat tire on the move. What to do! Do we change it in the snow and mud? The sun would be setting soon, the temperature dipping down below 10 degrees and we are 60 miles from nowhere. We decide to play it safe and head back home. 20 miles into our decent and we realize we aren't going to make it back to St. George. We pull over and begin the process of changing the tire. If you've ever watched "The Christmas Story" you'll know how the 'hub' approached the tire changing process. The first thing he asked me before we exited the car was "Tami, what time is it?" Seems he wanted to see how long it would take to change the flat tire. (In case you were wondering, it took us approx. 45 minutes). We hop back into the car, done our sunglasses and head back home. To top off a strenuous day, God graced us w/ a lovely display of the moon rising before reaching St. George. We are home safe. Our trusty truck is full of mud and towing a tire in need of repair. Tomorrow, first thing, we will fix the tire, fill the tank, spray of the mud and head to Lake Mead, NV, to plan our next weekend adventure. The Grand Canyon, via primitive road, will have to wait until another day.
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