We left Provo on Friday night, made our usual stop at Home Depot, and then headed south to Panguitch. We spent the night at a hotel in Bryce Canyon, with the idea that we would get an early start on Saturday morning... Well, we were so tired from working all day Friday, and then driving, we slept in... uhuh...
After having breakfast, and running a few errands, we started our drive to the cabin... The roads seemed relatively dry, up until we got to the last two... and they were... incredibly wet... incredibly muddy... incredibly treacherous, to drive on. We were pulling the trailer, and the truck and trailer combo just didn't seem to want to make the effort. We were almost in front of the cabin, and the truck's traction gave out, and the tires were spinning - digging holes in the road. After rocking the pick up back and forth, we finally had enough oomph to get to the crest of the hill, and parked... Jim stepped out of the truck, and immediately sunk in the mud...
Jim had a pair of Skidoo boots in the back of the truck, so he switched his shoes for boots, and put boards on the ground on my side of the truck, so I could get out... I was wearing Crocs - not really the ideal shoes for walking in mud...(Crocs rock - don't diss the Crocs!) The only thing worse is squishing a grasshopper in your Crocs with no socks on. But I digress, that was an adventure a few years ago.
It was cold (52F) and overcast, but, we had to trek through the mud to get the trailer unloaded... The 165 antique brick that were in the trailer had to come out, along with light fixtures and insulation, and a work table...so, we slipped and slid through the mud, until we got it all unloaded... Mission accomplished!
We had amazing plans to get the bridge built over Galt's Gultch, this weekend... didn't happen.
As we were about to leave the cabin, we could see that weather was coming in, and we needed to get off the mountain quickly... We decided to pull the empty trailer down to the hotel in case it rained more during the night. Going down the road was so bad, I imagined us having a major crash and ending upside down teetering half way off a cliff... So I sent my son, Brad, a text telling him that if he didn't hear back from us in 30 minutes, to call the Kane County Sheriff's office, and tell them to go looking for us. Poor Brad didn't know what was happening, but, I expect, figured it was pretty serious.
Figuratively speaking, we slide half way down the hill in front of our cabin, and then slide down the 2nd road... Terrifying to say the least. Jim's a natural four wheeler. I, am a natural panic-er... I was having heart failure the whole time.
When we were driving back to the hotel, Jim recalled an incident from years ago. He was telling me that when his dad and mum were building their house in Bracebridge, his dad had an El Camino... And, at some point, Jim was looking at his dad's vehicle, and there was a pile of mud on the floorboards, and Jim was a little disgusted with the mess... He couldn't understand how anyone could get that much dirt in a car... Well, this past weekend, he now understands. Giggle... the floor mats, the running boards, the doors, the tires, the wheel wells... any place that mud could potentially be.. it is! I am expecting a trip to the carwash tonight!
We were hoping in the morning that the mud would freeze overnight, and the road would be frozen and we could drive back and do some work... BUT, we got up Sunday morning, and it was raining... so, we didn't even attempt.
Instead, we visited Bryce Canyon... and it was beautiful. Jim bought his lifetime pass to the national parks, and we are making plans to not only visit Bryce Canyon over and over and over, but, parks in California also. Bryce Canyon is absolutely amazing...I hope everyone will consider coming to visit and just see how amazing it is. We have been working on our cabin for 6 years now, and this is the first visit I've had to the canyon... was truly impressive. That red earth looks so much nicer in the canyon, than on our white truck, or my levi's...
In looking at these breathtaking views, I agreed with Jim, that God is the most amazing engineer of all time.... to make these canyons is pure genius... BUT, I am convinced that God has a wife, and she is an amazing decorator...
We have been asked by a couple of people what we do in the evenings in Panguitch... You know, Panguitch is a little quiet on a Saturday night. But, there is the Gem Theater, and Jim and I sometimes go to the show - We saw the Greatest Showman there, a couple of weeks ago, and Black Panther is playing there now. However, this week, we walked through the Dollar Store... and, I bought Paw Patrol crocs for my grandson, Coy... uhuh... we are truly exciting people.
We have made friends with some of the nicest people ever, who live in Panguitch... about a year ago, I saw an ad on facebook from a lady who sold eggs - and, every time we go to Panguitch now, I buy several flats of the freshest, tastiest, most amazing eggs ever...we are addicted... Brianne concurs. This week, I bought 5 flats of eggs (1 flat is 2.5 dozen)... We start to panic when we are running low on eggs, and there is no trip to the cabin planned...
A lot of people, over the years, have wondered about the relationship between Jim and I... His personality and mine are VERY different.. But, you know.... we click... he makes me laugh, and he organizes my life... I don't have a clue what I do for him - probably add a little bit of colour and confusion... But, he lets me take funny pictures of him... Giggle... They always show a completely different side of Jim, and I couldn't love this guy more.
So, the trip to the cabin this weekend wasn't quite what we expected, but the adventure continues.
Cheri & Jim
