Adventures on Kolob

On Monday afternoon, Conrad and I drove up to Kolob to where our scouts were having their camp with the Canyon Gate ward. It was a beautiful drive and the weather was wonderful. However, I forgot to take the camera so we didn't get any pictures. Conrad did a fireside and we prepared to leave so that we could get off the mountain before it got dark. You know how it goes with the best laid plans...

We started out and we were just chatting and driving along. We came to a slight incline that was muddy. Before we knew it, the front passenger side tire was spinning in the mud. We were totally stuck. Conrad got out and found some rocks to try to shove them in enough to get traction to get out. We tried going forward. We tried going backward. Nothing worked. By this time, it was getting dark. At least we had a flashlight and we were wearing our hiking boots. At 9:45 pm Utah time, we decied we were going to have to walk back to the camp to get help. It took about 45 minutes to walk back on the road through the mud and trees. I just kept telling myself that I can do hard things.

Once we got back to the camp, Brother Thorley thought that his big truck would be the best one to use to get us out. He got in and started backing up, but the back passenger side tire wasn't moving. At least Brother Een was there to figure out the problem and get it fixed. Apparently, the emergency brake wasn't releasing on that tire. Once that was fixed, we headed back to the truck to pull it out. Brother Thorley said it was about 1.5 miles. Conrad got the tow strap out and Brother Een hooked it between the two trucks. Brother Thorley started backing up and pulled our truck right out. They got the tow strap out and Conrad started back up the hill. I think if it had just been dirt-mud, we would have been okay. But it was clay-mud. It's much more slippery. So, after determining the best was to get up the hill, Conrad gunned the engine and took off...and slid into a different rut. He was able to rock the truck and get out without help this time. Brother Thorley said there was one more place that could give us trouble so he followed us out to Kolob Reservoir Road.

Because we are so smart, we decided that for time it might be faster to go the north route and head up the dirt road to Cedar Canyon. Little did we know that it would take an hour and a half to get to the road. By the time we got to St. George, it was 1 in the morning.

We finally pulled up in front of our house at about 2:15 am. Needless to say, I didn't make the 6:30 am temple session for girls camp the next morning. We sure made a memory, though.

Conrad took the photos of the truck, the clothes on the driveway, and the flashlight on Tuesday morning before he went to work. I took the picture of Conrad at 2:30 am. The truck photos were after the drive home. Most of the mud had vibrated off by then.

These are now work clothes.

The flashlight did come clean. We took out the batteries and just washed it under running water.