Spontaneity

(Written September 25, 2014)
Tyson called on his way home from work one day back in June, asking if I wanted to go camping without the kids for the night.  Of course the answer was yes!  Luckily Grandma Betty and Grandpa Greg were as game for a last minute sleepover with the boys and Grandma and Grandpa Henrie were happy to take the baby girl.  (We are really spoiled to have so many baby sitters!  Our kids love time away from us I think more than we enjoy our time away from them!)  I ran to the store for easy, non-cook meals and gathered our camping supplies and we were off as soon as Tyson got home.  

We went up Hell's Canyon to Mill Park- -10,300 ft elevation.  The truck had some minor issues on the way up.  It started jumping like it was gasping for air.  I actually thought Tyson was joking with me and just bouncing his foot on the gas.  I laughed and laughed, telling him to stop playing around.  He acted nervous, but he is such a good actor that I really thought it was just a game for a while.  Then at one point when the truck hiccuped and almost completely stalled and I saw the look of panic on Tyson's face, I knew it wasn't a game and stopped laughing.  

We did finally reach the peak and found a nice, clear place with a fire pit, nestled at the base of a large bush wall.  Literally, it was as if someone had trimmed the bushes to be a perfectly vertical wall.  We got everything set up and ate baked beans and roasted brats.  Then overdosed on s'mores and milk =0)  It got dark and cooled down pretty quick so we nestled into bed in the back of the truck under the stars.  It was the clearest, most silent night I've experienced in years, if ever.  We cuddled and chatted until we drifted off to sleep.  I woke a few times in the night and it was almost eerie how silent it was.  Pitch dark.  No movement.  Not even the slightest breeze or cricket.  Really, I've never experienced anything like it.  I tried taking video but that was pointless because the screen was pitch black and there was absolutely.no.sound.  Nothing.

We slept well and woke to frost on our bedding.  We packed everything up, ate a bowl of cold cereal and Pop Tarts and headed down the mountain to fish Swift Creek.  We were wary of the truck but felt pretty good about getting down the mountain because at that point we were at least going downhill.  We reached level ground and got past the campgrounds and thennnnnnnnnnnn the truck broke down.  The best part was, both of our phones were dead.  The freezing cold air completely depleted our batteries and neither one of us had chargers.  Awesome.  

Tyson thought maybe it was just flooded so we decided to take a walk and give it some time.  While we walked, a man named George Jackson who works in that area was out doing his morning rounds and stopped to talk to us.  He recommended going to Yellowstone Ranch to use their land line if we needed to call out.  We had a good chat before he continued on and we turned around to get back to the truck.  Tried starting it- -no luck.  We decided to take George's advice and headed back to Yellowstone Ranch.  There was no life to be seen at the actual Ranch so we passed the "No Trespassing" sign into the private area of cabins.  By then it was maybe 6:30 am- -we didn't know for sure because we had no phones (blasted technology dependence!).  We approached the first cabin we could see with vehicles in the drive and in that moment Tyson was very grateful to have a fearless, social wife ;).  I knocked on the door and it was no time before a younger man about our age answered the door.  He was dressed and ready to go with his cowboy hat and rope.  He was chipper as could be and his face was beaming- -I can't even describe it, but it makes me smile just thinking about it again.  In fact, I think the first thing I said to him was, "You look happy!"  Ha!  He didn't hesitate to invite us in and it was obvious that the rest of the house was still sleeping so we quietly told him what was going on and he offered his phone.  Tyson called his dad while I made a new friend =0)  His name was Gordon Evans and he and his wife were visiting from Alabama where he's attending medical administration school.  His dad started working at Yellowstone Ranch back when he was 14 and eventually had the opportunity to buy a lot to build a cabin so that place has been their family "place" for years and Gordon was anxiously waiting for everyone to wake up so he could get out and ride!  Greg needed to arrange some things and told us he would call back when he was actually on his way, so Tyson got off the phone and joined the conversation while we waited.  Before long, Gordon's wife Brielle came into the living room and she was just as chipper and bright as Gordon was!  She joined her husband on the couch and we all continued chatting like old friends!  Soon after that, Gordon's brother and his wife entered the room, carrying their running shoes.  They were headed out for a morning run in preparation for the Wasatch Back.  Then came Gordon's mom who was also happy to see us and joined the conversation.  The only one who wasn't so excited to see us was Gordon's father.  I think his initial thought was, "Who are these intruders, seeking out our secret place?"  Ha!  Before we left that place, we felt like part of the family!  We will never forget the Evans.

Greg finally called to say he was on his way so we headed back to the truck.  We waited.  We slept.  We ate.  We tried to look carefree as people passed by. An hour passed, if not more, and Greg finally arrived.  And guess what?  He had service where we were, which means WE could have had service if our phones hadn't died!!!!  That was the most comical part of the whole trip.  We just shook our heads and laughed.  

We had a bit of difficulty getting the truck loaded since it couldn't accelerate.  Greg had to winch it while Tyson tried to accelerate up the ramps inch by inch.  I finally went behind the truck to push and between the 3 of us we got it on. We got it back to Roosevelt, took it to Palmers to get looked at, and what do you know, when Tyson turned the key it ran just fine!?!?!  *shakes head* At that point we were so over it! Ha!

That is the third time Tyson has attempted to go fishing up Swift Creek and broken down!  I told him the mountains love him too much to let him go.  Next time it happens, he might never come home!
 

Frost on our blankets.....

I love this man :)