I’m not going to lie, it was hairy. I had Theo with me and he was pretty much over paddling at that point - I became kayak instructor, telling him to make sure to actually push the water back and not just drag the paddle in the water, to keep going, he’s doing a good job, etc etc. The kayak rental place came out with a boat to look for us, but by then we were pretty close so we just had to make it to shore. The F told me later that he looked behind us and saw lightning all through the sky and was glad I couldn’t see it. I’m glad, too. He said this is what happens when atheists get engaged. Ha.
The next day we left the earth hogan to continue on to Utah again, this time staying at a remote sheep camp up in the hills on a long dirt road. It was a lovely place, and definitely the most remote place I’ve stayed.
The next day we went to Bryce Canyon, but only did one short hike and drove to some outlooks before once again thunderstorms thwarted our plans.
On our drive home - which took us a different way, bringing us north instead of south, and putting us on 18 miles of rough dirt road rather than 8, we got horribly lost. The gps sent us to the back of this vast property rather than the front, and it took forever and driving through various gates and streams to figure it out. I was also horribly nauseated from all the twists and turns, so the entire hours-long drive was absolute torture. It felt like labor - the only solution was for it to end. We finally made it back to the camp shortly before sundown and between that and the lightning storm on the river I felt like I’d had just about enough excitement for one week.
The next morning with the limited internet access I was fortunate to get an email from our host warming us that a storm was coming and the roads may become impassible. We first attempted to head down the hill to meet a tour we had planned...but when we saw how dangerously muddy the road already was even before the storm, I said we had better head back to the sheep camp, throw all our shit in the car, and get the hell out or risk being stranded up there in the woods with limited food for who knows how long. So we had a mad dash to pack up and secure everything as the sky darkened and thunder rumbled, and headed down the steep, muddy road on the side of a cliff as lightning flashed above our head and it started sprinkling. To say I was terrified was an understatement. I don’t know that we were ever in any real danger...but I don’t really want to know, either. We headed back to the resort and got a small cabin for the night. Despite our dramatic entrance in a massive thunderstorm, it ended up being a fun night - our rappelling tour was of course canceled, so as the weather cleared we just hung around the resort, zip lining and playing in the pool. It’s funny how storms and flash floods did not enter into my consideration for this trip. I had no idea “monsoon season” was a thing in the US. Boy do I know differently now!
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