Lessons Learned

(This is a tad long, but if you want a good laugh, at our expense, read on.)

Yesterday I had training in Vegas.  Robb took the day off and went with me.  I got done early so we decided to take the kids to Lake Mead for FHE.  One thing that Robb and I enjoy doing is going for "Sunday Drives".  Last week, on our Sunday Drive, we were exploring the back roads outside Mesquite and we could see the lake from the road. 

So, we packed up the tubes, fishing poles, swimming suits and lawn chairs, made a yummy picnic and headed out.  The weather couldnt have been better. It was in the 90s, sunny and there was no wind. 

I love being with my family.  The trip started out great.  We were all in good spirits; singing with the radio and joking with each other. 
After about a half hour, we came to the turn-off that we assumed should lead directly to the lake.  There was a sign in front of it that read "4X4 Recommended". We didnt even blink.  Even though the Titan is only 2 wheel drive, we knew we had driven it on much rougher roads than this in Wyoming, so we go forward.  We then came to a fork in the road.  Again, it warned us. . . 4X4 Recommended.  We started joking about it.  The next sign will say, "Turn Back Now" or "We Told You. . No Farther Without a 4X4" or "Last Chance Stupid".  The fork had two ways to go; Fishermans Cove or Virgin River Landing.  We tried the landing first but only got about 200 yards before we hit a hill that we couldnt even make halfway up.  Did this bring our spirits down or did we even think for a moment that this might be a terrible idea?  Nope. So we turned around and headed down to Fishermans Cove. I decided that our FHE lesson would be on Perseverance. The sign said 3.0 miles.  The road was getting pretty bumpy but nothing we couldnt handle. 

 After what seemed like 20 miles, we come to a large sign that says "NO VEHICLES BEYOND THIS POINT".
 But theres still visible road and Robb wants to keep on going.  Im starting to feel a little iffy about things but keep my mouth shut. We get about 20 yards past the sign and our tires start spinning.  We are stuck.  I decide the FHE lesson should be on Recognizing the Holy Ghost.

We all hop out and start walking.  The lake cant be too much farther.  The problem is, there are no visible trails anywhere and everything is so overgrown, we cant even go 100 feet anywhere.  Plus, there are sheer walls on either side of us.  I could have sworn we were in the same place they filmed The Hills Have Eyes. I half expected to see a deformed hillbilly creeping in and out of the rocks.

This does bring our great moods down a notch but we decide to make the best of it. We drag out our tubes and chairs, pull out the cooler and have a picnic.  About this time, the other couple that we invited show up.  They laugh that we are stuck with no lake in sight but join in with their chairs and food. 

We take advantage of the time and wonderful weather and do some sand fishing,

some shooting,

play some frisbee and football,

 and make sand castles.
I decide that the FHE lesson should be about the pioneers and how they could have fun without XBoxes, Wiis, IPhones or portable dvd players.

Its now starting to get dark, so we decide that we better start working on getting the truck out before it gets too late.  Luckily, our friends have 4 wheel drive. Unfortunately, neither of us have tow ropes or chains. I change my mind and decide that the FHE lesson will be on Preparedness.

So, we start digging out the wheels with the beach buckets.  No luck.  We try putting rocks under the tires.  Nothing.  We all push.  Nada.  We're actually digging ourselves in deeper and deeper.  Robb's friend, Jared, remembers he has some tie downs, so we back up his truck and double and triple tie the tie downs to our truck.  The moment of truth. . . It works!  Jared brags that he prayed before he started his truck up and thats the reason we got unstuck.  I then decide to switch the FHE lesson to The Power of Prayer.

The tie downs are now so tight that we cant untie them so we cut them loose.  Both families then get in their vehicles to take off.  We dont go but 5 feet until we are stuck again.
Im thinking we should most assuredly have our FHE lesson on humility. 

Its pretty dark now and we have run out of options, so Jared makes a phone call to his brother and dad to come and help.  (Thank heavens we had cell service out there)

Spirits are down, were dirty from digging and dirt flying, the baby is crying and we are just plain miserable, but we settle in because we know its going to be a good hour before Jareds brother can get out to us.  Robb and I lay in the back of his truck waiting and Im looking up at the night sky.  Its so beautiful.  There are so many stars and Im in awe.  I decide the the FHE lesson in going to be on The Beauty of the Earth.
 Finally, we see headlights on the rock walls.  They arrive and it literally takes them 1 minute to pull us out.  We are all ecstatic because soon we will be home taking showers and climbing in our comfy beds. 

Being the wise people that we are, we decide to head out first in case something else happens.  But, what else could go wrong? 

 When we finally get out on the semi-paved road, an alarm goes off in the truck.  Robb gets out and discovers that we have a flat. 

Jared and his family pull up behind us, we can hear them all laughing. They all get out and help Robb change the tire.  I then decide the FHE lesson will be on Service. 

We get the tire changed and are heading down the road, when I receive a text from Jareds wife, Angelina, "We have your tube." What??  Our tube flew out.  Of course it did.  Also, the truck isnt really running like it should be.  Robb looks down and notices that hes been driving with the emergency brake on.  At this point, I feel like we must be related to Eugene Proctor, the unlucky character in the movie Pure Luck, and we half expect to actually see our rear tire roll up ahead of us.

We do finally make it home.  When we get out, we see one of our chair covers are hanging halfway out of the tailgate and that we've been dragging the chain from the spare tire holder.  We must have been a sight.  Sparks flying from underneath and a red flaglike material flapping in the wind from behind.  At this point Im laughing so hard I cant even breath. 

Robb never got angry or even swore the whole night.  I decide the FHE lesson should be on patience.

We trod into the house, tired, but relieved and in good spirits, even though we never even came close to the lake.  We found out from Jareds brother that those signs we saw were from years ago when the lake was a lot higher.  The place we got stuck used to be 50 feet under water.

We seem to find adventure wherever we go and whatever we do.  Plus, look at all the FHE lessons the kids were apart of that night. 

It will be a day/night that we wont soon forget!