"NO!!!"
I can't remember the last time I've seen Rachel give such a nervous look. And, a well warranted nervous look. You see, we were being pushed down a muddy hill by a 7,000 pound camping trailer full of atv's, with all 8 wheels locked up and caked with mud and clay. The view ahead was absolutely stunning. It's the turn and drop off that was about 40 yards away that made us nervous.
We were on our way to Lake Owyhee. The bad part was that we took a wrong turn. In fact, several wrong turns, thanks to the Google map that was linked directly to the campsite. Rachel and I used to ALWAYS have an Atlas in the car, especially when travelling. For the past several years, it sat there doing nothing since we have GPS navigation on our phones and step by step directions from Mapquest is so easy to come by. Well, GPS navigation, on your phone, doesn't work so hot when you're out of range. And god forbid Google maps to be wrong! Not just a wrong turn here and there, which they are notorious for, but full on... 100 miles out of the way wrong.
We knew something wasn't right when we entered a dirt road. What the heck, right? We trekked on and on, and on. Probably 20 miles on this dirt road with not a soul to be found. We discovered later, that during thunder storms, you take cover in these parts. The roads get so muddy and slippery that it's impossible to drive. We found out.
It was about 8 pm when we finally maneuvered through some pretty hairy turns and slopes going about 3 miles per hour in 4 wheel low. Then, we found ourselves at the bottom of a hill and
Rachel and I just looked at each other. I said, "There is no way we will get up that hill." We were nervous that we were going to have to park right in the middle of the road and camp until morning.
We decided that I would pull an atv out and ride ahead to see just how far away we were from any civilization. I ended up riding for about 3 or 4 miles and discovered a beautiful campsite called Succor Creek. We thought it was a joke from ReserveAmerica.com for us falling for their bogus directions [Sucker Creek].
There were only 3 groups on the campsite, and spoke to one gentleman who seemed to know the area pretty well and the issues with the road during heavy rainstorms. His suggestion was to leave the atvs on the road to lighten our load, and he would go back with me to help grab them. That's the plan!
I made it back to the trailer and suburban on a mission.
"Rachel, get the kids in their long sleeves and pants. You get ready also, because you, Reese, and
Isaac are each riding an atv back."
"But..."
"And, there is no time to discuss because we only have 30 minutes of daylight to make this work!"
Please understand, I have to take advantage of these "Hollywood" moments of distress since I don't get to experience them often. On the other hand, it was true. We did need to move, and move fast.
Reese rode one atv. Isaac rode a motorcycle. And, Rachel rode the other atv. I thought, if we could not only get the load of the atv's out of the trailer, but also 3 bodies out of the car and a dog, we would have a much better chance of getting up this hill.
Some people say that we are crazy going camping with 4 kids- 7 yrs, 5 yrs, 2 1/2 yrs, and 9 months. I would agree. But... I also know that these moments we experience together as a family are down right priceless.
The photo below is of two of my little troopers, the dog, and Rachel leading the charge up the hill. The last bit of the sun broke through the clouds before it dropped behind the mountain and left a magnificent view that my phone did no justice for. The teamwork that went into this effort will leave a lasting memory for me and my family.
We ended up staying only one night at Succor Creek, even though it was absolutely gorgeous there. We had some irritation knowing that we paid for a trailer site in Lake Owyhee and dog gone it, we're going to use it. So, we hit the road on a beautiful Saturday. As it turns out, everyone else hit the road to come to Succor Creek Saturday, too. See... people in these parts know that you come to Succor Creek only when the road is dry!
The rest of the trip was a ball. This is a perfect shot of Rachel wondering something... not sure what. Perhaps it had something to do with us being stuck at the dump site with the sani-hose stuck (cross threaded) to the trailer.
There is a company called Lucky Bums. Check them out- http://www.luckybums.com. They have a saying, "Grow outside and play." I love it because it has a couple of meanings. One meaning that I take from it is that you grow in many ways when you play. When you play together as a family, you grow as a father, or a mother, and a team player. Your children grow closer together and to you as parents. You grow as a family.
Respectfully,
Duncan Richardson
Chief Master Instructor
The Academy of World Taekwondo
