Suburban Goddess

We woke early and left Farmington, New Mexico to head for our final destination, Moab, Utah. Immediately upon arrival, we unloaded our gear and set out to business.

Moab is known for it’s outdoor adventures. A hiking, biking, rafting & Jeeping mecca, daredevils all over the world flock here for the elusive adreneline rush. It did not elude us for long.

We immediately headed to the nearest national park, home of such trails called Lion’s Back, Fins & Things, and the extreme trail, Hell’s Revenge. If you’re bored, search Google for “Lion’s Back” and “Moab,” and you will immediately find video of a woman plumeting down the mountain in a Bronco. I’m not sure if she lived.

Now, I’ve been Jeeping a while now, but let me tell you, NOTHING experienced me for what I would soon see. Gravity is a concept you don’t think about too much; that is, until you’re perched on a large sandstone rock with a 200 foot drop on either side of you. Then, gravity becomes something that you’re VERY interested in.

I’ll post pictures soon, but they cannot do justice to the landscapes I have witness. Words cannot begin to describe the things (and the fear) I have encountered. And this is only the first day. I cannot imagine what adventures waiit for me tomorrow…

As we pass through the hills of Albuqueque on our way to Moab, Utah, I wonder how I ended up living in such a FLAT terrain. The only change in my hometown Louisiana landscape were the pits left from strip mining. And in my current home of Houston, the highest I get is the overpass where the Beltway crosses over I-45. So I wonder as I look at this beautiful landscape, do the peoople who live here ever yearn for wide open flat spaces?

I was sitting in my truck in a parking lot yesterday, sipping on a smoothie while looking for my keys in my bottomless pit of a purse when a tow truck came screeching around the corner. At first, I looked around for a wreck, since I’ve almost been creamed by a tow truck before, but another large SUV pulled up quickly behind the tow truck and several greasy men immediately jumped out. Two of the men, both large in girth, were wearing standard machine blue mechanic jumpsuits. The other three were in plain clothes.

The mechanics quickly began to unhook the gear on the truck and started to connect it to a nearby Mercedes. It was one of the nicer ones, high-end, black, lots of chrome with polished chrome wheels. At first I wondered if they were stealing it, but one of the other men was holding a sheath of papers in his hand, and I thought with a rather sick sense of humor,

“Cool! Repo!”

I watched with interest as the men performed the repo with carefully planned precision. Two stood as “lookouts.” The mechanics continued to ready the Mercedes, and the last man, the Mastermind, perused his papers with a non-chalant attitude that hardly betrayed the sense of urgency that the rest of the men were feverishly working with. Within three minutes, they all jumped back into their vehicles with the Mercedes in tow.

A large black man ran out of the restaurant, screaming at the retreating vehicles. But they were gone, and he had no way to chase them. After a moment, with a resigned look on his face, he pulled out his cell phone, apparently calling someone for a ride home.

I feel like things are leveling out finally. I still hate my job, I still feel like I’m treading water, & I still feel like I could be a better mother. But I’m starting to feel NORMAL again. It’s true; when it rains, it pours. Well, I’m coming out of a thunderstorm (nothing major, just what you’d consider a good downpour), and I’ve arrived at the other side to find my sunshine again. A weekend far from my everyday world helped a lot; surrounded by friends & family, it’s hard to think you’re all alone. A couple of beers and a few good friends, some new, some old, can really help you remember what’s important in life.

We’re headed to the great Mormon state of Utah this weekend for a week off off-roading in Moab. I’m sure the break will continue to do me good. I’ll be posting pics, that is, if I can find an Internet connection.

Do they have Internet in Utah?

Just kidding!