Epic Summer Trip: How to escape Moab, UT - An Idiot's Guide.

Dealing with a small town mechanic where you are an ignorant tourist who knows no one and has limited RV experience is a recipe for a lot of anxiety, missed deadlines, and LOTS of money out the door.  I have never been trapped in a tourist town where the main tourist adventures are out of reach.  Let me repeat that for those that didn't hear it in the back row:  Going to a tourist town, but unable to to experience and enjoy the very things that draws people to in really sucks.  That was my experience between Days 7 - 11 or Epic Summer Trip 2019. 

We were pretty much contained to the town of Moab because cell service dies just outside.  I actually think it's a conspiracy by the town to keep people from ever leaving.  The city council has us figured out!  We needed cell service because I never knew when the mechanic was coming or going and he really didn't provide timelines or updates.  I am a project manager by profession and can now fully appreciate why it's important to give timelines with estimates and updates when things change.  The anxiety that I felt simply by not knowing next steps, estimated completion, current status, etc. was excruciating.  I know that I'm going to get some flak by those of you who say, "But Brian, you're on vacation!  Just go with the flow!"  Thanks for the advice.  I get it.  I'm just not wired that way, I guess.  Trying to make decisions in a place you know no one and have no idea of "when" is a recipe for anxiousness if you ask me.  OK - done with rant.

6000BC Petroglpyhs

Potash mining

We were able to take a nice drive down the Colorado River for a few hours when I knew the mechanic was actually working on the camper to fix (for those of you who haven't been falling along, I blew a tire and the tire destroyed the wheel well of the camper).  It was such a nice reprieve to see some petroglyphs, go 4-wheeling outside of Canyonlands, and see this strange mining site for Potash which included huge swimming pools of water in the middle of the desert.  I love the desert in that area.  The color contrasts of the rocks and strange formations due to weathering are breath taking.  It makes me think of a foreign planet or the set for a movie that takes place on a foreign planet. 

We managed to leave Moab by 3:30pm on July 3rd to much rejoicing and jubilee. Such a burden to be lifted and feeling more in control.  I did, though, put on an aggressive plan to get us back on track by the 4th of July.  Of course, this was plan C or D at this point.  We were going to drive from Moab to Burkburnett, TX which is 862 miles away over a 13.5 hour time period.  It would mean that we could get back to Lake Bistineau State Park in Louisiana by the 4th of July. 

The last time that I had driven more than 9 hours was probably when I drove out to Seattle for the first time back in 1999.  I found out that I was ready to be done about hour 11, though it may have also been due to the fact that it was 4am CST in the morning.  Regardless, it felt wonderful to drive those last couple of red-eyed miles with the horizon slowly lighting up and the campground in sight (or site, for those pun aficionados).  I managed to get 2 hours and 20 minutes of sleep according to the Fitbit.  I still woke up before the kids and did a load of laundry in the KOA laundromat.  We left in pretty good spirits especially after I treated the kids to a brunch at Denny's.  Onward to Louisiana!