How Mother Nature ruined my 10 year anniversary

You are about to read a sad, pitiful, woe is me story.

Yes, I am pathetic.

Just be glad I didn't write this moments after I stopped crying in the backyard about it. Twice.

Jeff and I have made it 10 years. Ten years! That's a long time. With no grand plans to celebrate, I decided I'd represent my program at a two-hour meeting in Richfield last Friday. That's quite the drive for a two-hour meeting. So I decided to capitalize on the opportunity and begged Jeff to come with me for an anniversary getaway. Now before you go thinking we are truly that pathetic to spend a romantic weekend in the middle of nowhere, let me tell you Richfield is the gateway to hundreds and hundreds of miles of ATV trails. And my man loves to go 4 wheeling.

My in-laws amazingly agreed to take our kids the entire time so we could spend three days riding in the mountains and red rocks, exploring places like the Fremont Indian State Park and other Paiute trail wonders. I had it all planned out and even ordered a new bag for the 4 wheelers (to haul all of our crap... which will come into play later in this story) and the official Paiute Trail guidebook and map.

I was so E.X.C.I.T.E.D.!!!! Excited doesn't even describe it. I was ecstatic and giddy. I thought this was going to be so much fun doing something we would NEVER get to do at home with kids in tow, see some new sights, and just enjoy each other for a few days.

But Mother Nature had other plans.

We knew we'd have some rain. Of course... it hasn't rained in 89 days in Utah and our one chance to get away for a 4 wheeling adventure, the weather reports call for a wet, soggy weekend. Jeff assured me I was completely overreacting... that this is typical July weather with the scattered afternoon storm. I kept suggesting we go buy rain ponchos and pack some sweatshirts just in case, but with a few glances of "you are crazy, Kay" and I figured, eh, it won't be that bad. Plus, Jeff was already in shock that I was taking an entire suitcase for a couple of days. As Jeff told me (numerous times), "A little rain never hurt anyone."

Um. Yeah. It almost killed us!

But oh, rain wasn't enough. No! Mother Nature had to dump hail and absolutely drench us in the mountains. We knew it was only a matter of time before we got wet, but we had no clue the old, hole-filled tarp Jeff just happened to spy in the brush would be our best protection. When it started to drizzle, Jeff quickly scouted out a small patch of trees to hide under. We did scare a deer out too. My sweet husband did his best to try and keep me dry but in a matter of seconds we were both soaked right down to our undies. And it was cold, cold, cold. We even got out our emergency blanket to try and make up for all the holes in our tarp (which were sending freezing cold water down our backs and butts) but to no avail.

And then. Oh, then! Mother Nature through us another punch. Hail. Lots and lots and lots of pea-sized hail. The thought did cross my mind that this is how people die in the wilderness... unprepared and caught in a storm. I was just praying it didn't last too long so we could have a chance of getting out of there before dark.

We did laugh a few times, as we sat on our soggy butts in the mud under the tarp, getting drenched in the process. And I got to look at all the "MEN" markings on the trees. Apparently we found a favorite camping spot for the Merrill-Nielsen clan.

Thankfully it didn't last very long but the damage had been done. Jeff sweetly kept his one dry piece of clothing locked in the ATV bag and gave it to me to wear, while he put my wet jacket back on. By the time we got back down off the mountain, you couldn't even tell it had poured! The ground is so dry it just soaked everything up. Had we brought a spare change of clothes, or even shirts, we'd have continued on our planned journey through the gorgeous red rocks and juniper pines.

Need a reminder of how we were before Mother Nature ruined our anniversary fun? Pre-storm.

After storm.

After winding our way back down the mountain, Jeff found a really fun "free zone" to ride around in with jumps and huge puddles. Yes, I sped right through this monster, way deeper than I anticipated, puddle drenching myself again. Poor Jeff. He hit a jump a little harder than he was expecting and rung his bell pretty hard. When he stopped riding, and I told him "come on" he said his head hurt. Slight concussion? Maybe. But he still looked good, even if he had a hazy fog in his eyes.  

Does every man find a "pee" cliff?

I loved driving past the Juniper pines with their distinctive scents. 

We were totally bummed that we didn't have dry clothes. All the red, massive rocks are so cool! The mountains in Central and Southern Utah are so different than Northern Utah and we were sooooo looking forward to exploring them on our ATVs. 

Muddy tires means we did have some fun though!

 

Alas, to say I was disappointed would be an understatement. We didn't get to do any of our planned rides and ironically, I did laundry! We had to dry our muddy, wet clothes somehow. It was kind of humorous. With a a 60% chance of more storms, we decided to just come home early instead of pouting in the hotel. Total bummer. Total, total, bummer.

But complain as I did (and probably will for years to come), it does make for a good story. I got to spend a few days with Jeff. We did go on a short, soggy ride together and learned what it really means to be prepared for Mother Nature's unpredictable temper. We visited the Scipio petting zoo where Jeff made a new friend or two, ate dinner in a bank, and went on a 4 wheeler ride a bit closer to home.

It was 10 years in the making and well worth every minute with the man who makes me laugh every single day. 

Make-up ride

As we drove home from our ruined anniversary trip, the despair came on even harder. I was so mad and upset! I hid in the backyard pretending to check on the garden (like I know what I'm doing there) as I cried tears of disappointment. Not to mention a second round of crying in the backyard while Jeff was napping and I was avoiding laundry and cleaning. The last things I wanted to do on our 10 year getaway with no kids.

When Jeff woke up to me dusting the tops of the kitchen cabinets he knew I was grouchy! The second he asked if I wanted to go on a ride to Bountiful Peak, I threw down the dust rags and scrambled for my 4 wheeling clothes.

Mother Nature smiled down upon us and gave us a perfect evening for a ride. The sun peaked through the rain clouds as it was setting and brightened up the entire valley. And my soul. Maybe I was being a little over dramatic about the whole weekend.

We were able to find the "three lakes" (more like ponds) everyone had told us about. I kept hoping we'd see a moose wander down there for an evening snack but there was just a mama duck and her babies. We drove around to Farmington Flats but ran out of time to go the full loop. And we found a campsite we can 4 wheel to with the kids. My kind of camping... plenty of bathrooms and close enough to home that we don't have to pack a lot of crap and we can come home if we, er, I mean I, decide I'd rather sleep in my own bed rather than a tent.

We raced the setting sun back down, hoping to catch it before it fell behind more clouds. We got a few minutes of bright red before the clouds swallowed it back up. 

Oh, and did I mention we both learned our lessons from the day before and came prepared with actual coats? Yep. Riding warm and dry is a lot more fun than riding like cold, wet rats. I guess you can teach a couple of old dogs some new tricks.

Eating at The Bank (and getting dessert at The Piggy Bank)

In a small town, I'd expect to find lots of fast food and if it's like Logan, movie theaters.

But Richfield surprised us with how few places to eat there were. After our wet, soggy ATV ride we wanted something warm and delicious to eat. We drove through the entire town, with limited options and nothing standing out. And then I spied a sign "Bank & Vault Bistro". It sounded way better than any of our other options so we decided to give it a try.

It was AWESOME! I can't believe more locals weren't packing that place to capacity! The building was an old bank that has been restored into a restaurant on the 1st floor, an office building on the 2nd floor, and most importantly, an ice cream shop called "The Piggy Bank" next door. Despite our complaining with a 100+ year old house, we have a soft side for anything historic. I was so thrilled to see all the original bank decor and hardware throughout the place. You could even eat in the two vaults! We wandered around, wishing I'd brought my good camera to take pictures with instead of my phone, admiring everything. Loved these wall hangings of old bank and mail deposit boxes! Just like the ones my Grandpa uses for his piggy bank trucks. You could still see the safety deposit boxes, an old 10-key (at least I assume that's what it is), real air conditioners, the locks for the vaults complete with magnifying lenses so you could see the numbers, cool lights, and new but made to look old ceiling fans.

Man! I wish I'd have taken my nice camera with us. As convenient as my phone's camera is, it doesn't look nearly as good as my Nikon.

The food was delicious. We both got a cheeseburger with vinegar fries and I thought it was amazing! Grass fed beef and huge toasted buns apparently do make a difference!

Oh, and if that wasn't enough, I told Jeff he was buying me ice cream next door at The Piggy Bank. I mean, who can resist homemade blueberry ice cream? Yum. It was so creamy and delicious, and the small was HUGE! 

If you are ever in Richfield or even remotely close to Richfield, you can't miss a drive down Main Street to the Bank & Vault Bistro. I know we will be back someday.

Scipio petting zoo

If you are ever driving through Central Utah, you have to make a stop at the Flying J in Scipio. I'm sure they have great treats, but this truck stop is famous for something else.

The petting zoo.

It's free. It's made the news before. And it's a little bit of fun in the middle of nowhere.

Alpacas, goats, some cows, a turkey, ponies, peacocks (who tried hitchhiking on the back of someone's truck), bunnies, chickens, and a zebra. All of which acted like they'd never been fed before in their lives.

Oh and in Jeff's words, "Jackasses." They seemed to bond :)

We had a good time and it helped with my pouting on the way home for a few minutes.

Morning sights

I'm hoping my dedication will kick me out of bed so I get to see this in the morning...

'cause my 6 a.m. workout is going to come all too soon at this point.