It was recently suggested that we tell the infamous story of our desert adventure.
(This picture was taken on the morning following our lovely mishap.)
Case in point: Tyler and I have run into a problem. We are unable to sit peacefully at the family dinner table without various snickers and "Better keep an eye on these two, they might get LOST" comments ringing out from all directions in the room.
Why you ask? Well there is a very simple explanation.
Don't get me wrong, the facts of this case point clearly to a scandal: newly dating couple, driving alone to meet the parents at the campsite and arriving 4 hours late.
Before you jump to any rash conclusions however, please allow us to tell our side of the story:
After the two of us had been dating a whole 2 months, I decided to put him to the test. It was time to take him to the desert! After all, any boy that I was going to be with needed to be able to rough it and handle a bike. So we planned a little get away and left straight after work to meet up with the fam at the dirt hills.
Things got off to a rocky start right off the bat. First of all, in my effort to keep the house safe I managed to lock the two of us out of the house which is where all my luggage, maps, and directions to the campsite were. After climbing up the roof and trying our best to bust out our robbery skills, we failed at all attempts to open the windows. In desparation we called our neighbor who managed to pry open the kitchen window and hoist yours truly up to crawl through it.
I'll spare you the details and skip to our next major road block. Just so you know, dirt roads and pitch black do not mix well. First of all, it makes cute little innocent bunny rabits hard to see. yep. I hit a cute little bunny rabit and went into complete hysterics. My entire family is huge into hunting and shooting anything that moves but I could not deal with the fact that a little fluffy bunny could be hopping along happily if not for my neglegence. I nearly burst into tears as I realized what happened, then pulled over, and my date (pictured above) tried his best to convince me that rabbits were "like rats in this part of town" and that I had no need to feel bad.
Secondly, pitch black darkness and tiny road signs also create an unfavorable mixture. Two hours after we expected to arrive at our campsite we came to the conclusion that we were terribly terribly lost. What's more? Our gas tank was officially on empty, it was the dead of night, and the only gas station in town was closed. With the car running on fumes and the two of us completely at a loss for further directions, we did the only thing we could; we pulled over to sleep on the side of the road for the night. After a few minutes however, we spotted a large truck headed our way, flagged it down and asked if we could follow them to the camping area.
The drivers of the truck evidently had no idea that speed limits were actually enforceable and rased down the road reaching speeds that our gas lacking car struggled to reach. Well we finally caught up with the truck and were told that this was the starting point of the camping area. Little did we know that our map actually began two turns behind this point. In a nutshell, our map lead us to a deserted dirt trail hardly suitable for large vehicles in the dead of night and once again with the feeling that we were completely and hopelessly lost.
At this point, we were serious. If we continued driving, we'd likely run out of gas so that by the time morning came we would be completely helpless and unable to look for the family with the advantage of sunlight. Throughout this entire process, I'd been on the phone with the parental units trying very hard to have a conversation with them as we roamed in and out of service areas; it was nearly impossible.
Seeing no other options, we pulled down the back seats and made a bed with the one sleeping bag and blanket we had (he was kind enough to give me the sleeping bag). Next, I sent him on a walk as I changed into my pajamas in the car. We got totally ready for bed- brushed our teeth and spit in the sage brush together, cleared out the car, said our prayers, everything. This was excellent. We'd known each other for two months and there we were: stranded in the desert together and lying next to each other trying to fall asleep. This was a new experience that quite frankly, would've been frowned upon by a large majority of the people we knew. Just as we were falling asleep, we heard the sound of a motorcylce coming closer and closer to our little makeshift shelter. Dad was there to save the day and guide us to the campsite. Needless to say, his determination to find us was pretty high that night.
The moral of the story is that getting lost in a desert together can be an extremely effective dating experience. I loved this because it gave me the opportunity to see how we work together when things do not go as planned. Everything from the burglary to the killing of an innocent rabbit and being stranded in the desert together went completely wrong, but I enjoyed it and am still thankful that we were able to see sides of eachother that would not have normally come out in a typical dating situation.
In conclusion, we hope that you will see that the two of us are completely innocent and free of any "foul play". Not surprisingly however, I'm sure we'll never hear the end of it from our beloved friends and family. Furthermore, Dad has informed us that next time we get lost, he will not come looking.
