4000 Questions: Question #21: What was the craziest thing you did in your youth?

"Craziest thing?" Hum. Well, I cannot think of anything, at least not something from my youth. I guess I was a pretty boring kid. So, I guess I'll tell a story about something crazy I did last year.

Kim & I went on a road trip through Colorado & up into Utah. It was probably the best trip I've ever been on, at least as an adult. We ended up stopping at Great Sand Dunes National Park, Mesa Verde, Durango/Silverton, 4 Corners Monument, & Arches National Park (the best place on earth, in my opinion). On our way to Arches (which is in Utah), we were looking at the atlas & noticed an arch just off the main road & decided to try to find it. The road to it was a small unmarked road in which we had to cross a cattle guard. Ok, I know you are thinking, "There is no way I would go up some such road that in every horror movie leads to death," but Kim & I grew up in the country & these roads are just not that unusual for us. It may also be worth mentioning at this point that we had not seen another car, even on the main road, for about an hour, so we were in a pretty remote area. It may also bear mentioning that we had been driving through rain/snow up to this point.

So, we are driving on this little road that is more like a drive way to someones house & it becomes a dirt road. Well, we keep on driving for a few yards then the road suddenly looks very questionable in that we were not sure if we wouldn't get stuck if we continued on. Well, this is a narrow road & the sides are total mush, so turning around was out of the question. We decided to reverse down the road. We had to do this very slowly because if we had driven just a few feet one way or the other we would have ended up stuck in the mud. We finally got back to more solid ground & were able to turn the car around & head back to the main road.

Once we had the situation back under control, the tension of the moment released & we realized how stupid we had been. The whole thing turned out fine but we saw how potentially bad it could have turned out. The rest of the day was phenomenal & I would suggest everyone who ever had the remotest chance of visiting Arches Nat. Park, do it. I would also suggest going in mid to late spring or early to mid fall so that you don't die of heat stroke in the summer. I really want to go in the winter sometime with the snow still everywhere. I think that would be gorgeous.