The total tonnage of what you don't know is enough to shatter...

Right after work Yesterday we drove down to see John and Natalie at John's parent's cabin near Sundance. I thought I should put my considerable intellectual ability to good use and decided that rather than drive all the way into Orem on I-15 going south in rush hour traffic, we should exit at the Thanksgiving Point exit and go the other way around through the alpine loop. I had driven out the northern way from Sundance back when I was in school. I figured we would save time.

Well, I was greatly mistaken. Time blurs our memories with unequalled savagery. This was indeed a very long and winding road. It didn't help that I took the right fork in road (right and correct) and then thought I was wrong and backtracked a couple of miles before finding someone who could tell me that in fact we had been on the right (and correct) road in the first place. More backtracking. We probably wasted 20-30 minutes with that move.

In defense of the route, Lenore was nice and said that it was very lovely and scenic. We saw deer and elk and we were treated to the sound of Laney wretching into a plastic bag. When she last vomited in the car on the way back from Big River we made a mental note to always be equipped with a couple of plastic shopping bags in the glove box. Fortunately, just before this drive we chose to act on that suggestion.

The Taylor's cabin is very nice and quaint/comfortable. A river almost runs through it. We had a nice spaghetti dinner and then chatted until about 10:15. I was anxious to get home at a civilized hour. We exited the Provo Canyon Road way. But, saw Dan standing on the side of the road at the entrance to the ski resort. He, Fielding, Les and Jay (in Jay's car) had a flat tire and pulled into the parking lot at Sundance. The spare was also low on air so they were quite stuck. It was a tender mercy that we saw him and didn't just drive by.

We took Jay and the spare to the Texaco station at the entrance to the canyon to put air in that tire. On the way down the mountain we almost ran into a ?weasel? (That's what Lenore says it was.) On the way up the mountain we almost ran into a dog. Now let me say something here about poor stray animals crossing major highways. When you see something to be avoided up ahead in the roadway and want to inform the driver of this hazard, it is best not to shriek and yell "LOOK OUT!" It is probably best to give the driver some instruction as to what to do.

In each case I couldn't see what Lenore was screaming about until we were right on top of the potential victim. It would have been best to say, "move into the right lane!" I almost hit the dog because I automatically changed lanes when Lenore went into her fit. Both times, in trying to avoid something I couldn't even see, I got the car a little sideways with the tires squealing. This is not a circumstance in which the Ford Explorer is known to excel. Fortunately, we got rid of our Wilderness AT Firestone tires some time ago.

So if your pet weasel sauntered in late last night a little shaken but not stirred, be grateful he didn't end up as roadkill.