Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Lessons from Moab

In 2007 I learned "The Secret" wasn't true. In 2008 I learned that it was! Taking a trip to Moab (without kids) in January has it's weather risks. All the weather-persons in Utah united in saying last weekend would see snow all through the state from Friday to Sunday- marking the dates of our pre-planned trip. Bugger. So, we went anyway. We told the "universe" (Kevin Eubanks) to keep the snow from coming in Moab. He was even wearing his white jacket when we told him. Bold, I know. The universe responded with a bang. NO SNOW! Thanks Universe!

Those of you who visit national parks and such will understand what I'm about to say. The international crowd loves a national park. Foreiners are all around you. They are easy to spot. I will give you two sure fire ways to tell.

1. They tend to wear inappropriate footwear (and sometimes other apparel) for hiking/walking the trails.

2. They ALWAYS have a bigger, more expensive camera than you and it is poised at their fingertips at all times, waiting to capture the beauty of The West.

Both of these things will be highlited now. One of our first hikes was to see the popular Landscape Arch.

If you've never been, you can recognize it from our state license plates. After a nice Brittish woman (wearing wrong shoes) took this picture,

we saw an Israeli man (we found out later) taking pictures of the arch. He indeed had a large, expensive looking camera. Serious photographer. He was taking pictures while we were under the arch. Why he wanted us in the picture, I'll never know. Maybe he admired our proper use of footwear. As we thanked the nice Brittish woman and walked away, the Israeli man was now coming towards the arch. As we were about to cross paths, the Israeli man dropped his big, expensive looking camera. Just a few feet away I watched it bounce down, down, down the steep slick rock smashing itself the whole way until it landed at the bottom.

My first reaction was "OOOOHHHH NOOOOO" with my hands on my head.

Andrae's first reaction was to laugh histerically at the Israeli's misfortune.

Mark's first reaction was to tell his wife to "SSSHHHH, it's not nice to laugh at another's misfortune."

The Israeli's first reaction was to try and follow the camera down the same path to rescue it, surely resulting in serious harm or death.

Scott's first reaction (that we know of) was "Crap, I don't want to have to go after him, once he hurts himself."

It turns out the Israeli man had a friend who quickly came up behind him and they went around and down a safer way. We'll never know what happened to that man and his photos. I don't think I'll ever see how great I looked in them, but I sure hope he tells all about it on his blog.

Here's the rest of the highlights.




This is officially the longest blog of my life. There is still more Christmas coming.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Okay, I admit I started to giggle, however, I think I held it in pretty good. Also, you forgot to pre-qualify that I have a terrible medical condition where whenever someone gets hurt, pulls an out of the blue stunt such as dropping thousands of dollars down slick rock, or anything of that nature my first reaction is to laugh. It doesn’t mean I don’t feel bad, or pity them. Mark thinks it’s too many years of A.F.V., darn that Bob Saget for starting those clips. I’m seeking someone who is qualified to help with the issue now, thanks.

Jill said...

I love these pictures they are so pretty! I should go there.

holly said...

Such fancy, high falutin' words and photos belong in an upscale weekly edition of some upscale travel magazine, not in a humble family blog! You're fantastic and clever and beautiful and have a real flair for words. Oh, and Scott, tell Amanda she's alright too.

Hayley said...

I was thinkin' the same thing...that's some good bloggin' there Amanda. You are one funny girl. And, your pictures are very cute. I had to laugh at the one of you and Scott sittin' by the arch, I was reminded of Scott wearing his Jeter shirt around ICON. Wierd, I know, but that's what I was reminded of. You look beautiful.

jordan said...

pretty funny. i know all about the foreigners - my three summers in moab. looks like a good time. i miss the place!

JAM said...

I am highly impressed. And yes, I did read the whole thing. Wow, how did you get the cool word verification thing on your blog. Do I have to write a two page blog entry to get one? Kisses