Camping in Kolob

Last weekend, we decided to go camping in Kolob. What a mistake an adventure!

We arrived at Kolob reservoir on Friday evening. Linc immediately got to work throwing rocks in the water. David immediately got to work building a fire, and I immediately got to work setting up our tent and beds.


We had fun playing around, eating, hiking and feeding the cute duck family our extra hot dog buns.


I taught Linc how to blow a whistle out of a quakie leaf. David didn't even know how to do it. I can't believe I actually knew how to do something David didn't. That's a first I think.


Lincoln could not wait to get in the tent and go to "sleep." (he really just wanted to get in there and jump on the air mattress.) We let him play in the tent for a bit. He was in heaven.








When darkness came, we all climbed in the tent for some shut eye. Linc was restless, but fell asleep after a little while.

Aside from the huge gust of wind, (that oddly fit right into my dream) we all slept really well. When the sun came up the next morning, Linc woke right up who in turn, woke us as well. Linc went back to work adding rocks to the reservoir and we got busy packing up our camp. I never realized how much work it is to camp with a child. It's exhausting.

Once everything was ready to go, we packed the van, got loaded in, Linc was buckled, wheelchair was secured in the back, and David and I were ready to head home. After a prayer to help us drive safely, David turned the key in the ignition and.....nothing. Nothing... Try again.... nothing.

Oh great. Now what?

I decide set out to find a rescuer. Maybe our battery is dead and we just need a jump to get home. I get out of the van and walk a ways until I come to a camp site with some nice looking fellows. I approach the men and ask if they have jumper cables. Neither of the men had cables, but one of them said he has an extra battery we can have. Sweet!

The nice man walks back to our camp with me. We pop the hood and he begins to unscrew the battery. ALARM goes off in van. What? Why? Alarm is disarmed. Nice man can't get the battery out. He goes back to his camp to get tools. Upon returning to our camp, I see he does in fact have jumper cables. He hooks up the cables, turns his key and.... ALARM resumes. WHYYYY??? After several more attempts with the same result, nice man has no idea what to do. He tells me that he knows the only place on the mountain to get cell phone reception to call for help. So, what do I do? I jump in his car with this stranger and go on a little ride. In the meantime, David and Linc are both stuck in the van because since wheelchair was in the back, I couldn't get it out because our doors are electric. GRRR...

Nice man drives me to this little dirt road and tells me to hike a little hill. He says I can get cell phone reception up "by that one tree with the "no trespassing sign." awesome. I hike the hill looking like a moron with David's dying cell phone held high in the air to try to find a signal. Sure enough, I reach the little tree, face north west, hold my elbow up on a diagonal, and I reach our 24 hour road side assistance service.

Lady on the phone: "Hello! This is soandso with American National Roadside blah blah blah......"
Me: Hi. I don't know how long I can talk because reception is bad and my phone is going to die. I need a tow truck.
Phone Battery: Beep
Lady: Is everyone safe?
Me: (impatiently) yes
Lady: Is the car save?
Me: (extremely impatiently) YES
Lady: Can I get your insurance account number?
Me: NO. I don't have it. I am in the middle of no where and my battery is going to die. I need a TOW TRUCK!
Lady: Okay. What is the address of your location.
Phone Battery: Beep
Me: I am in the middle of nowhere. There is no address. Please just call a tow company in Hurricane, Utah, and tell them to come to Kolob reservoir. They will know where to go.
Lady: What street are you on?
Me: I AM NOT ON A STREET. I AM CAMPING. Please send a tow truck. For real...
Phone Battery: Beep
Lady: Okay. I will send a truck and tell them to call you when they are on the way.
Me: Thanks. (thinking...lady, my phone will be dead so I won't get the call, but whatev...)

That was exhausting. Next, I begin to call family members to see if they can rescue us. Beep. Of COURSE, everyone is on vacation for the weekend... naturally.

Going through the contacts on the phone, I come to Bishop. I call. He answers and I begin to cry. Beep. I tell him the situation and guess what? He's in Salt Lake City. He says he will call his counselor. Okay. That will work. Beep. I call the counselor too. Somehow, through my sobs, and beeps from the phone, Brother Hooten was able to translate what I was asking him to do. I get a confirmation that he will be on his way. I hang up and DEAD PHONE.

Okay, I hope this works out. After about an hour, I end up back at the camp to find my two boys where I left them. In the van...

Soon, the tow truck arrived. We got the van loaded. Quickly after, Brother Hooten came to the rescue. We got the weelchair, and the rest of us loaded with Brother Hooten and we headed home. I never thought I would be so glad to see La Verkin. The van was left at the mechanic.

On Monday, the mechanic called David to update him on the situation. You'll never guess what was wrong with the van... Dead Battery. What? Apparently, if the nice guy hadn't tried to take the battery out, the van would have taken a charge just fine and we would have been able to get home. Oh well.

Memories...