A 3 hour tour.... yeah right!

Remember Gilligan and the island? Remember how they were only going to be gone a short time? Yeah Jimmie and I got to have our own Gilligan's island experience too! Aren't we lucky?!

We both were off a few Fridays  ago, so we decided to head out to the Land of San Manuel. His dad grew up there and there is a certain Hamburger joint that all must taste. It was called Weldon's Drive In back in the day. Weldon, being Jimmie's grandpa. And seriously- not even joking a little bit, is the BEST hamburger ever! I mean look at it! 

(Picture compliments of Jimmie's awesome skills)

We enjoyed the 2 hour drive of talking, laughing, and looking at the scenery. Our plan for the day was to go as follows. Go to Weldon's and eat a delcious burger, go to grocery store to buy soda pop, drive into desert to practice our awesome bond skills and shoot the soda cans, return to Weldon's to buy food to take for his family, and leave around 3. It was a perfect plan for a perfect day.

But as we all know- when you are Jill- plans don't go as planned... ever.

The first part thankfully did. We enjoyed ourselves some burgers,

Went to the local dollar store and found some cheapo soda AND Jimmie found a U of A hat which made him oh so excited!

Then were off to the desert to have some fun. 

As we started down the dirt path, it was quickly noted that to get far enough away from the city, we would have to do a little off roading. Jimmie had been there plenty of times and said that it was a little rough, but that it was doable. As we got further down the dirt road however, it got a little iffy in some parts. The roads were worse than in the past- thanks to all the off roaders out there! 

We came to the top of a hill and Jimmie recognized that the top of the next hill was where they had always stopped. So we got some momentum to go down from where we were and up to the top of the next hill- or at least that was the plan. The path was too slippery and the tires of the truck couldn't get enough traction. So there we were. What to do. We went backwards and tried to go back up the other hill backwards to get more momentum to try again. But to no avail. We got stuck at the bottom! No matter which way we moved, we couldn't get out. At one point, his back left tire was completely in the air. 

BAD NEWS!

We were able to build it up with rocks and get it out at that point, but with the angle we were in, we were going no where. We worked on it for more than an hour and lucky for us, it was a super hot and toasty day. Also- the fact that we were stuck in these super poky and scratchy bushes made it all the more special.

There were a few times that we got out, just to get stuck again a few seconds later. 

The most frustrating thing was that when you looked at his truck, it didnt really look stuck. We kept saying- "Why wont it go? What is it stuck on?" I mean if you look at the picture you'll say the same thing and probably laugh at it as well. 

Well- Take a look yourself (I didn't get the best angles because my focus was figuring out how to get us out- not really on how to document it for future showings! Which is quite unfortunate, because I would really like to have better proof than these pictures to show you all!)

This was the back tire that was suspended in the air at one point.

It doesn't even look that bad does it!

You'd think we could just zoom right out of there!

See what I mean. 

First off- that hill was much steeper than it looks! Secondly, if we had 4 wheel drive, it would have been no problemo! And thirdly- the truck doesn't look stuck! 

That stinkin back right tire right there, would just spin and spin- even after putting rocks under it and with Jimmie pushing it. 

And don't even get me started on the left one.

 (That's the one that I wish I had gotten a better picture of ).

 It was jammed up in there and wouldn't even try to get itself unstuck! 

It's kind of embarrassing really.

But it was stuck and there was nothing we could do. 

And... we were hot.

So Jimmie called his dad to see if he knew anyone in town still. He said he'd call us back. So we decided to walk around and do some shooting anyway. I mean we did buy a whole case of off brand mountain dew- right?! 

Basically- we looked legit huh! I wouldn't want to mess with us. That's for sure!

And yes I am sporting the rolled up pants look. It was hot!

We got a few shots off, but realized we weren't really in the mood.  As we cleaned up, Jimmie's dad called us back and said that he couldn't get a hold of anyone so they were on their way. Which was so nice of them since it was 2 hours away!

 (I think that besides wanting to help us, they reallly wanted a Weldon's burger. I mean- they are THAT good! )

Thankfully we really weren't that far out of town, So we decided to walk back to and see what we could do while we waited.

 It was only a couple miles and we enjoyed the nice breeze as we contemplated how this was going to work. 

Good thing I was wearing these!
That's me- always prepared! :)

We made it to the LDS church building right at the edge of the desert entrance. We figured that maybe we could catch someone that was headed into the desert- that could possibly save the day. We were sure that at 4 on a Friday lots of skilled people would be headed into the desert for some off roading... right?!

So we waited....

and waited...

 and waited...

Waited with a kiss... :)

and then maybe someone (whose name rhymes with Timmie) tooted and  it was caught on camera!.. (hahaha)

And then someone pulled in and we were saved!!! 

Except that it was a school bus...bummer!

But then help really did arrive. Out of the blue this man comes riding on his quad. I ran after him flailing my arms about to get him to stop (Sorry John- no picture of that either!)

I told him that we were stuck and his reply was "Give me 10 minutes to get my truck and we'll have you out in no time". 

Seriously the nicest man alive.

 Seriously.

As he drove away to get his truck, we were so excited. The Lord had sent us the PERFECT person to save the day. Apparently he has pulled many people out of the desert and is usually the one that people call when they get stuck. He had all the equipment in his truck already and was so nice about it. 

When he came back we jumped in his truck and were amazed at how nothing seemed to phase it. We just bounced along up and over all the crevices that had caused Jimmie and I a little bit of alarm when we had headed out there. Nothing phased his truck. 

I told him that it looked like he was headed out to have some fun in the desert on his quad and that we were sorry to have ruined it and his reply was "I was actually headed to my aunt's house across town. She's out of town so I'm taking care of her dogs and decided to cut through the desert instead of going all the way around."

Wow.

I wanted to tell him that he "deciding to go through the desert" was actually the Lord directing him so that he could help us. We had been praying so hard for someone JUST LIKE HIM to come- and he did. I am SO thankful that he followed that prompting even though he probably didn't even realize that that was what it was. 

Sadly the thought of taking pictures as he hooked his truck up to ours, and pulled us out, did not cross my mind. I was just focused on the relief that I was feeling. 

As he pulled us out- I noticed that it didnt even seem to phase his truck at all. In a blink of an eye we were out! 

Just. Like. That.

We really want his truck. 

As we were driving out, I did think to snap a pic of it and his licence plate

 I don't know if you can read it, but it says WOODDOG. Yep- Thanks Heavenly Father. He was the perfect one to send!

As we got back to the church, we thanked him for being an answer to prayer. He congratulated us on our recent marriage and said "Just keep doing stuff like this together and you'll have a very happy marriage! My wife and I get in situations like this all the time and it just brings us closer together!"

Good Advice.

We were free!

So remember how Jimmie's parents were still on the way. At this point they were 30 min out of town. Why tell them that we were out, when we could have some fun with them. Right?!

So Jimmie backed his truck into this tiny little rut by the church. We were going to say that that's what we were stuck in :) 

Here's Jimmie getting into the "I just can't get it out" mode for when his parents came.

We couldn't wait for his parents to come and see their reaction to the fact that this tiny hole is what we were stuck in.

The best part was that we got it on video...

How did we get away with filming it? Well, Jimmie had his camera on his tri-pod and I was holding it pretending to fold up tri-pod legs the whole time. I'm so tricky. mwahaha... that's why it's kinda slanted.

In the beginning as they pull up, you can't hear it very well. Basically Jimmie's dad says- "I thought you said it was a couple miles out of town." and Jimmie replies "No, I said it's NOT like we're a couple miles out of town." If you listen hard you can hear more. Basically Jimmie then says to come out and see it. 

As we're walking back, I'm like- "Oh your camera, let me get it" and then you can hear it a lot better. Except for the fact that the wind is blowing. 

  But you can see on their faces- such disbelief that we couldn't get it out of there. However, they are too kind to not really say anything about it. And then how hysterical it is when he gets it out so fast!

Take a look! :)

Jimmie is such a good actor. My only job was to not say anything. Everyone that knows me well, knows that I can't lie. So if I opened my mouth, it would have all been downhill! 

We all had a good laugh about it and then went to Weldon's for another burger... we totally deserved it! Jimmie's mom and I actually got enchiladas. Weldon's can do NO wrong! :)

We headed back to mesa at about 7 that night. So much for leaving at three. 

But we left there with some new memories, a whole lot of scratches, a new hat for Jimmie and an almost full case of off brand mountain dew.

Twas a good day! 

The adventures begin again

So this past Thursday, Jimmie and I set out to take a picture for his Arizona Skies project. As we were driving around, deciding where to go, Jimmie mentioned that we were coming up to "The Gazebo." I had heard about this Gazebo many times through out our dating and married life. Was this the day that I was finally going to be able to lay my eyes on the infamous Gazebo?! I believe I said something similar to that (just to be a brat) and it was decided that THIS would be the place that we would take the Sky picture of the day. :)

As we pulled up, I was struck by the beauty of it. In my mind, I was picturing this little white Gazebo in the middle of nowhere. I had no idea how big it would be and that it was surrounded by a lake! I love how Arizona has so many bodies of water just randomly placed through neighborhoods, along the sides of roads, in parks, etc. I think all states should invest in things like this!

As Jimmie started shooting, we realized that there was a whole flock of ducks (flock? Is that right?) or maybe they were birds-It was hard to tell because they looked like birds, but acted like ducks. Maybe they were some sort of mutant duck/bird thing that scientist have yet to discover? Anywho- this is not really all that pertinent to the story. The point is that they were simply hanging out on the grass when I hear Jimmie say "Hey!" "Why don't you run over there and make them fly. That would be an awesome picture." I agreed, and started trekking it around the lake to where the ducks were minding their own business. They had no idea that in about 3 minutes they were about to be scared out of their minds by a crazy lady running toward them flailing her arms. (Thankfully there are no pictures of that!)

I was completely enjoying myself watching them running/flying/swimming to get away from me .I was trying to imagine what they were thinking and it was making me laugh a little bit-when I realized that there was this awful stink! I looked down and realized that I was running in poop! Lots and lots of little black bird/duck poop! and it STUNK- like really bad! The thought that I would be running through their bathroom had never crossed my mind. I realized that the birds had gotten me back, accepted defeat, and headed back to where Jimmie was. Thankfully he got this awesome picture to make it all worth it!

I love how it looks like some of them are running and some flying!

See mutant duck bird- I wasn't kidding.

After that we decided to take a stroll around the lake. Jimmie had done this many a time in the past and it was such a beautiful day- why not?! We walked for about 15 minutes and were just talking and laughing and just enjoying ourselves. We came to a curve in the lake which was at one end of it, and we noticed that's where all the garbage had ended up. There were cups, paper, pieces of metal etc... and it was pretty nasty. I noticed something bobby up and down and while pointing to it, I asked, "What is that?!" I really didn't think it was anything important, I just wanted to see. As I headed toward the edge of the lake to get a closer look, Jimmie said jokingly "Wait! What if its a a dead body or something?" I laughed and when I realized what it was replied that it was only a plastic bag, folded weird in the water so it looked like something else.

At that moment, I looked down right next to my foot. What I thought was a big bolder sticking out of the water, was not!

It was a HUGE, dried up, DISGUSTING dead fish! I of course screamed and jumped back! Which made Jimmie jump because he had "dead bodies floating in the lake" on his mind. And then I pointed it out to him...

Do you see that cup next to it? Yeah that is a big gulp cup. Do you see how the fish is double its size???

Its eye was all picked out, but other than that, it was in completely good condition (except that it was dead.)

Jimmie, being a boy wanted to find a stick and flip it over. Which ended up grossing us both out. The water moving in and out of its mouth was making this gurgurling noise and then once it was flipped, it was all soggy (no pics of that. You are welcome). I kept looking at the lake thinking- What other kind of massive sea creatures are in this lake! Maybe my mutant duck/bird theory wasn't that far off!

We said our goodbyes to this fish and then continued on our walk. We stopped to take some pictures of these trees. The last pictures of fall. (Jimmie did an amazing job, so I wanted to put them on here. ) Doesn't it just feel like winter?!

So as Jimmie was snapping away, I looked down and noticed this black dead furry thing by my feet. "I wonder what they used to belong to?" Jimmie looked over and then saw another piece of it by him. "Looks like a cats leg to me". EWWW!!! What was this place? Some kind of death trap for animals? It looks so pretty from far away, but as you get closer- watch out!

So hurriedly we moved on. The pathway leads under the road into this little tunnel. A few years ago Jimmie had written his initials on the wall. So we started looking for them. It wasn't until after we found them, that I noticed that there were a lot of dirt clods on the walls. And then we both realized.. they weren't dirt clods- they were spider colonies. Not just webs, but a total nesting ground for who knows what kind of spider!

So here are Jimmie's initals with one tiny little spider colony next to it. I know what you're thinking... its not that scary right? I thought the same thing too...at first. You see, I was wearing a hat so my vision was restricted. When I started looking up, I began having a panic attack and even screamed (mind you I am not a screamer! and 2 times I screamed out loud on this walk!)

Here is what I saw as I looked upwards. All along the roof and walls were millions of these colonies. MILLIONS. It kind of felt like I was just waiting for spiders to start dropping on my head (in a harry potter type fashion). Lets just say, I was only in there for about 1.5 milliseconds after I saw this. Thankfully Jimmie stayed in to take the pictures so I had proof at just how terrifying it was!

Lets just say that I was about ready for this little "nature" walk to be over. We walked up the path and over to the road to cross it back to where his truck was. We crossed half way into the medium to wait for traffic. The city had done a good job of making the medium all pretty with trees, bushes and flowers. As Jimmie and I stepped down to cross the road again, at the same time, we both saw this big ole fat pigeon body. It was bloody and dead and sticking out of the bushes!

I think I screamed again.

I was so thankful to be back in the truck again.

So maybe not all states should invest in these lakes. Apparently it is a death trap if you're an animal. Maybe it's the spiders that are killing all these creatures?

All I know is that I am thankful to be alive! :)

The beauty of the Gazebo seemed to help things though- here are just a few more pictures Jimmie took- just to end this post on a not so gruesome note!