9/14/2014
After a futile attempt to find help, there came a point when the smartest course of action was to turn back. A drop of a couple degrees in temperature signaled the impending night. With the memories of the howling packs of coyotes fresh in my mind I sped towards the trailer. I hadn’t realized the distance I had travelled to find help. The road back felt bumpier, the sand felt softer, and my legs felt heavier. To top it all off I began to really feel my thirst. I had somehow lost my water along the way. With more than two marathons on my legs, my conversation with god began. This wasn’t the conversation where one bargains to be good if he promises to take away the pain. It was a very internal type of dialogue. The main message from it all was that I needed to be patient. Things would come.
I had often read about the parched throat of someone dying of thirst. I don’t think that the word can truly describe the sensation. As each mile became harder and harder, I started to take breaks by sitting in the middle of the unpaved road. When I looked over at a dried out wash I noticed the cracking dirt from the harsh sun. I tried to swallow but the task proved to be difficult as my mouth lacked any sign of moisture. At one point I passed out on the road during my break. What seemed like a moment later, my eyes opened to see a bright constellation of stars lighting a darkened sky. I trekked on and on until I saw a little white light moving in the distance. It was Crystal waving my flashlight. I needed water, I never knew drinking to quench thirst could be so painful. The back of my throat felt like it had grown dozens of tiny beads. Regardless of the pain I downed liter after liter. I showered with a bottle of water and a little bit of shower gel then I went into the trailer and passed out. As I slept I felt my heart still beating strong and a wetness on my sheets from my sweat. It helped cool me in the sweltering night.
The next day Crystal managed to get ahold of 911. Even they had trouble locating us. They got us a tow truck and we were four hundred bucks poorer. This however was not even close to the end of our difficulties. Not wanting to get stuck again we drove through the washes with a little extra speed. Bad idea. Not only was the inside of our trailer turned upside down, we also broke a leaf spring. The part basically held the axles to the trailer. There was nothing left to do but check into the RV park as all businesses were set to close. It was time to rest. It would take the entire Sunday to regroup and figure out what we would do.
Leaf Verde RV park provided the right amount of relaxation to calm my spinning mind. The dizziness from the constant barrage of mishaps quelled when I thought about the hardships I had endured in the past. Crystal and my mom took off early to be the first vehicle in the garage. I stayed behind to check out and of course to run. I laced up my sneakers, dropped the restroom and laundry keys into a dropbox. There was a sense of security from running next to a busy street. I kept a medium pace as I ran to meet the two best ladies in my life.
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