Mister Moab

Oh hi Joseph!

You looked really good Thursday for the few minutes we were connected. The modern world makes for some weird connections with us at Delicate Arch, mom at home, and you in Clovis. You might have been board on this trip, just as you may be bored by this letter, but it was an epic adventure. The letter probably won’t be.

Monday through Wednesday was pretty standard around here, especially without you being able to call. Wednesday night the sister missionaries came over. One sister from Alaska is in her last transfer on the mission. She seems very focused and experienced. The other is waiting for her visa, she’s probably going to be heading to Spain at the end of transfer, so I guess we’ll have a new set of sisters next time we’ll have two new sisters again.

The big news was that Jacob broke it off with Avril. It was hard for him, but I think he did it the right way. Whenever you put so much of yourself into anything it’s going to be difficult to end it. But you’ll never find the right thing if you don’t. I have seen impressive growth in him.

Thursday was the start of our adventure. We took off about eight and headed to Rays Tavern in Green River. I knew Ben was going to be able to come but Jacob cleared his schedule at the last minute, and I was very excited about that. The ride down was pretty quiet because of how they’ve been getting along. Or, should I say, the way Ben was not talking to Jacob. We met up with Aaron and my friend Doug and had lunch. We topped off our gas tanks and started out. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to fill out the whole day so we decided to go see the petroglyphs and ghost town up Sego Canyon, Doug had never been there before. The weather was clear but cool and there weren’t too many people out. We then headed out towards Arches, from the north on a bunch of roads labeled Salt Valley. Those roads took us to the Tower Arch road. I have always wanted to take that road and it was worth the wait. It was a good start as it was challenging enough to be fun, but not overly technical. Plus, Tower arch was really cool and we had the whole place to ourselves. We decided to take the Eye of the Whale (which is another arch) road into Arches. This had one obstacle that seemed harder that it really was. It was a really steep decent down a big rock that had a ledge halfway down. It was a good warm up for what was coming the next day. We ended the day by doing our traditional hike up to Delicate Arch. As we got to the top we got enough signal to realize that you and mom were on. It was a really fun place to get to chat with you. As we hiked out my buddy Doug was getting to know your brothers and they were really starting to open up. As we were coming down that last little hill it started to rain. That desert rain smelled so good and clean. All the stress I had been feeling at work finally melted away at that point. Arches feels like home to me, I have so many memories of going there all the way back to camping there with my brother the year I got home from my mission and all the times we’ve gone there as a family. We went to dinner at the Gualbertos down there and it was very satisfying. Jacob wanted ice cream for dessert so we went across the street to the grocery store to get some Ben and Jerry’s. I should not have eaten the whole carton.

Friday was the long challenging day I was hoping for. We made the mistake of eating at Wendy’s for breakfast, we won’t EVER be doing that again. Then we made our way to the Dome Plateau area east of Arches by heading up the canyon road that we took to go on that river trip in 2019. That has to be one of the most beautiful drives in the world. At the last minute we decided to flip our rout around because we wanted to tackle the more challenging obstacles first. Wow, what a start. There were steep climbs with big steps going both up and down. Aaron did a good job leading and I was able to spot Doug through the tough spots. I got the opportunity to use some of the fancier off road features of my 4Runner for the first time and I was very impressed. The most challenging part of the morning was this super steep decent down about a three story tall rock. There were steps all the way down and I was freaking nervous. But Aaron went down first and it looked completely doable. My turn was next. It felt like I was holding myself up against the steering wheel and I literally could only see the ground in front of me. I used the Crawl Control feature on my vehicle and it really worked well. Behind us there was a couple of guys in a big 3/4 Dodge diesel work truck. I never thought they’d make it. They decided that that big front heavy truck would never make it straight down so they went crisscross down it. I got out to watch. At one point the front wheel dipped and i saw  opposite back wheel rise about a foot and a half above the ground. Man, i thought that thing was going to roll, and worse, it would have rolled right down on us. But they made it and we all cheered for those guys. We finally made it to these caves that Aaron wanted to see, the was a group of gorgeous brand new Ford Bronco’s there. I got out to see the caves but Ben and Jake stayed in the car, wow, what a blessing. So the rest of us go explore the caves and the guide of this group was telling his guests about the Broncos. It made me laugh because it sounded so overly complicated. Then he started talking about the petroglyphs and native Americans that left them. Now, I’m no archaeologist, but the little I do know told me that he was making the entire thing up. Well, you’re brothers heard it too and by the time that group left they had a whole lore made up about this idiot. They named him Mister Moab, the high-school mountain biker. They ran with that for the rest of the trip. And just like that you’re brothers are back. I am so grateful and they both seem so happy. The rest of our day was equally adventurous. We saw a mine, the first one we’ve ever encountered that was open and explorable. There were dilapidated cabins and equipment scattered around to the delight of your boring old dad. By the time we were done it was late and we were ready for dinner. We got some decent pizza for dinner and more ice cream.

Yesterday we were looking forward to a little easier day. We gassed up at maverick and got burritos there too. We headed out to the east of town to Chicken Corners. It had some challenges but nothing compared to Friday. What it did have was groinerfly inducing routes between a cliff wall and a sheer drop off. I’m talking about looking out your window and seeing nothing below you. To see the road, you had to stick your head out and even with that there was maybe a foot between the tire and the 1500 foot drop to the river below. Luckily, that section was only a few hundred feet long and not overly technical. The views were incredible and the weather was perfect, so we we’re happy. Other highlights of this day is I had brought along one of my RCs, yes, a slow one. But it was fun to play with on the rocks during breaks. We also made up some lore about a mysterious black obelisk that appears randomly in the desert. Which also happens to be Doug’s pop up potty tent. By the time we were done it was early afternoon and we were kinda ready to be done. I find that three days is about the ideal length of an adventure like this. The rough roads and being away from your mother takes it’s toll even with the adventure and fun. We got home about seven and your mom had chopped cheese sandwiches on homemade bread waiting for us. Your mother is a legend.

Today was church. The people in are ward are so kind and thoughtful about your mothers upcoming surgery. Uncle Steven and Aunt Becky brought over a lasagna for the freezer for us to have while mom’s recovering. They were very sweet. Tonight we went over to your cousin Camille’s house for dinner. It seems forever since I’ve seen them and aunt Patti.

Well, this is the it week. Tomorrow I’m going to fast for your mother. We’re going to give her a blessing tomorrow night. Tomorrow will be a normal day otherwise. Tuesday she goes in for a scan to check for blocked arteries before her surgery on Wednesday. I’ll keep you posted but expect success. Aunt patti was telling us that it’s been literally years since there has been a surgery related death in the cardio section of that hospital. I’m mostly concerned with your mom’s recovery. Even in the best case it will be challenging. But you’re mother is literally the strongest person I know, so while I may worry for her, I have such confidence in her. 

I love you my boy and I’m excited to hear about your success and your new companion. I’m excited to see your face, even if only on chat and to hear any words you have. Please ask any questions or let us address any concerns you have about your mother. I really believe that the best time for this difficult thing to happen is while you are serving. I think of the blessing you received at your setting apart that your family will be preserved while you are gone. Just as we survived my job loss while Ben was serving and doing better by the time he returned. Mom will not only survive this surgery but be even stronger because of it.

I love you kid,

Pops