The 201703 trip – ER, Arches, Mexican Restaurant disaster

Monday, April 3

Junior Rangers 3
Junior Rangers 3

J&P managed to get a referral from their home clinic. It wasn’t going to lower the cost, but would push the cost to the better deductible. So, Jen and Deb tried to go to a clinic in Moab, but it was full up – they were directed to the ER. Standard tests, an IV, fluids, potassium – and back home. Then we all went to canyonlands to start the girls on their Junior Ranger badges. Deb gave the girls the Jr Ranger backpacks she had bought earlier.  We took it easy the rest of the day.

 

Tuesday, April 4

Tripple Arches
Tripple Arches

Deb, Sylvia and I went to Arches early. We went back to the Window Arches area and hiked to several arches. Then we went back to the visitor center to wait for the kids because there was no cell coverage back in the arches. When they showed up – we did some more Jr Ranger stuff, then we all drove out to the Delicate Arch trail head. That trail is 1.5 miles and rated moderate. With four kids, it’s more than moderate. Jen started carrying GG.

About a third of the way up, she gave up the carrier to me. Phil was carrying . We managed to get all the way to the top, but it was getting cold, some of us were a bit scared of the heights as the trail at the end was on a ledge. Things were a bit tense so we quickly took pictures and headed down to level ground to regroup. There we had a snack, and

Delicate Arch Trail - start
Delicate Arch Trail – start

swapped kids. Jen put GG in her tummy carrier. EJ and AJ moved into carriers (Phil and me). We headed down as quickly as we reasonably could. We made it down without incident, tired, I mean REALLY TIRED.

 

Delicate Arch Trail
Delicate Arch Trail
Delicate Arch
Delicate Arch

 

We drove into Moab to a Mexican restaurant Familia Mexicana. The put us way in the back – we ordered water to start and the waiter managed to dump several glasses onto the table and all over Phil and some on Janessa. After a minute what seemed like the head waiter or manager showed up and said “How about Marguerita’s”. We thought he meant “on the house”. Nope, after supper we discovered he had put 5 x $10 margueritas on the bill. They weren’t $10 margueritas and and there was no “comp” for dumping water all over us.

Only after making a scene did they drop the margueritas. It was still the most expensive Mexican meal I had ever paid for and the food was mearly “OK”.   I quickly left as many poor reviews as I could find places to leave one.  Maybe if you got better seating, didn’ t have a waiter dump water all over you, got a simple beer – not an over-priced sugar laden drink, you could have a good time there.  Maybe.

continued next post.

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The 201703 trip – sick, Goblin Valley, Capitol Reef, drunk driver, Dead Horse

Saturday, April 1 

Jen was still sick, but thought she was

Goblin Valley Pano
Goblin Valley Pano

feeling better. Not well, but better so we all went. We had fun at Goblin valley and pushed on to Capitol Reef. We stopped at the campground bathrooms, then the little store there for ice scream, then bathrooms again.   Then headed for home by a different route – Hwy 72 back to interstate. 72 was increadibly hilly and curvy.  I’m glad we weren’t pulling the trailers.  Shortly after hitting the Interstate, a car passed us – then another without its headlights on.  After it got a couple of hundred feet up – the driver realized it had no lights – hit the brakes, found the light switch and accelerated off. But that wasn’t the end. He would slow down, speed up, change lanes for no reason then slam on the brakes. All indications of an impaired driver. We called 911, got transferred to USP. We managed to provide a running location and direction as well as description and license plate – but no cop showed up. The car pulled into Green River, into a gas station there. I told the UPD dispatcher and we went on. They got our contact info incase they needed us to file a report – but never contacted us. So, either they never caught up with the person or they did and had all the evidence they needed.

Sunday, April 2 

Jen still sick. Almost took her to ER, but she regained her appetite for breakfast. We decided to leave her at the trailer again and take the girls to Dead Horse Point State Park. Beautiful views, but was cut short because Jenn was feeling worse.  We had no cell coverage in most of the park, but at the main visitor center, there was just enough cell to get a call through.  When she called and said she was running a fever. So, we packed up, and headed back as fast as we could. After lots of discussion – the decision was to wait another day because of the cost of going into an ER this far from home.

Continued next post.

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