4 Wheelin'

Mom and Dad were invited to go 4 wheeling out in the desert by a group here in the RV park where we're staying. There were 14 machines, most of which had at least 2, if not 4 people, so it was quite a large group of folks. They went over a pretty rough, approximately 35 mile trail around Montana Mountain. Mom said later that she was glad this wasn't her first time out because some of the trip was quite hairy - like when the machine she was riding in started skidding sideways in loose gravel and the back wheels almost went over the banking. The driver was able to pull it out of the skid just as a wheel was leaving the road!

When they got past the miles and miles of rocks, ledges and cliffs, the vista opened up to a gorgeous valley view which was so vast it left you feeling incredibly small and insignificant. But the knowledge that, no matter where you are or what you're doing, you're never insignificant to God, was actually a spiritual experience. 

3 things Mom learned from this trip: 1) It was extremely dusty and everyone had face masks or bandanas on, and not because of Covid. You see western movies where the cowboy walks into the saloon, slaps his hat against his leg, and there's a cloud of dust everywhere. Well, that's not an exaggeration. 2) after seeing all the varieties of cactus Mom commented how tough it would be to round up cattle on horseback. She said she knows cowboys wear leather chaps but didn't realize the importance of it until seeing what the terrain actually looks like. Without chaps their legs would have looked like raw meat from brushing against all the cactus. 3) When sliding off a cliff in a 4 wheeler, there is no OMG handle to hang on to. Just pray!

All in all, it was a super fun day in the Arizona desert - warm, sunny, lots of good people. And the shower they took as soon as they got home was equally good.

--Sammy