Escalante 2006 - A Dream and the Realities - Part Twelve

Day 6
Thursday July 27 1:00pm

We were at a fork in the road. Dan thought we were headed down the trail to see the slick rock. TClog and I were content with what we had seen and were prepared to head back to the car. A couple moments of jabbering left Dan headed farther into the wild and TClog and I headed back. TClog and I made a small bet as to what the reason for Dan's retrun would be though I no longer remember the specifics of it. We worked our way slowly up the trail with TClog taking an occasional break in the shade and me hanging out biding my time or shooting some occasional video of the surroundings. Everntually Dan returned, having not gotten to anything dramatic and deciding that being separated was unjustified. He did want to fardlick his way up the trail and so off he went. TClog and I continued the measured crawl up the slope we had begun.

We passed familiar spots, eventually passing the ruins and coming to the possible bear den. It was shortly after this that Dan resturned back down the trail having made it to the top. It was then that I took off, wanting to finish the trail at a pace of my choosing, leaving Dan to mind to TClog. In short order we were all back at the top, and ready to begin the next leg of the journey. Dan and TClog had gotten the name of a car repair place in Loa, Utah and we planned to stop there to try to get the AC fixed so we could spend the 20+ hours left to get to CF done in relative comfort.

The rest of the trip through Dixie National Forest was uneventful, and eventually we were back into what passes for civilization in central Utah. This is ranching country, spaces are wide and the towns are small and far between. There is some tourist infrastructure to serve the national parks, but generally these are towns built on practicality.

We stopped in Torrey for lunch. The place had a sign that said PIZZA and that was good enough for us. What we found was a Swiss army knife of a business, offering groceries, video rental, camping supplies, and a deli that also served the sought for pizza. We got an excellent cheese pizza and made short work of it. Then we were off to Loa with our fingers crossed.

Loa seemed to have every other business named Brian's (our goal) and our first stop turned out to be next to our actual destination. Brian's Auto Part's and Service, Loa Utah. Savior of Sombreros and their owners. TClog got the ball rolling seeking help for our predicament and it seemed like it might be a while before they could get to us. We hunkered down in their Napa auto supply area and waited.....and waited....Ocassionally a local would come in looking for something, making easy conversation with the woman behind the counter or one of the seemingly endless supply of young kids decked out in overalls and a baseball cap that worked in the service area. Whether there was an occasion when not wearing a baseball cap was appropriate, it wasn't clear that this group knew what it was.

The most colorful of the locals to come by appeared to be a dried up surfer, perhaps having moved to Utah to find some peace after years in CA. But his personality was not one that could find nirvana in the wide open spaces. He imagined himself a playboy, and that is how he lived his life even in Loa (or wanted people to believe he did). He needed a few last minute items before heading to the lake where he planned to run his cigarette boat until the gas was gone and then camp for the night. He said he needed to get up there early so he could get rid of his girlfriend before his wife arrived later in the evening, saying something to the effect that the tent would be awfully crowded if he didn't. With a laugh, he was off, leading TClog to remark to the sales girl - 'he's quite a character.' Her only comment, 'yeah- he's a character alright.' A chuckle from us, and we waited some more.

Eventually Brian himself came and talked to TClog. They had gotten the Sombrero in for testing ahead of schedule. Good news for those of us wallowing in a deep pool of ennui, so deep that no amount of colorful local life preservers could save us. I for one was sleepy, damn sleepy. Brian later returned with our AC belt, which looked like a family of beavers had thought it might make a good addition to their dam, but as such was not doing us any good on the ac front.

It seemed like the best possible outcome to me. It explained the catastrophic and immediate failure of the ac and would be easily fixed. And so it was, leaving TClog out $100 aand all of us dreading less the rest of our journey. This was it, pretty much, the last of our adventures. Tonight we would stay in Denver at friends of mine, tomorrow we would kill some time in Denver, and truly begin the last leg of this journey.

But that's for lucky part thirteen...