Ready for the Unexpected?
Well, it is almost officially summer even though here in Texas it has felt like summer for months. Public school has dismissed for the next school year, swimming pools are opening, and families are preparing to take a little time off to enjoy each other.
My family will not be taking a summer vacation this year. We might “vacation at home,” but that is another story. Today I wanted to reminisce about a family vacation I went on when I was about 14. My great-grandmother, mom, brother, and I all headed out from Texas to visit New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado. Neither my brother, Glenn, nor I had ever visited these states and we were very excited about our upcoming adventure.
We traveled by mini-van and drove around hitting various points of interest. The first thing I realized was how vast the state of Texas is. It took us two days of driving to get out of our state. We were joyous when we finally passed the “Welcome to New Mexico” sign.
On our trip we ate many different cuisines, danced with Indians in a show, and tried to experience the different cultures as best we could. In Arizona, we stayed on a Navajo reservation around Canyon de Chelly. (It is pronounced Shay.) We took a jeep tour, ate Navajo tacos, and enjoyed the canyon.
The morning of our departure we drove to the North Rim of the Canyon in order to say our goodbyes to this geological wonder. The sun had just risen and it had painted the sky brilliant pink, oranges, and yellows that almost blended in with the terracotta color of the horizon. It was spectacular!
Canyon de Chelly in Arizona. Photo by dsleeter_2000.
My great-grandmother, who we called Mema, stayed in the van while my mom, Glenn, and I walked to the edge of the canyon wall and peered down. With no fence to separate you and the edge, I experienced an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. As my foot got closer to the edge, dirt fell down into the canyon a good 300′ below. I backed away from the edge and joined my mother while Glenn still stood at the rim of the canyon.
We heard a noise and looked to our right. There stood the ugliest mutt you ever did see. It was gray with long matted hair. It appeared to have mange as some of its hair was missing in hunks all over his body exposing its pink flesh. His tail wagged and his moist tongue slipped out of his mouth.
Mom said sternly, “Get away from the dog. Don’t touch it whatever you do.”
Mom and I started walking backwards towards the van keeping our eyes on the mutt. Glenn began walking the opposite direction away from the van along the rim of the canyon. The dog followed Glenn. Out of fear, Glenn started to run. The dog began to chase him!
Now remember that Glenn is on the unprotected rim of a canyon. He loses his footing and falls. A cloud of dust rises around his outstretched body on the ground. Rocks slide over the rim falling below to the bottom.
“GL-ENNNNN!!!” my mom yells.
Glenn jumps to his feet. He runs a few more yards and notices that the dog is gone. It apparently lost interest in pursuing Glenn and disappeared into the desert brush. Mom and I call to Glenn, “Are you alright?”
He walked slowly back to us slightly winded. His knee was skinned up and he had a small bruise coming up on his elbow. He was fine, but shaken.
Mom put her arm around him as we began the walk back to the van. As we approached the vehicle, we saw something that made us stop dead in our tracks. Mema had gotten out of the passenger seat and was petting the mangy critter. We exploded in laughter.
Mema saw us laughing and said, “He is such a friendly dog.”
She was completely unaware of our encounter with the mutt. Still chuckling to ourselves, the three of us climbed into the van without touching the dog. Mema followed and we began our trip to Colorado.
Although this incident might not have been very funny in the heat of the moment, it remains one of the most recalled events on our vacation. Regardless of where you take your family this summer, you are making memories. Some of our most fond memories come from little unexpected incidents like this one. It really is the journey and not the destination that matters. Be ready for the unexpected!
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Those slightly stressful events on vacations do end up being some of the most talked about don’t they…
We too are vacationing at home, and Craig may really take a week off!! We need to get the kids together for some pool fun soon.