Adventure ... So far so good, but could be better.

On Thursday, I drove out of Draper, UT and took my time getting down to Las Vegas, Nevada.

My first destination was the lovely Red Rocks Recreation Area for a little rock climbing. That night I found out that Canada had invaded the continental US. Or at least there were close to 100 people from all parts of Alberta. Apparently, it was "reading week" in their universities, so a lot of them came down to Nevada to climb. I think they meant to invade, but then realized that they are all Canadians, so they don't have any guns. On that note, they tried to cover up their embarrasment by claiming that they had diven hundreds of miles to climb rocks. Yeah right.

Anyway, I ended up making friends with quite a few canadians, their jars o' pasta, and their buddy "eh". On friday I did some climbing which was excellent. I definitely want to spend more time in Red Rocks.

That evening I drove to Fontana, California to get ready for the Nascar races. Saturday consisted of getting tickets for all 3 events, going to two of them, deciding that I didn't want to watch the 3rd, selling that ticket, and driving back to Las Vegas to do some more climbing.

Climbing was great today, but the weekend's events truly manifest one of my greatest challenges in life ... slowing down. In retrospect, there are a lot of things that I would have done differently here in the opening stages of my trip. Had I known that my driver was going to win the race today, I would have liked to have stayed for that race. Retrospect, and what I would have done, however, is nothing more than not accepting responsibility for my actions.

Warning: I'm about to get all philisophical and phillistinical.

So here I am. I meant to travel all the way back to Salt Lake today, but it was not to be. I drove my Trooper as far as Mesquite, parked it and packed a bag. I sat by the freeway entrance for about an hour before anyone stopped. I had told myself that I would only accept a ride that would get me all the way back to Draper. My weakness really showed through when the first car stopped. They were only going to St. George. I knew I was falling into a trap, one that I was creating, but in a desperate grab at small success, I cut short from my long term goal and got in the car.

St. George turns out to not be a real friendly place for hitchhikers. The freeway entrance isn't conducive to people stopping, even if they would. It's impossible to hitchhike southbound at the exit where I had been dropped off. The hours ticked away, and I rotated between going to the gas station and asking for rides and sitting down by the freeway ramp with my thumb out.

Then it got dark.

Then it started to rain.

I went back up to the gas station and called a shuttle service. That would cost me $65-more than just getting a hotel room. I couldn't camp because I hadn't packed the necessary camping equipment. I had planned on making it all the way back to Salt Lake that evening. What a mess!

It was too dark to thumb rides, and no one was stopping anyway, so I headed back up to the Flying J and started asking for a ride either way. I didn't care if I had to backtrack to Mesquite and sleep in my car. I just didn't want to spend the night bumming around the Flying J until they called the cops on me. No rides ... no rides ... one lady said she would, but she just didn't feel comfortable with the situation. I could understand that. I needed a ride, but I definitely didn't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable, or harrassed.

I didn't ask minivans full of families for just that reason, but I did ask a guy next to a minivan full of the Johnson family, and the Johnsons came through for the human race. I loaded up in the back next to Talla, their black German Shepherd, and they gave me ride back to my car in Mesquite.

More importantly, they gave me a lot of faith that there are still some people out there who aren't just kind, but have a spine to back that up. I waved my thumb at a thousand cars today. Most people just averted their eyes. Some revved their engines in mockery at my chosen situation. Some people though, looked right at me ... with sympathy in their eyes and nothing in their SUVs, and then they drove on by, wishing all the time that they could have picked up that nice-looking young man. The situation just didn't allow it.

Let's exercise our human compassion ... A time is coming when we won't be able to just write a check to such and such charity and know that we've made the world safe, well-fed, and Christian. The time to exercise the 13th Article of Faith is here. No excuses. Let the kindness flow.

Thanks to the Johnson family, who didn't just pick up a hitchhiker in need tonight. They made a friend. They showed courage. They demonstrated what faith/kindness coupled with actions can do. I'll sleep warm tonight.