NOT the adventure we planned!

Sometimes things just don’t go your way- and you need to adjust.  We had to do that for our next trip.

We want to see the Mighty 5- the national parks in Utah- Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches and Canyonlands.  We researched the parks, the hikes and the campgrounds- and actually got reservations at all 9 of the campgrounds we wanted to stay in- even though they all said this is a busy time of the year.  Yay!

We were going to start in late September by driving to Vegas for 1 night, then on to each of the parks (in the order mentioned) for 4 nights each.  We then would go to some Utah state parks in the southeast part of the state, Williams, AZ, then back to Vegas for a couple days before heading home.  A grand circle tour lasting 28 days.

Then the adventure began- with a couple drops of oil on the driveway…. And then a few more…. So a quick call to the Ford dealer, and we got an appointment the next day.  The service department found the problem the next day- good news, right?  Right- except that some of the parts (8 bolts) were on backorder and they didn’t know when they would be able to get them…  We had 2 weeks before we were supposed to leave, so fingers crossed the parts would come in.

A week later, still no parts and no ETA!  So I checked all our reservations and rescheduled the first 2 of them, thinking we can start with a different park in Utah and make the circle in a little different order.  A few days later, still no parts- is someone trying to keep us from going on our trip?!?  Are we going to need to cancel?

Jerry got the info about the missing parts from the dealer and started calling other dealers to see if they have the parts- found them in Paso Robles!  So Jerry and I hop in the car and head to Paso- and about half way there the dealer calls and says the parts just came in- SURPRISE!

They wouldn’t have the truck ready for another week, so I got on the phone, and changed all of the campground reservations- and actually improved the reservations so that we only have to stay in 1 campground to see both Arches and Canyonland- one less move for us, which is great!

So we had to delay our trip a bit, but it worked out- and the reservations worked out better- so things often work out for the best!

Next Chapter- the start of the Mighty 5 Adventure!