8.31.2011

Somewhere In Utah

I don't know if the travel gods have something against me going to weddings or what, all I know is that so far I have a perfect track record for getting lost on the way to friends weddings. 
{Here's My Story}
Nearly a month ago (yes, that is how long it took for this experience to stop being traumatic and start being funny. So I can write about it.) I went on a road trip because one of my other very best friends was getting married. My dear husband was unable to come because 1. we are poor newly-weds and we can't both afford to take a week and a half off of work and 2. he had to finish up wild-land fire fighting class. So I was on my own, just me and my google maps directions.
To start this whole adventure off on the wrong foot, the night before I was supposed to leave, Ben and I went to the LDS temple in Idaho Falls. Later that same night Ben got a call from our bishop informing him that I had left my wallet at the temple. Awesome. It's not like I would need that at all during this trip. Anyways, It turned out that the temple opened a half hour after I intended to leave, and I would have to drive though Idaho Falls, which conveniently takes a half hour to get to. No harm, no foul, except that when we got to the temple there was a hiccup. I love the elderly that work in the temple, but they just don't move too fast. So after a few phone calls were made to find out who they should call to find out where lost and found was and a good deal of time sitting and waiting, I was reunited with my wallet.Now on with the road trip. 
Everything seemed to be going just great, It even seemed like I would be there early! I took my exit and followed what I thought to be the google map directions. After the 58 minutes had passed that the directions said I would have from the last turn until I was in Manti, and then some I did not find myself in Manti. So I got gas and a road map. On this map I located Manti (aka:where I was supposed to be) and the town I was in, somewhere in Utah. Yep, nowhere close to each other
So! Being the smart traveler that I am, I decided to find the shortest rout between where I was and where I needed to be. 
Long Story Short
The light brown lines on the road map means "this is a dirt road, not a short-cut. Pick a different rout." I know this now, and feel it is my duty to share it with you, should you ever find yourself in a similar situation.

So an hour or more after I left the town that I had discovered my lost and fallen state I turn around and go back The long (but thankfully, not the longest) way. I finally get to the temple that they where getting married at a meager 3 hours late. Thank goodness I was set to be early or it probably would have been more like 5. Then I would have missed the dinner too! That would have been bad, because boy was I ever starving! The rest of trip I only got lost once, somewhere in Delta.