An adventure with Seth

The morning of Oli’s fundoplication surgery (reflux surgery) I awoke in the darkness.  I turn over and glance at the clock. 

Uggghhh…4am.  We had to be at the hospital by 6:30 and it was an hour drive.  I shook Seth awake and then got into the shower.  A few minutes after I got in Seth knocked on the door.

“You’re not going to believe this Shannon.  There was a snow storm last night.”

“What?” Snow in Las Vegas.  Sounds like no big deal right?  The first time I saw flurries in the desert I laughed that they would even have the nerve to call the slightly thicker rain drops “snow”.  That wasn’t snow.  These people had never been to Iowa.  I had about the same amount of trust in my husband and his knowledge of snow as I had in the people of Las Vegas.  He was from Hawaii. 

I knew that it was probably just cold and raining.  At most it might look like snow falling from the sky, but would melt once it hit the ground.  We were in no danger of missing my daughter’s surgery appointment.  I forgot that in order to get to the appointment we had to drive over the “pass”. 

Pahrump sat higher than Las Vegas and in order to get there we had to drive over a mountain at 9,700 feet elevation called the pass.

As we left the house I wondered if we really were going to make it. Snow was actually sticking to the ground.  I had heard when we moved to Pahrump that the pass occasionally closed when it snowed up there, but that it only happened maybe once a year.  Surely it wouldn’t be closed the one day that we absolutely had to get to Vegas.  Surely our luck wasn’t that bad.

It was.

As soon as we reached the base of the mountain I could see police lights directing people to turn around and go back. 

I looked over at Seth who was driving. “What now? It’s going to take a month at least, to get another surgery appointment.”

“We’re going. I will get her to this appointment.” He says with determination and a look of excitement in his eyes. 

Oh no.  I’ve seen that look before.  That look that comes from a man who loves off-roading and driving through the back desert.

“Are you serious?  The gravel roads are going to be bad.  I think we should just call and cancel.”

“Nope. Don’t worry.  I’ll get us there. No problem.”

I am very worried. 

Seth likes a good adventure and his adventures usually end up with us being stuck somewhere.  I have been on many of these “adventures” with him.  I have been stuck in the desert overnight, in the mud, with nothing to drink but cheap beer and coyotes circling us looking at my little dog like a quick and easy meal.  I have been stuck 5 miles from the lake, with a flat tire and no jack, no one around for miles, for hours in 110 degree heat, with nothing to drink but cheap beer.  Don’t worry.  We always had beer.

These are just a few examples.  Others include motorcycle trips in freezing weather and extreme heat when I have been totally convinced I was going to die. 

I know Seth’s idea of an adventure.

This could end badly.