Recapture Lake

Today I got paid to drive.

It was a perfect driving day, too. The weather was perfect so that I was not lamenting the fact that I didn't have an air conditioner (except for once) and the sun was shining.

My quest was to get the proposals that we have been working tirelessly on for the last several days down to the San Juan School District in Blanding, Utah.

I was most concerned about my car making it.... Louise has been a bit touchy lately, and it would have been a real shame to be in the middle of the desert with no cell service and to have the engine blow (which has happened) or the brakes to go out (which has happened) or... any number of things. But she was a champ! And I had no problems whatsoever.

I had to be there before the office closed, so I put the pedal to the metal and drove as safely as I could, making a single stop where I purchased a book on CD. Since there is no radio in the middle of nowhere, and I only had a single CD in my car, this was a MUST -- even if it was terrible.

When I hit Monticello, about 20 minutes from where I needed to be, I started panicking because it was about 10 minutes until the supposed closing time. I started planning on what I would do if I needed to get a hotel room and how I would work that out.

I didn't have too much trouble finding the portable trailer that serves as the grounds and buildings office, and the guys in it only gave me a little bit of a hard time. But once the proposals were in the right hands, I headed out looking for adventure. And that really pretty reservoir I saw on my way in.

I stopped at the Blanding museum, which didn't have much to offer. Though, there were a few books that I wanted to buy (but considering that I have purchased too many books in the past two weeks, I have been banned! from buying any more for a while) but practiced self-restraint, thanked the attendant, and headed out.

Recapture Lake/Reservoir was a stunning shade of cerulean blue when I passed it. Unfortunately, that was because the water was tinted by my sunglasses -- it was not actually that color. Fortunately, it was still beautiful. I drove a path that headed to the "recreation area" to see where it would take me, and found myself the sole person on that side of the lake. I parked Louise, and stood outside, relishing the tranquility of the area. Then I drove down to the dock area, and found a peaceful little "beachy" area.

It was so picturesque. And so breathtaking. And I thought, "What a perfect, tranquil place to read my scriptures. If only I had th--..." And then I noticed that my church bag was sitting there, and I did in fact have my scriptures. Providence? Maybe. But probably just laziness, since they've obviously been in my car since Sunday.

So, in order to not make myself a hypocrite to myself (and to God) I pulled them out, and did a little reading. And it was a perfect place to read scriptures. The wind was blowing just a little bit to rustle through the brush and trees. The water gently lapped against the rocks. It was only slightly ruined by the bugs that kept buzzing around.

I enjoyed the area for about an hour, and then decided to hop back on the road so that it wasn't midnight by the time I got back. The sunset was gorgeous. Seriously. And I would know, seeing as how I was driving directly into the flaming orb for a good part of the drive.

Once the sun had set, and it was fully dark, I entered the canyon near Price, and that was where I realized, driving is rather stressful when you know that all the shrubs and fence posts are laying in wait to spring out at you disguised as a deer and you can barely see the faint lines on the road as the bright lights on the opposite side blind the dickens out of you.

But really, Utah is a beautiful state. There are so much diversity in the landforms, vegetation and even climate. I've been to Moab before, and I can't believe how different it is from Bryce Canyon, which is completely the opposite of Cache forest. It's all so breathtaking in different ways. I actually really liked driving down near Blanding, which I have never done before. It even looked different than anywhere else I've been in Utah.

But I will admit, even with how awesome it all looks -- I do wonder what the first settlers really thought when they decided to put in stakes. "Here? Really? Are you sure?" Because, that would have been my reaction.