That Time I Drove 6 Hours in the Back of a Truck...

Let me begin this story by saying, I hate camping. I hate camping mostly because I have no wilderness survival skills and because I think camping is our way of mocking homeless people. Seriously, I am pretty sure if I had to live in the wilderness like they did in Biblical times I would be the first to die from starvation and/or some type of poisoning.

So, the story begins with a camping trip to Lake Powell.

My great friend, Greg, and I had something going on during the week and were going to meet up with our other friends, Bryn, Bryn's Parents, Dustin, Paige, and Ryan, at the Lake later, but because my friends are SO awesome they said that they would take our tent and such and set everything up for us so, it would be ready for us when we got to the Lake. Greg was in charge of getting the tent, since I obviously didn't have any of the stuff readily available due to my dislike for camping. Somewhere in the planning and at the last minute, Greg decided that he didn't have a tent or couldn't get a tent so, that left me to scrounge around for a tent. I remembered that I had a tent that I used in my boy scout days. Which thinking back, I would have to blame my dislike for camping on scouts. Have you ever camped in the snow? Well it sucks and no one should have to do it unless the world is ending.. Anyway, So off I went and I found that tent and rushed it down to my friends just before left.

The next day, Greg and I packed up in my Jeep Grand Cherokee and headed to Lake Powell. I was all psyched to listen to good music and just laugh it up the whole way, but as I remember, I think Greg was awake until Provo and then slept nearly the whole way... I think we switched drivers in Hanksville which is about an hour away from Lake Powell... Thanks buddy...

Finally, we arrived in Lake Powell. The beautiful red rock and the incredibly warm water beckoned. We waited at the Bullfrog Marina for our friends to arrive and when they arrived they all had little smirks on their faces as if they were holding back laughter..

Greg and I hopped in the boat and they started asking questions like, "How big is your tent?" and "Your tent looks a little weird.." Greg and I both panicked a little, but we just laughed until we reached the campsite.

At the time, Greg and I were the only single ones on the trip, I believe this was the one and only time Greg had ever been single in fact, but the other campers were two married couples and one of the married couples parents who owned the boat and had made the vacation possible. As we walked past the married couples tents that were like small cabins I thought to myself, "I think my tent was about that big.."

To my surprise, the tent was big enough for my right leg and looked minuscule compared to the mansions that stood beside it and to top it off it was shaped somewhat like a condom... Greg and I weren't the smallest kids at the time and as I looked at the tent I thought, "How are we both going to fit in that tent?" Well we made it work.

After everyone had a good laugh we both squeezed our way into the tent one at a time and slept like vampires in an attempt to not get too close. The next morning we awoke practically spooning and found that getting out of the tent was slightly more challenging and from the outside looked as if the tent was giving birth to us.. That morning my friend Paige was feeling sick so, I offered to let them drive my car home. With her and her husband gone we inherited their big tent, but this also meant that we would be driving home for 6 hours in the back of a truck..

Sunburned and sore from all of the tubing, Greg and I hopped into the back of my friends truck (it was covered..) and began our journey home. It could have been the gas fumes or just the amount of Nibs I was consuming on this trip, but the whole trip home was a little foggy. I was in and out of conscienceness and every time I woke up, Greg would wake up too and we'd play a card game or two while shoveling in fists full of Nibs. I woke one time and just started chewing because I had Nibs already in my mouth. We were laying down nearly the entire ride home because we were scared we would get pulled over for doing this illegal act so, we were literally rolling around on a padded truck bed of Nibs and beef jerky. I think at one point, we both woke up and just laughed for like 20 minutes and then passed out again. Occasionally, my friends would open that little window that trucks have to see how we were doing or pass us some more treats like we were in some sort of psychiatric facility.

Overall, the trip was epic! It has been far too long since I have been to Lake Powell since and I think another trip is in order, but without Nibs, beef jerky, small tents and driving 6 hours in the back of a truck. Is that okay?