Show By Bit 0 Q Stuff By Sara and Craig Staff Writers Welcome new and returning students students students stu stu- stu- stu dents to Salt Lake Community College We Ve hope you had a nice summer break and vacation We used our time to take our first vacation vacation vacation vaca vaca- tion since we were married two years ago The following adventure took place during the first fast week of September After getting off to a late afternoon afternoon afternoon after after- noon s start we were happily heading south for Cedar City when the Check Gages light came on in our truck We weren't too concerned though because wed we'd checked the gages and the fluids before leaving Salt Lake We pulled over in Provo after the truck started making scary noises Craig had left the cap off the radiator We felt as though this may have been an omen and we almost dreaded what was to come Since this was our first fast vacation in two years however we decided to con con- The rest of the trip was fine except for the part where we nearly died in a slot canyon Well it wasn't that bad but we were miserable miserable miserable miser miser- able Our friend and guide Jason had prepared us for the hike by painting a picture of a challenging yet fun 6 hour hike Unfortunately he overestimated overestimated overestimated mated Saras Sara's hiking and climbing skills and underestimated her fear of heights The three of us hiked over gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous gor gor- redrock areas and through scratchy shrubbery in the blazing sun just to get to the canyon We hid had hada hida h d da a thermos with plenty of water and Jason knew where a spring was sowe sowe so sowe we could refill our jug about halfway along When Sara finally saw the depth of the canyon wed we'd be descending into she nearly fainted she fainted she felt this way for much of the rest of the trip Once we were down into the boulders boulders boulders boul boul- canyon we had to climb over ders and swim through water far colder than any of us had ever felt before Because wed we'd gotten a late start sound familiar there was no direct sunlight in the canyon to warm us up or dry our clothes We spent ages figuring figuring figuring fig fig- out how to get petrified Sara over the numerous waterfalls and slippery rocks we encountered Our clothes were nearly dry hours later when the sky started darkening rapidly and Jason realized wed we'd missed the spring with only afew afew a afew few swallows of fresh water left inthe in inthe inthe the thermos The moon had not risen and it soon became too dark even to crawl over the rough terrain and Sara was irritable and head-achy head signs of dehydration When Jason announced we still had a few hours of hiking left Sara panicked and started sobbing and ing mg She finally calmed down after we decided to fill fIn the thermos with water from the river and rest in a flat sandy area until the moon came up We hadn't expected to camp out so we had no matches warm clothes or iodine tablets for the water We huddled together on the ground in our T-shirts T and shorts with only a skimpy towel to cover our legs Some furry creature a bit larger than thana a squirrel sniffed Craigs Craig's face and scampered over Jasons Jason's ankle We slept very little Eons later when the moons moon's light finally penetrated the canyon we set setout setout setout out to pick our way along the dimly lit path We found the exit trail and began to climb up the steep wall of the canyon We paused every few minutes minutes minutes min min- utes for Sara to rest her exhausted muscles and take a drink of smelly water from the th thermos Seventeen hours after wed we'd setout setout set setout out we emerged at the top Sara nearly cried with relief and kissed the ground at the trails trail's end The rest of our vacation was uneventful and ironically we are already planning next years trip to this same spot Next time well we'll take a camera so that people will actually believe our story We called Nurse Ask-A-Nurse when we returned home from our trip We were told that a parasitic infection tran transmissible by drinking contaminated river water has an incubation period of 5 to 25 days We fear that our vacation adventures may not be over yet If you think your vacation story beats ours please write up a summary summary summa summa- ry of your experience and submit it to Bit 0 O Stuff in the Horizon office room CC 36 or mail e-mail it to us at If we print your story you will receive a pair of movie passes and international al fame amongst your friends anyway anyway anyway any any- way |