Keeping a promise: a road trip to nowhere

Years ago, I made a deal with my niece, Kaitlyn; if she improved her grades by a certain amount, I would take her on a weekend trip. Her grades improved drastically over the next year. I now needed to fulfill my promise to take her camping.

But things kept getting in the way of our scheduling the trip. To my shame, one of those things was my job. We had a weekend scheduled, but a deadline came up at work, forcing me, I thought, to cancel our time together. After I put off the promise to my niece until a better time, I met my work deadline, only to find out that others on the team couldn't meet the deadline, so the deadline was changed. After that, I was determined not to let work get in the way of promises to my friends and family ever again.

But Kaitlyn was getting older, and her schedule was getting busier. I took a new job with a promotion, moved to a different state, got married, and my schedule got busier. But Kaitlyn and I kept reminding each of the unkept promise and continued to try to find a time that would work for both of us.

The time has come. Kaitlyn flew out this weekend to spend a week with me before her family picks her up on their way to their new home in North Dakota. Because they are in the middle of a big upheaval as they move from California, Kaitlyn and I decided to keep our trip simple. We are going camping along the Pony Express Backcountry Byway.

The Pony Express Backcountry Byway makes its way across the western desert of Utah. It is a very remote area in a state with lots of remote areas. No gas stations, no restaurants, no water--133 miles of gravel road. A road trip to the middle of nowhere.

Obviously, there is no Internet connection where we are going. No cell service either. The description and pictures of our trip will wait until we get back. Today we are heading out to spend time together in fulfillment of a promise long in coming. See you when we get back!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad