Drive Home: Cameron Trading Post and the rest of the way

There was quite a bit of silence after we left the Grand Canyon but then we had to distract ourselves before we jumped out of the car.

After a while we remembered how hungry we were and drove up to the last option for food for the next long while: the Cameron Trading Post. We spotted "Dining Room" and knew we had to stop. We wandered around the gift shop with "genuine" native American jewelry, artifacts, and art.

We ran into the mutants from table 9 again in the dining room. Seriously, I have never seen so many strange people in one room. Most of them were foreign but some of them were not. I'm just hoping, really hoping, that Kurt and I were the most normal ones there.

I ordered a Navajo taco (how could I not?). Not the mini one. Because when we asked our waitress the different between the Navajo Taco and the Mini Navajo Taco, I couldn't tell if she was actually showing us the difference with her hands, or if she was just twitching.

She brought out a Navajo taco big enough to feed the entire Navajo nation. Everyone in the restaurant turned and watched her bring it to me. (Who would order that giant thing?? and I can't wait to see her try to eat it!) There was even an old guy that stopped to talk to me about it on his way out of the restaurant. Welcome to table 9.

After everyone had their turn staring at me and my Navajo taco, I spent the rest of my meal staring at them. Fascinated by all the interesting people. The biggest question: were people actually staying at the Cameron Trading Post Motel? Who are these people??

We finally got out of that alien portal/trading post and hit the open road.

The only other exciting part was the rest stop of death. I had to pee so bad but NOTHING was open. We stopped to get gas in a little town but only the gas was available. We stopped at at least three places but no bathroom. Finally I saw a sign for a rest stop. It was about 12:30am and I was desperate. I pulled in. the parking lot was very well lit. The only other thing there was a big semi truck parked to the side. I parked the car and realized the actual building with the bathrooms was up the stairs and behind the trees. I jumped out and started running to the bathroom, yelling to Kurt to not let me die.

By the way, the last hour in the car was spent listening to stories about Bigfoot.

I ran inside and checked all the stalls first. It was dirty, dark, and smelly, and there were several bugs, alive and dead, on the floor and walls. As I was in there I remembered the semi truck parked outside. Did we check to see if the driver was in the cab? Or is he wandering around outside in the woods? Did Kurt ever get out of the car? Or is he waiting at the bottom of the hill, asleep? How quickly can I pee and get out of here?

Finally I heard Kurt outside, "Amanda? Are you alive?"

"YES." Kurt's alive too. Thank goodness.

I ran out of there, past Kurt, exclaiming how much I hated that place and he had to get out of there.

How does he comfort me?

"Yeah, that's a good idea because there are things in the woods over there. I heard them rustling. But don't worry, I went to the bathroom with a knife in my hand."

We got out of there real quick.

Kurt drove the rest of the way while I tried to sleep. We finally got back to Provo at 4:30 Tuesday morning. I had work at 7 so I got a little nap before work. It was an awesome trip with amazing friends, full of great stories.