Holy sh**! Holy sh**! F! F! F! WOA. Adrenaline rush extraordinaire. Rewind:
It’s 4 PM. Yair is in the driver’s seat, navigating us toward Quartzsite. Ayo is on the sofa, working like a mad woman to book Yom HaAtzmaut gigs.
Y: Check out those sand dunes!
A: Awesome. Let’s find a place to pull over and play.
Ay, Check It Out!
Let's Go Play in the Dunes!
Fast-forward 20 minutes:
Yair and Ayo are running around the sand dunes barefoot when Ayo proposes that they chase the sun over the next hill. Yair hems and haws, laughs at the absurdity of the idea and ultimately tells Ayo to continue on toward the road and he’ll meet her with the RV at the yellow tractor in 25 minutes.
Ayo explores the silence of the dunes, running up and down the endless pyramids and kicking the sand into oblivion with each step. The sun is setting and Ayo realizes that she won’t be able to catch it today, so she heads toward the road. Ayo arrives at the yellow tractor, but there is no RV in sight.
Stranger on a Quad (ATV): Ayo!
Ayo (thinking she misheard him): Excuse me? [Walks closer]
Stranger: Come for a ride.
Ayo: Sorry, I’m waiting for a friend!
Stranger: He sent me to get you! [Proceeds to waive our Dave’s Killer Bread bag with my stuff in it]
Ayo: Okay… either you’re telling the truth or you’re a kidnapping murderer.
Stranger: We’ll see. But I’m supposed to make sure that you put on your boots and orange sweatshirt so that you stay warm. [Hands me items in the bag]
At this point, I realize that even if he’s not telling the truth, he’s at least a benevolent kidnapper and I hop in.
ADRENALINE!
Holy freakin sh**!!!!! The next half hour was the wildest time of my life. I can’t even process if it was fun or terrifying or exhilarating because of all the adrenaline still in my system, but – armed with the knowledge that Jeff (Stranger Man) is a firefighter and paramedic and has never flipped an ATV in his life – we took the sand dunes with crazy speed, steepness and agility and stopped at the tallest one to take in the brilliant orange sunset. It was absolutely surreal and almost felt like we were in a video game.
My God!!!!!!
Yair, Ayo and Jeff After a Crazy Ride in the Quad
When we got back to the RV, Yair took a turn on the ATV and we decided to overnight by the sand dunes for some potluck dinner with Jeff and his sons, followed by star gazing together.
Talk about an unexpected turn of events. Wowzaa!!!!!
Jeff's Sons, Travis and Andrew
Doesn't Come Close to Capturing the Magnificence of the Sunset
posted by ayo
Wow! What a wonderful adventure! I’m jealous.
Yeah, a wonderful CRAZY adventure! But don’t be jealous. We’ll make some adventures of our own this weekend at Quartzsite. 🙂
Have never seen sand dunes, you guys continually provide inspiration for me to thoroughly travel this country someday!
Thanks, Kelly! I had never seen sand dunes either until that day, but we are way excited to check out some more when we visit White Sands National Monument later this month. Excited! 🙂
Love it! You guys manage to have the most fun and meet the coolest people. Oh to be free to explore whenever the opportunity presents itself. Soon, soon, soon, soon…… 🙂
Soon, soon, soon like Friday. Excited to see you guys soon! 🙂
okay. You scared the poop out of me there. Please please please, don’t do that again??? Have fun but be safe and don’t get be somewhere alone, in the middle of nowhere. You are too loved and too precious.
I’m with you on the loved and precious, but good luck on the sentiment. Ayo’s all about the “I’m going to go explore. I have a whistle and my phone. Pick me up (location) in 20 minutes.”
I love my whistle. 🙂
Okay, okay. I’ll be more careful. But I like adventuring on my own without anyone to bug me! 🙂
What might not have been clear in the post above is that – prior to my getting in the ATV with the stranger man – it became very clear that Yair had sent him to scoop me up. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have jumped in. Mwah to you and to each of your crew!