A roadtrip, a baby and a May snowstorm through the window

Earlier this week I took a roadtrip to Vernal, Utah. I was traveling by myself and could take all the pictures and stops I wanted. Why was I going? I'll get to that in a minute. For anyone taking a trip by themselves, I DO NOT recommend taking pictures in the manner I did.

I left Sunday evening May 9, 2010 at approximately 5:00pm. Wishing I had left earlier, I moved my truck a bit faster than usual. It's a 175 mile and 3 1/2 hour trip to Vernal from my house and I didn't want to travel in the dark. Clouds were gathering and I knew rain and possibly snow were in my future. I have traveled this road many times and I knew the weather could change in an instant. The mountains I moved through are part of the Rocky Mts. I went through the Wasatch range and then the Uintahs.

Following Highway 40, I entered Parley's Canyon. From there you can go to Park City, Deer Valley and East Canyon or over into WY. I only go to WY if I'm dragged kicking and screaming with fingernails dug into the dirt, so I chose the trail past that and kept to the UT side. Hwy 40 goes all the way to my destination.

The next point of interest I came to was Strawberry Reservoir. As I rounded a curve in the road, I could see the clouds were busy piling up on top of each other. However, I couldn't resist the chance to stop, stretch my legs and get some pictures of the water.

Even though it is May, the water was still mostly frozen. You can see where snowmobiles and other vehicles had driven on the ice.

By then my fingers were frozen to the camera, so I got back in and continued my trip.

I forgot part of my story.

When I was halfway up Parley's Canyon, I looked down and realized I had forgotten my camera!!! Aaaaaach!!! I made a frantic call to my DH who kindly jumped in his Super Sports Car and brought it to me while I sat in the truck and, with tears in my eyes, called my Friend Christine. (AKA crissyr)

Okay, that drama over, lets continue where I left off.

I decided it was getting too dark and rainy and I was so far behind schedule, I had better motor!

I arrived in Vernal after 9:00pm, settled into a motel room and called my daughter, Crystal, who lives there. We made plans to meet at 7:00am the following morning.

Now, we have arrived at the reason for my trip. I would be meeting Crystal at the hospital so Drs. could induce labor for childbirth. Yea!!! She was 1 week late for her due date and they didn't dare let it go further without endangering baby and mama.

We began, as usual, with monitoring. (Say 'hi', Crystal!)

They gave her an IV labor inducer. By 9:00am, the contractions were coming on.

I left for coffee around then and when I returned, there was no change.


By 1:00pm, there was still no change, so I left for lunch. When I returned, there was STILL no change.







4:00pm?



No...

I left at 5:pm to check out of my motel. They had booked my room for someone else. (frowning)

At 5:30pm, we had some visitors who gave her encouragement!

By 8:00pm, the contractions were finally coming on stronger, so they gave her an epidural pain reliever.

Shortly after that, we had more visitors. This is her little brother, Jeshua. (No relation to me) He was very excited Sister was giving him a niece!

This message was edited May 18, 2010 8:49 PM

At 10:00pm, her Dr. came back and said we may have a long wait ahead of us. Ya think? We discussed the possibility of her needing a C-section. (YIKES!!!) I left for the time being at around 11:00pm. I checked into a hotel. A very pricey hotel SUITE that I could not afford! I checked 6 other places and it was the only room available. (Sound like another baby story we know?)

Anyway, at 2:45am, I received a call from Crystal telling me she was fully dilated!!! Ack!!! I hadn't even realized I had been sleeping! I threw on my shoes and flew out the door and jumped in the truck. I sped over to the hospital 8 blocks away! I was so excited, I ran a red light! No one was coming the other way so I got very lucky! Whew!!!

Once I found a way into the hospital through the emergency doors, I couldn't find anyone! What kind of hospital doesn't have anybody working?!?! All the doors inside going to all the other parts of the place were locked!!! After trying to calm myself down and succeeding, I found a button that called the duty nurse.

I ran down the hallways until I found The Birthing Center. They buzzed me in and I ran into the room to find Crystal as calm as when I left. What? Another false alarm? Can't be! Not after all this time!

Her Dr. came into the room wondering what all the fuss was about. I sat in the corner in the dark and hoped no one would see me.



This message was edited May 13, 2010 1:16 PM

At 3:30am, things had moved VERY quickly!

I took many pictures I cannot show here.

At 3:42am on May 11, 2010, my 1st granddaughter was born.

I am pleased to present Aurora Eve Bell.

This message was edited May 14, 2010 9:43 AM

Things went smoothly and mama and baby are doing well. Aurora is beautiful and soft and cuddly and was having her first meal when I left to go back to my hotel. Crystal was already asleep. I snuck (sneaked? snook?) out and left them to it.

Back in my room, I sent out text messages to those who had asked for them when the event finally occurred. I thought about what it's like to be Oma. (grandmother in German) It certainly FEELS different than being a mother. I was pondering the MEANING OF IT ALL when the first of the return texts came in. It was 8:30am. I had been sleeping again and hadn't realized it. Again! LOL

Wonderful narrative and CONGRATULATIONS Oma!!!!

I packed my things, washed up and got dressed. I sat on one of the beds. There were two.

How did I feel? I felt happy. I felt drained. I felt like I was the only one who had ever felt this way. I wasn't the mom. I wasn't the one taking a baby home. I wasn't the one who had to change diapers, give feedings at 2:00am, rush her to the Dr. when she's sick and worry how to pay for college. I wasn't the one who had to lay down home rules or give out punishment.

I am the one who gets to spoil the baby. I am the one who gets to sit with her during the times mom needs to have some time to herself. I am the one who will tell her she is more beautiful than her siblings and take her side when she cries because mom won't let her go out with The Boy Of Her Dreams. I am the one who will tell mom she needs to give back the cell phone because every girl NEEDS her phone. I am the one who will give her sugar until she's sick, let her go on the big slide, let her go to bed way past her bedtime and I am the one who will give her back to mom when she has a dirty diaper.

I am Oma. Grandmother. Grandma. Granny. Yιαγιά. Abuela. Isoäiti. Nonna. Grand-mère. Pick a language. It all means the same thing. You are not mom. You get to watch from the sidelines and tell mom how to do it right!

Whew!! I'm so glad she waited for you to get back to the hospital and find your way around! LOL

Darrell is so sweet to drive all that way to bring your camera to you,then to let you get a pic of him!

I would love to get Dave up to the Rockies as he has never been north of I-40 and take him to Yellowstone and see the beauty up there. Looks like the lake is just starting to thaw.

I had breakfast in the hotel and headed back over to the hospital to give my farewells and get a couple more pictures. I found a sight that made tears come to my eyes.

Thanks, folks! And especially Crissy! I was really in need of some encouragement myself waiting for Hero to show up with my camera! LOL

Crystal woke when I took the picture of them sleeping. She got up and handed me Aurora. She was still shaky but took a pic of us anyway.

I said my goodbyes but had one more pic I wanted.

I lied.

Every grandparent would love a Jedi Warrior in the family!

Okay. Enough pics of the baby. (NOT!!!)

Back in the truck, a trip to the coffee shack and it's a backwards trip to Salt Lake! Didn't we just do this?

It rained a bit while I was in Vernal but not too bad. I actually saw the sun a few times. As soon as I get back to driving, the clouds piled up again. Great. This is going to be fun. Looks like rain the whole way!

This message was edited May 15, 2010 11:58 AM

The town of Roosevelt looked okay. I wondered how it would be between there and Duchesne?

This country is beautiful. It is where many a western was filmed. It is where dinosaurs of every description are found. Those colored bands of mauve, gray, purple and green are the Morrison Formation where many of the Jurassic dinos are found. It stretches from the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma to Montana and into Canada. It covers 600,000 sq. miles.

The road still looked good. A little rain but nothing to write home about. I didn't want to stop so all these pics were taken through the windshield.

Moving along further toward home, I passed Starvation Reservoir. One story explaining the names says it was because fur-trappers were on the edge of starvation and resorted to stealing food from the local Indian tribes. Or maybe it was the other way around. Or maybe even because ranchers tried to graze cattle there and they (the cattle) all died.

It's desolate out here. If you ever come out this way, stop your vehicle and step out. The quiet settles into you like a live thing. You find yourself becoming as still as the sand under your feet. I can understand the draw to settle here. Once back inside the vehicle, you can't stand to have the radio on and conversation is almost in whispers for awhile. (If you have a travel buddy, that is!) Some people it has the opposite effect. They must chatter nonstop to cover the quiet. I suppose it makes them lonely. I can understand that, too.

After passing Duchesne, I knew I was in for it.

Ohhh Celia!!
Congratulations to you Gramma.
Yep love how you tell story, I was tearing up too.

I am so Happy for you, can't wait to see more photo's of your first grand daughter.

Aurora Eve Bell welcome to the world!
Awe great photo's. Love the one of Crystal and baby.
And the one of you and grandbaby...Just smiling up a storm here.

What a sweetie, your Darrel is, handsome guy, lol and his sports car ain't bad either, chuckle, chuckle.

And then, it cleared. Looking farther ahead I could see another snow squall. All I could think was..."Donner Party." Not much of a party, if you ask me.

Thanks, Judy!!!!!!

After passing through that one with very little visibility, I noticed another one. Shesh!!!

Still thinking of the ill-fated Donner Party, I was once more in the clear.

I saw evidence of why these are called the Rocky Mountains. The Rockies stretch 2,980 miles, run north-south and go from New Mexico to the northern-most part of British Columbia, Canada. One spur is called the Uinta range and runs east-west. It is one of the only ranges to do so. This is where I was.

This message was edited Jun 7, 2010 1:16 PM

If you can see these formations at sunrise and sunset, the colors really pop.

Nearing the Heber Valley, I started seeing the pines and aspens. Very different from the high desert from just a few miles behind me. There are lots of dead pine trees here. The drought for the last 15 years has contributed greatly to the death of these.

Sagebrush and tumbleweeds still cover large areas.

Coming up on Strawberry Reservoir again, I saw more snow coming my way.

More snow. The snow at the sides of the road was still about 2' deep. I do not want to be here anymore!!! Can the snow please stop?!?! I have 4WD but I prefer not to use it.

Closer still to Heber City. A town I picked to stop and have lunch. I would like to get there in one piece!

Pines along the hill bases, a boggy patch with red and yellow dogwood shrubs and more of the lovely aspens



This message was edited Jun 7, 2010 1:18 PM

Sorry, a shipment DH and I were waiting for arrived and we had to pick it up and have some dinner.

Where am I? Okay...the far mountain you can see faintly in the distance is the final one before Heber Valley. After this picture, the snow got REALLY bad so I quite taking pictures.

After entering the township, the clouds parted and the sun shone brightly! Yea!

Heber is a small town with an English heritage. Settled by Mormons in the 1840s, it has ski resorts, golfing and countless other outdoor sports. The town itself isn't much to see and if you blink...you miss it.

What I DIDN'T know was that the horses like camping, too.

I stopped at a Chinese restaurant, called my Hero and had lunch. Then, it was back on the road. Fifteen minutes and a heavy rainstorm later...