Burr Trail Adventure

"I lift up my eyes to the hills--where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." (Psalm 121:1-2 NIV). 

I remember a night when I looked to the hills and wondered where our help would come from. We were on vacation and planned to cross a shortcut between mountains to get to the location of our stay. It was a 74 mile dirt path called Burr Trail that wove through gullies and rough mountain trails. We just didn't know how rough until we were on it. We were in southern Utah and turned off the highway onto a dusty dirt road with the trail marked by one set of wheel marks made since the last rain.

Burr Trail

We started out on a straight road headed west and drove several miles passing one truck going east. Then we encountered a narrow path that led us through canyons, rocky rough spots and sudden washout gullies. Every where we looked was the same rusty brown color. The trail was only wide enough for one car in most places, but it didn't matter since we met no one else. We saw one homestead at the foot of a mountain early on, and that was it for civilization.

About 40 miles later, driving a maximum of 20 mph, we began to notice issues with our rented vehicle. It wouldn't steer correctly. Suddenly after the deepest gully yet, we reached a point where we faced a rock wall and the road just ended. We could not go on. We were on a cliff area where turning around was going to be tricky. John moved the SUV back and forth until we were headed back down the path. The steering wheel froze. He tried turning the vehicle on and off. But then the key would not turn. We waited and tried it again. It started and we ventured down the steep gully again, John jerking the steering wheel to maneuver the curves in the road.

We stopped again to try to get steering back before the next sharp curve. We held our breath as we went down and started up another gully then...skid...the tie rod was broken.

"The Lord will keep you from all harm--he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." (Psalm 121:7-8 NIV).

Lord, I'm thankful you answered our prayers for help. May we always know we can count on You in every situation. Thank you, God for Your protection. Amen.