I don't really believe in curses. Except that sometimes, maybe I do. I'm inclined to believe in bad vibes, at the very least, when it comes to being near Page, Arizona. The first time I was passing through Page I had to stay at a hotel where not one but two different rooms' bathrooms had plumbing issues. I was cold, exhausted, and recovering from the flu (sick while traveling, yuck) and in the end decided to say screw it and go without a shower. Okay, not so bad, right? First world problems and all that, nothing that would make me put Page on my black list of places I won't return to. The second time I was near Page I was travelling with my sister on our way to the Grand Canyon. We'd been sightseeing along the road and stopped at an overlook to get a view of the desert from a plateau. We weren't even out of the car for five minutes, and when we returned it wouldn't start. You can read about that whole issue here. This time around, I was passing through the area at sunset on a rather cold and windy February evening and decided I was finally going to make the trek to the Horseshoe Bend overlook, 3/4 of a mile round trip from a dusty parking lot brimming with other vehicles and a line-up of port-a-potties. I took Hoodoo with me as we made the short walk, saw the Colorado River far below, watched the sun set beyond the distant mountains, and walked back to the car. Which wouldn't start. Because of course it wouldn't. By the time I looked around I was the last one in the parking lot and felt panic constrict my chest as I considered that it was likely nobody would come by until morning. Fortunately by some miracle I had cell service (thank you, Verizon) and was able to call my husband, but what was he going to do to help me, so many hundreds of miles away? Then I noticed construction lights and all but ran to wave down a couple of guys for help. They jumped the car and pointed me in the direction of Page, two miles down the road. I barely held back tears of relief when my car started and I made it to the closest Walmart. Their auto department was closing but the gentleman was kind enough to stay late and help me determine the problem, then purchase and change out the battery while I shivered in the desert's winter night. By the way, this was a whole new car, different from the one whose battery had died last time. My car ordeal only delayed me by an hour or so (I was on my way to meet up with Torrey in Mesquite, NV), but it definitely has me thinking twice about traveling near Page again. I will anyway because that area is a hotbed of desert recreation and I'm a sucker for those red rock canyons, but the next time I go anywhere near Page I'll be sure to time my arrival in broad daylight with a full tank of gas, other emergency necessities, and might even wear a good luck charm or two. Just to be safe. Anybody got a talisman I could borrow?
Leave me a comment and tell me about any place where you seem to keep running into bad luck. It doesn't even need to be while traveling; is there a cafe you avoid, or a road you won't turn down?
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