Antimony may be the site of the Bermuda Triangle.

Good news-We are alive. Bad news-Antimony is the bane of my existence.

So, you may recall my skepticism at returning to Antimony, the scene of our disastrous trip last year, in which we were trapped by wild fires (causing me to miss one of my best friend's farewells) and in which we lost our keys and were locked out of our house (on a Sunday, when everything is closed. Beautiful). However, I decided that last year was a fluke, and was determined to enjoy myself this time.

The camping trip was fun for a while. Madeline was really well-behaved and didn't wake anyone up. We played pinochle and horseshoes and other such amusing games. But a few hours before we were going to drive out on Saturday afternoon, a huge rainstorm hit, turning the already treacherous road into a nightmare. And, unfortunately, on the way down we ran over a huge rock which completely ruined our oil pan and rendered our car useless. Sad day. We met a nice man named Wade who drove us all over Antimony looking for someone who could help us, and ended up at the Rockin' R Ranch, which did not have room for us due to the giant family reunion being held there for the family of Earl C. Tingey, senior president of the Seventy. So Wade kindly drove us back to our campsite, where we rejoined Jessie's family to tell the dreadful tale of our woes and try to come up with a plan.

Turns out our friend Wade had a tow rope, so we packed into Jessie's parents' suburban (six of us plus 2 babies, a tight fit) and headed down the mountain to our abandoned car. Jessie's dad was able to tow it into town, where our kind friend J.R. at the Rockin' R Ranch let us stow the car on the property and gave us lunch. Since the closest auto shop was an hour away, and it was Sunday so everything was closed, we decided to leave our junky car and continue on our way home. What should have been a 3 hour car ride became 6, mainly because the brakes on the suburban were pretty much shot. We were in constant fear of dying, and we had to keep back-tracking to try and find the items that were flying off the top of the car after our tarp broke. We finally made it home 24 hours after the initial accident, and I promptly vowed never to go to Antimony again. Except to get my car and camping supplies. Sigh. Antimony, here I come.