Doing the Impossible

Hell’s Revenge

Doing the Impossible

When we drove up we saw the red jeep we were told to look for.  To tell you the truth, I was rather disappointed.  It looked just like any little red jeep.  I was expecting to see something spectacular.  Something that looked beefy enough to handle the steep climbs surrounding us.

I could see lots of other vehicles swarming around.  They all looked as if they could climb the most tricky and difficult terrain South Eastern Utah could throw at them.  I have to tell you, that at that moment, I was not a believer in the little red jeep.  But we decided to climb in anyway.

Within a couple of minutes we came face to face with, what I saw as, a slightly tilting wall of sandstone more than one-thousand-feet high.  When I saw it, I quickly said to myself, “There is no way this little jeep will be able to go up that wall!”

At the base of the wall, the driver stopped, flipped one little switch a couple of times and then he nudged the jeep forward.  The tires gripped the rock and the rest of the vehicle nimbly followed them up the steep incline.  It took my breath away.

My breath seemed to be on hold for the next three hours as the little red jeep climbed and dipped its way through some of America’s most spectacular scenery.  It allowed us to do and see things I could never have imagined.

I also never imagined that the fancier and beefier vehicles all around us would not be able to accomplish the same.   But it was true.  Our jeep was one of two vehicles that tackled and defeated the “Gates of Hell.”  I was amazed to say the least.  And, I learned a thing or two from the little red jeep.

First, common and everyday people can do the seemingly impossible as long as they have the right tools.  The right tool isn’t always the most expensive and flashy.  It simply has to possess the attributes essential to the challenge presented.

Second, having the right people with you is essential.  We were inexperienced, but we were willing.  If we had not hired an experienced and talented guide there is no way we would have even attempted this adventure.

Third, completing something that you truly believed impossible is exhilarating.  It gives a person the desire to accomplish even more, while instilling confidence that can’t be obtained in any other way.  Everyone should have the opportunity to experience such confidence.

My confidence was as strong as it has ever been by the time we got to the “Dragon’s Spine.” I looked out over the front of the little red jeep and could see nothing but sheer, 1000 foot drops ahead.

“I need to make sure to follow the paint on the trail or we won’t make it.”  Our guide said.

He lined it up and drove off into space.  I looked to my left and right and could see the huge expanse of space from our position to the bottom of the canyon far below.  It was clear that one slight mistake would send us to our death.  But, I knew that the little red jeep would never allow hell to have its revenge.  It had already allowed us to do the impossible!