After weeks of wandering alone and disoriented in the badlands of Mt. Washmore and the Denim Valley, a friendly face appeared. He was on horseback but when he got close to her, he dismounted. She noticed that he wore the uniform of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. She was so tired, hungry and thirsty, she didn't care that it was strange to come across a Mounty this far south of Canada. She took the canteen he offered and drank as if she had never tasted water before.
He helped her onto his horse and then climbed up behind her. She told him her tale. It started out as a simple journey, one she has made hundreds of time. She visits Mt. Washmore at least every few weeks. But this time, the trip was more treacherous on a count of some unforseen spring storms and an unreliable Sherpa named Luigi.
Never again would she hire a Sherpa from an ad on Craigslist or someone advertising a discount because they are "building up a client base and a resume" and then when asked about their education, he states he took his courses online but had mono and missed the semester where they traveled to the mountains. He assured her it was OK because he had been practicing with packs and lines in his backyard and studying his textbooks.
At the first crack of thunder and a loose boulder that looked sort of like boxer shorts with spiderman and something akin to "skid marks", Luigi ran off, shreiked like a 5 year old girl, cried, "Mommy!" and stuck his thumb in his mouth. She realized then that it wasn't a good idea to keep the map in his pack.
Over the next few days, she continued to climb Mt. Washmore and thought she reached the summit, only to discover yet another peak she had never seen before. She headed toward it and discovered it was just a mirage. This confusion threw her for a loop and as supplies dwindled she grew more disoriented. She found herself wandering further and further away from the mountains and deep in the Denim Valley.
It's a good thing she did let her friends and family know where she was going so when she did not show up for dinner, they could send for help.
It could have happened like that. Or perhaps she has been knee deep in laundry, dishes, the end of school and the start of baseball...and an over-active imagination.
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