Mt Cain - The SUV

I've always wanted an SUV, some kind of 4x4. As a kid it was a jeep, and I routinely begged and pleaded Dad for one. He never bit, something about Mom's neck and back not being able to take the bumpy ride. So, I attempted to look cool in a light blue VW Beetle during high school.

The desire for an SUV has never left me. I must confess envy for every time I have sat in a friend's off-road vehicle. I came really close to buying one recently. It was my dream, an old Wagoneer. I checked the book value against my current car, and it was a near match. I could sell my little green car for this thing and break even. Yet, realizing the gas guzzling capacity of the thing, not to mention the potential for hidden mechanical problems, common sense won out.

I'm not sure why I haven't bought one, yet. I've had the cash and jobs that could support one. Good deals on cars have always come my way. There just never has been one that would look cool and perform well down those abandoned roads. Bottom line, it usually has come down to not feeling good about using all that gas.

When my environmental ethics are low and tempted, I still dream. They seem to get real low and tempted when I'm on the back roads looking for a good fly fishing spot. As I carefully meander and barely manage my four wheels around the numerous pot holes and ruts, the 4x4's drive by me with a sneer and a trail of dusty debris. "Someday...someday," I say to myself.

That dream became a reality for me this past weekend, if only for the weekend. Along with a few other adults, we took a number of youth to Mt Cain for a ski trip. I rented a van to carry some of the kids. With all the paper work filled out, I waited for the van. While I sat, the clerk came out. "Hey, would you mind if we gave you an Expedition instead of the van? It would really help us out. We could quickly redo your paperwork."

"Ok." Not much thought needed on that one. We really did need it given the roads we were to travel, and I saw this as a real gift from God. I wondered and prayed how we were going to go up the Mt Cain dirt, snow and ice road in a loaded-down family van. Carefully, I assumed. Would we even make it?

What a blast. Not only did I sit at the level of long-haul truckers, we had every technical nicety in the thing. Plush, roomy, comfy, and able to defy any road or environmental condition on our journey. The best of all worlds combined in one fine looking vehicle. I was even tempted to scratch off the rental car sticker on the bumper just so it would look MINE.

There was barely a worry as we powered our way up the hills, over the rocks, and through the snow. Back home, I couldn't leave the mountains behind and hit nearly every curb and hole in every road. Ok, maybe not every curb. Actually, very few. Well, maybe just one by accident given its enormous size. Yes, I was exceedingly safe given that I'm a dad and had with me the kids of other dad's and mom's.

We unloaded and got ready to return it. As I put it into drive and left the side walk, my friend and co-pilot for much of the trip reminded me of the commercials for these things: Mom's driving over curbs in mall parking lots in a mad dash to get the best parking spaces. Surely, he was not implying I had become one of them.

Surely, not. Yet, it got me thinking. I really believed that this was God's provision for the trip, but was it also a tool to teach me something? As I carefully travel the backroads on my weekend outings, always hungry for the vehicle to take me there faster, have I in fact been experiencing something profound and good? If I had always had my dream of owning a back-road beast, my enjoyment would only have been in the conquering, the speed, and the lack of a care.

I dropped the thing off. It was fun, but it was just for once. I look forward to going back to the gravel and forest roads with a vehicle not quite made for them. I think I'll enjoy the experience just a little more. I won't be pining away for that 4x4 any longer. I think I'll enjoy that it is a gift to go on those roads at a pace that is mindful of my shocks. I will see more and won't be tempted to conquer but rather to experience. I'll certainly have time to pray and be present with God in this style of travel.

Let the others pass me and sneer as they do it. I'll be smiling at the gift it is to slowly see and feel more intimately what God has made.

Michelle and I once drove from Wisconsin to Chicago. I don't even remember what kind of car it was. The skies had just released a deep blanket of snow. We drove with care, and we got to our destination in one piece. During the 3 hour drive, we counted 25 or so vehicles that slid off the road and into the ditch.

All were SUV's.