P is for....Panic

 In March of 2019, I took a road trip with my friends Beth and Sara through Arizona and Utah and then over to Las Vegas to fly home.  I had carefully made a sketchbook with watercolor paper that I liked and fitted to slide into my leather notebook that my sister had "gotten" me for Christmas.  (Truth is I wanted the leather notebook, so I bought it and had it mailed to my sister's to give me for Christmas.  I had forgotten all about it and when she handed me another gift to open, I was all confused at why she got me something else.  We both laughed once I opened it and saw what it was.)  

One of the stops we made on our trip was at Arches National Park.  We stopped at the Double Arch and I decided I was going to do some sketching while they went ahead and hiked up to the arches.  I enjoyed my time sketching and painting and then packed up my things and went up and investigated the arches myself.  We did some more hiking and then were ready to head out of the park because we had our trip jam packed with stops and wanted to get a start towards Bryce Canyon where we planned to visit the next day, but before we left I wanted to get a stamp on my picture I had sketched there at the park, so we stopped at the visitor's center on our way towards the exit.  My friends were casually perusing the gift shop, while I went to get my stamp and soon my heart was plummeting and I was in full panic because my leather notebook was nowhere to be found in my backpack.  I was sure I had lost it - my precious leather notebook and all my sketches, my postcards and postage stamps and thought I would never find them again.  We talked to the ranger and I filled out a lost and found slip in case anybody turned it in and then we decided to go back to the last place I knew I had it, at one of the large rocks along the path to the Double Arches.  

My friends graciously drove the car around the parking lot since the parking lot was full, while I walked down towards the arches and there it was sitting on the rock where I must have inadvertently missed putting it in my bag as I stowed things away.  People nearby had seen it and were hoping that whoever's it was would miss it and come back for it and were glad to see when I came.  And I was very thankful to have it again.

My friends were kind enough to make one more stop at the visitor's center for me to get my stamp and then off we went to our next adventure---I try to remember to put my address in my sketchbooks now, so just incase I mislay one, I might get it back again.