We started loading the car and trailer even before the sun was up. It was the first day of autumn, and just happened to be only the third time it had rained in Salt Lake City in as many months. I had flown to Utah the day before to help my friend Trisha move back to the Baltimore/D.C. area. The plan was simple: We would drive for four days pulling a U-Haul trailer filled with Trisha's stuff. But we had no idea that the next few days would become such an adventure.