Lost in Carefree, Arizona

And there I was, early Saturday afternoon, having left the movie theater from an early matinee and still restless. I said to myself "let's explore Phoenix, let's find some of that elusive beauty that is so apparent to others but you". So off I went and followed the mountains......you see, back in Las Vegas I would drive from mountain to mountain within a couple of hours, without a problem; oh, but not here in AZ, here things can get ugly quickly if you're not paying attention - pretty much like it happened to me today! I followed the mountains north, passed through the town of cave creek or carefree, God help me but right now I cannot remember which, and that's when things started to go wrong. As I drove through carefree, marveling in its beauty and how serene it was, going up and down hills, through winding roads and no houses in sight - that happened so suddenly that by the time I realized it I was very lost. Of course, I had to listen to the little voice in my head that said "if you keep going straight you will hit a major highway" HA! I should have known better, the little voice inside my head has not been right for the last year! I drove and drove, started seeing signs saying that I was in a forest of some sort (too bad I didn't have my camera handy, because although beautiful in its own right, this was anything BUT a forest - what a joke). Then, I started seeing signs that said I was in a burnt area - no kidding! but they failed to explain if it was due to the sun or a fire, I couldn't figure it out since the vegetation of this so-called "forest" was so scarce. I kept going up and down the hills, enjoying myself because it felt like a rollercoaster, but the joy ended the minute I hit a dirt road - more like a "rock" road because it was made of little rocks - surely the Toyota people didn't take this under consideration when they designed the Camry, this thing was not built for these types of roads. But being my stubborn self, I kept going because I was convinced that I would reach a paved road soon. Well, the confidence left me the minute the "You Have No Gas Left" light came on and suddenly I was well awared that I would not reach a gas station in time. The minute I spotted a couple of those black birds that only show up when there's dead meat to be had, I decided it was time to turn around and head for civilization . I had visions of me running out of gas and having to walk for miles in the dark, without a light and with those two black birds following me hoping I would drop dead so they could have something to eat. I was convinced that the 911 people would not be able to locate me, and wasn't really sure I could get a cell phone signal out of those mountains. About 10 miles later, and many prayers to the Gasoline saint, I finally reached a gas station and the helpful attendant directed me towards civilization, Amen! You would expect me to say at this time that I will never do this again, but the truth is......I love exploring, so chances are I'll do it again and hopefully remember to take the camera with me.