Driving south on I-15 for a "secret adventure date" as Benji called it.
While in Africa, we decided we wanted to go on more intentional dates with each other and take turns planning it. This week was his turn. He said it would be "super fun" and "not even cost anything."
I was wearing my African elephant pants. This proved to be serendipitous because we arrived at the Rhada Krishna temple in Spanish Fork and they rapidly became Indian elephant pants.
Benji pulled a bag of carrots out of his bag and we approached the Llamas. For anyone who doesn't know, my husband loves animals. They fascinate him. He loves them. Once upon a time he took an "animal restraint" class at BYU and loved it. During said class, they visited these llamas and learned how to put them in a harness. I found out he called ahead and asked if we could come visit these llamas today.
We walked around a bit and noticed one llama who wasn't in any sort of enclosure. He was just strutting around like he owned the place. We gave him a carrot and then went inside to look for the woman who manages the temple grounds, the same woman who had taught Benji how to harness the llamas two years ago.
We were told she wasn't there, so we went back out and flirted with the beautiful parrots and gave some wormy apples to the llamas.
Then we heard a splash.
Rogue Llama (as we will heretofore refer to him) had found his way into the koi pond and was trapped under the floating fountain, tangled up in the string that tethered the fountain to the shore. We watched him struggle and then Benji (animal lover that he is) ran off to find help. I pulled my resources and started filming him struggle. (My training is with humans, not animals. Don't judge.)
All of a sudden, the woman we had been told was not on the premises comes rushing towards the pond with a frantic look on her face. She began whistling to Rogue Llama and edging her way around the pond, Benji close behind her. I stayed where I was, continually documenting the whole event.
Next thing I know my husband is in the pond.
"Now can you remember how to harness him??" Our old lady friend shouted in her British accent. Benji replied that he did, but she still continued to shout and command and point out everything she would have done better the entire time he was in the water.
"No! Don't pull him out there it's too deep!"
"Attach the rope to the harness! No on the other side!"
"Pull him out!"
At this point she noticed me on the other side of the pond and said "You! Go help him pull!"
I wasn't about to say no so I scampered over to the deep end and began to help pulling. "Now Benjamin, you push from behind while your friend pulls!"
So Benji's in the water up to his armpits pushing on Rogue Llama's behind and I'm trying to pull him out by his neck. The Llama was not helping us at all. Our old lady friend is shouting the whole time, and finally Benji says "Hey, I'm trying! It's really slippery over here!"
After pushing and shoving, we get half the llama's body out on the bank. I was then invited to grab onto the llama's legs and pull. Slimy llama legs. My favorite.
Eventually Benji had the back legs and I had the front legs and we were commanded to lift 500+ pounds of dead weight paralyzed terrified llama out of the water and over a lamp that was fixed in the ground. (Benji: "this llama is really heavy." Lady: "I know but you're a man!")
Then he just lied there. The lady said "Oh he has to recover, poor thing." Yeah my husband needs to recover, poor thing!
Anyways. The llama did get out, and we got to eat at their Indian buffet for free, and our "secret adventure date" stayed true to it's name, and the whole excursion was Free 99!
