Thanks for the article. It sounds like they made some good decisions to get themselves out of trouble.

They considered their options and realized that time was not on their side. They decided to stick together rather than divide their resources and perhaps burden the son with an tough decision and impossible task if the father didn't return with help by a certain time.

Although I can't imagine sitting in a vehicle in 115 degree heat, they knew to wait until dark to travel. When they hadn't reached their destination by morning, they took advantage of some shade.

It appears the flashlight was essential - If they hadn't needed it to find their way, they would have turned it off to avoid the bats/bugs. (Anyone remember the Calvin & Hobbes "Bats=Bugs" episode?)

Obviously they should have had more water. Even if they couldn't carry it all, they could drink as much as possible before setting out.

A tarp or two would have provided much better shade than the vehicle. They could have brought it with them in case they had to wait-out a second day in the sun.

I guess the lesson is, if traveling by vehicle in a very remote area (its not even patrolled by the park rangers more than once a week) be prepared to walk out.

Reminds me of the t-shirt someone got when he visited Arizona. It had a cartoon of a bleached human skeleton sitting in the desert saying "...but it's a DRY heat"