They've been friends for so long, they can't even remember when they first met. So it's natural that when Hurricane Katrina forced them out of their neighboring New Orleans homes, Marge Urbina and John Allen Owens III decided to stick together.

From leaving their houses with nothing but Urbina's handbag to being picked up by a military helicopter outside a New Orleans Winn-Dixie supermarket several days later, the two didn't leave each other's sides. Now they're in Utah, with no clue as to how long they'll stay or where they'll go when they leave.

The two tried to stay in their homes but had to leave after the levee broke and water started rushing into their homes in the Gentilly area of New Orleans.

"When water started coming in the house, we had nothing to do but get out. . . . When I left, it was half the size of me," said the 6-foot, 6-inch Owens.

The pair walked for a full day before finding a motel that had opened its doors to displaced Louisiana residents. They left, though, when the power went out and began walking again. Soon they and several others were picked up by helicopter and transferred to an airplane headed to Utah.

They're anxious to return and look for lost family members — a mother and three sisters for Owens, nine relatives for Urbina — but know it's not going to be anytime soon. In the meantime, the pair is happy at Camp Williams, where they said they have everything they need "and then some."

And Urbina has just one request before she leaves the Beehive State: "I want to see the Great Salt Lake."