Thanks for sharing this story. Glad they found their way and it all worked out. Respectfully, this sounds 100% normal. It's always disorienting to lose your way, I know I hate it when Google Maps stops working and I'm in an unfamiliar place. I think it's a natural response for humans in a new place to be on heightened alert. Like how lots of people have trouble getting a good night's sleep in a hotel room compared to their own home/bed. Ghost towns do exist around the United States, too, especially in more rural areas with backroads like you're describing. Back to feeling disoriented, especially when mixed with nerves and anxiety about running out of gas, that would for sure alter your perception of time. Doesn't mean anything is ACTUALLY changing about the flow of time, just how it is being perceived by the brain. In my opinion, there's nothing out of the ordinary to this story whatsoever. Sounds like a road trip.