last day of october

October 31 holds many meanings to different people: Reformation | All Hallows Eve | Halloween | End of Harvest Season | Girl Scout Founder’s Day | Save a Friend Day | Caramel Apple Day |Knock Knock Jokes Day | World Cities Day  | Carve a Pumpkin Day | The Last Day of the Month…

This year, we woke up to our first freeze of the season at 25 F degrees. There was a chill in the air with mild wind, but warmed up quickly as the sun rose. The warmth quickly disappears as the sunset-offering breathtaking views!

As this is our first fall in Farmington, we researched how the town celebrates October 31st. Many churches and community organizations offer parties and events throughout the week.

We decided to head out around 6 pm to do some trick or treating on our street. About half of the homes participated in handing out treats. The hosts were kind and friendly.

We traveled to another neighborhood featuring homes decorated to the extreme with lots of trick or treaters. Some of the decor and characters were a bit scary so we didn’t venture out too long.

We are thankful to have a little fun, but missed going trick or treating with our Alaskan friends and neighbors. We didn’t see any moose eating carved pumpkins.

3 months

The past 92 days have passed quickly. They were full of paperwork, boxes and exploration.

Many moments were spent unpacking boxes, sorting items and the placement of family treasures in our new home. The kids enjoyed endless hours on their scooters and bicycles. We did get an inflatable swimming pool for the kids. We even snuck into it on a few of the hot days.

The first day of school, Petrified Forest, Northern Lights, visits to Arizona, Four Corners Balloon Festival… I plan to highlight our latest adventures in this land of enchantment in the days ahead.

Two more neat milestones of today: 2192 days ago we arrived in Alaska. 57344 days Alaska was formally transferred to the United States from Russia = Alaska Day!

temperatures rising

We knew the weather would be warmer in Farmington than Anchorage, we just had no idea how much. We left 55 F degrees when we departed Alaska. As we headed south on our journey, the temperature rose. We entered New Mexico with a dry heat at 103 F.

Our first week in Farmington has been hot, temperatures in the upper 90s. As we are in a desert climate, it does cool off at night and continues into the morning.

Our house has a swamp cooler, we had one when we lived in Torreón, Mexico. It is not quite refrigerated air, but it does offer a cool breeze. The house was 81 F indoors yesterday, which was a good reason to hang out at the library and eat supper at Chick-Fil-A, both air conditioned.

Locals told us this heat lasts from July to mid-September in Farmington. I’m hoping it passes sooner than later.

Photo by Bruno Scramgnon on Pexels.com

thread of sadness

I’ve been basking in the happiness and blessings God has showered upon our family of four with the move and transition to our new home and ministry. The countless unknowns are becoming revealed and are better than we could have ever imagined – special people, places and spaces God has put into our lives.

Within this blanket of joy, there are a few threads of sadness. Yesterday, unrolled one of them for me. Our two children and I went to our new amazing public library to apply for library cards and check out books. What to many is a simple, innocent question spiraled inside me, gushing with internal tears. As I inquired about the library card application process, the librarian asked “Who are these kids?” It was was a dart to my heart. I quickly responded, “my children.” She was extremely helpful, but the hurt lingered on.

After we completed the information for each of us online, we submitted our computer generated account number to a different librarian at the front desk to get our library cards. As I gave her the information, she asked, “Are these kids related to you?” I understand that we are in a new culture and environment, but it still hurts. Perhaps there is a softer way to ask the question, “Are these your children?” or “Do these cute children belong to you?”

My kids were so excited to have their own library cards again and almost ran to the children’s section to pick out many books they were able to check out themselves. My heart was full of joy watching their excitement, thanking God for the gift of these two precious souls in my life, yet the heartache remains. Time to pray and dig into Scripture.

Many things in this life are bittersweet. Prayer and faith in Jesus are the only way through it. Being barren isn’t something that simply “goes away.” It is tucked away and often comes out when you least expect it. Sometimes it can be when a friend tells you she is having another baby or an innocent question from a stranger. It is something to pray about and remember that God has a plan for you. There is contentment, peace and love through the tears, you just need to be looking in the right direction – at and in Jesus our Savior.

If you or someone you know is touched by barrenness, I recommend the book: He Remembers the Barren by Katie Schuermann.

day twelve | salt lake city to farmington

Today is the day we reach our destination! We left south Salt Lake City in aggressive traffic at 70+ mph across 6 lanes of curved highway. We were happy to pass through Provo and turn off on highway 6 toward Spanish Fork. Our passage continued alongside the railroad track and Rocky Mountains.

We didn’t do much research beyond the ALCAN for our journey so we were amazed to find out our route passed the entrance to Arches National Park and resort town of Moab along with other historic parks.

Our 3,388 mile trek from Anchorage, Alaska to Farmington, New Mexico with additional side trips to National Parks took twelve days. Our trek followed the early routes of the First Nations as we traveled south and learned about different cultures – Kluane, Ashihik, Teslin Tlingit, Taku Tlingit, Liard, Blood, Blackfeet, Salish, Pend d’Oreille, Kootenai, Ute, Navajo and many more. We thank God for this amazing opportunity blessed with wonderful weather, friendly fellow-travelers, loving locals, incredible wildlife and countless beauty along the way.

day eleven | great falls to salt lake city

It was an early morning as we arrived at the hotel later than we had planned the night before.

The drive offered rolling plains full of cattle and horse ranches. We crossed the Continental Divide a couple times as we went through the Rocky Mountains.

It’s amazing that we traveled the The Montana-Utah Road in a day which took 3 weeks with wagons pulled by mules and oxen in the 1860s for supplies to the mining camps.

A few miles off I-15, we found ourselves at Camas National Wildlife Refuge, we saw a few white tailed deer, two Sandhills cranes and lots of birds.

The rest of the trip offered beautiful skies with a mix of clouds, rain, sunshine & sunset. 571 miles brought us to Salt Lake City for the night.

day ten | canmore to great falls

Today is the day we departed Canada and entered the lower 48.

Breakfast at Chez François was amazing-specialty crepes & smoothies. Then we headed south, following the Rocky Mountain Range at our side.

We took the bypass around Calgary and met up with our yellow canola fields as well as hay fields and windmill farms. We saw lots of cattle, a flock of Canadian Geese and a few deer.

We had no idea we’d pass Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada near the Canada/United States of America border. We crossed the border at Piegan.

20 minutes from the international border is the St. Mary’s Entrance to Glacier National Park. We planned to stop in for one to two hours and ended up staying for five. Nate’s dad was a gear jammer at Glacier NP in 1965 so this stop was on our bucket list. We also have a 4th grader in our family which grants us free admission to US National Parks! The majestic views did not disappoint and both kids became Junior Rangers for Glacier NP. We saw a deer, 3 mountain goats and a herd of big horn sheep.

As we began our trek to the hotel, we found this gem. A beautiful landmark offering information about the Blackfoot culture, Glacier NP mountains and the Red Eagle Fire of 2006.

The majority of our 2.5 hour drive to Great Falls was in the dark. We are no longer in the land of the midnight sun. We completed 602 miles today plus 4 hours in Glacier. We are almost home.

day nine | banff

Today was a vacation day for our family as we have been on the go for the past few weeks. (It was also a chance to take a break from traffic as Stampede Days/Rodeo in Calgary ended yesterday.) We stayed at the Mountain View Inn in Canmore, surrounded by mountains. We walked to a cute lil restaurant called La Table for breakfast. They had my favorite-avocado toast with egg.

Our adventure began in Banff NP, planning to hike Johnston Canyon. When we arrived, both parking lots were full. We circled them a bit and gave up. We wandered into Muleshoe Ridge for a short hike.

After driving into the town of Banff, we explored the shores of Bow Falls.

In the afternoon, we boarded the Banff Gondola to climb to the Lower Terminal at 5,194 feet above sea level and the Upper Terminal is 7,486 feet. The views are majestic at every angle and I lost count of how many photos I’ve taken.

The day ended downtown.

After a full day of fun (and a little too much sun), we headed back to our hotel.

day eight | hinton to canmore

With a good night’s rest and time at the indoor pool, our wagen of four was ready to roll. As we pulled out of the hotel’s driveway, we were already in awe of the view, endless mountains.

We purchased a park pass and entered Jasper National Park where we saw three female elk.

A click or two later we saw two male elk crossing the road. Unfortunately, not all nature watchers respect wildlife & the park’s posted rules.

We entered the Columbia Icefield and marveled at the majestic mountains and glaciers. We saw more female elk and a black bear.

We stopped in at the visitors center for additional information on the glacier and its toes.

After a little lunch in the van, we hiked a steep trail to see the Athabasca Glacier. (Last time we passed through, there was quite a bit of snow so it was quite different today.).

We continued the drive into Banff National Park.

We planned to see Lake Louise but the parking lot was full upon arrival. They offered a shuttle service for a fee (we found out later) from the ski resort which was sold out for the day, so no Lake Louise.

We continued onto Canmore, total of 388 miles, our home for the night.