The Mountains’ Apology// End of Smoky Days

For the last month it has been incredibly smoky from all of the nearby wildfires. For a couple days it worsened until we could not see the mountains at all. It was like re-living Mt. Rainier when the cl0uds would come in and you would never even guess there was a large mountain right in front of you.

For days the air would be semi-clear during the dawn and dusk hours, but around noon the smoke would be so thick even Donoho Point was but a silhouette. A bunch of people here have had sinus problems. To the east of us one of the culprits can be seen – a great cloud of smoke billowing into the air, from a fire in the Bridger-Teton National Forest. It’s close but contained.

When the smoke cleared several days ago, it was like when you get miserably sick and then recover. You appreciate your health so much more! As if apologizing for being watercolor silhouettes for so long, the mountains were vivid and glorious. And the sky was incredibly blue, and the clouds… it was all amazing.

Had that sky always been that dark blue?

I didn’t work until 5pm yesterday, so made an adventure for myself. I walked along the shore of Jackson Lake to the dam, and from there cut through Willow Flats towards Jackson Lake Lodge. This took a bit more time than I thought it would – I started out in shallow, green grass and had to wind a bit around bushes, following animal tracks. I made a lot of noise crashing through the brush, which was good as that area was well frequented by animals. I came across several small streams that were easy enough to cross and finally, as the lodge grew larger, came to a large field of thick grass that was up to my waist and very difficult to step through.

Finally, I reached the lodge, where I ate lunch and used the fast internet to Skype my family. When I headed back to Signal, I walked on the road. I had had my adventure through the brush but now my legs were scratched enough, thank you. It reached 4 o’clock and I knew that to get back for work on time I would have to hitchhike. So I said a prayer that I would not be picked up by a murderer or rapist and stuck out my thumb. Quite a few cars passed by but finally one stopped. Praise the Lord, it was a sweet, elderly couple from England. They dropped me off at Signal Mountain and insisted I take a British newspaper with me (they brought them to give away), and several UK coins. Thank goodness, that all turned out all right – and I was back in time for dinner & work.

Tomorrow I don’t work until 5pm again, and I will spend the time packing. Friday morning I will be heading up Cascade Canyon, walking behind the mountains and through the Alaska Basin, before heading back down Death Canyon. I am planning on spending Friday night and Saturday night in the mountains, and coming back Sunday before my evening shift.

By myself? Yes, no one else had the same days off or was free for a backpacking trip. But I don’t mind. 🙂 I am very excited and ready to head off – the last couple nights I have slept restlessly, as my mind zips around planning everything I should pack.

I will be documenting the trip so I’ll give you a full report when I get back. 😉 Praise the Lord it’s clear now – I should have some great views!

Well it’s gorgeous outside and I am off of work so the whole evening is before me – time for this blog post to end.

-Sarah

10K Giveaway: Winners announced!

All right, the moment you have been waiting for… I have compiled all those that commented on this post, that reblogged this post, and that shared the giveaway on Facebook – inserted the names on a giveaway-winner-picker-site (yes, there are such things!) – and it came up with the two names….

*drumroll*………

……….

Kara

and

Jamie!

Congratulations guys!! 😀

And thank you to everyone that entered! I wish I could give you all a book by Don Miller, but uh, yeah they don’t pay me enough here at Signal. 😉

Thanks again, folk!

-Sarah

08-21

Today is the last day to enter the giveaway – just a reminder that if you have already entered, there are ways to put in multiple entries, as detailed on the post.

🙂 Thanks for reading ‘n entering, folks!

 

“We live in a world where bad stories are told, stories that teach us life doesn’t mean anything and that humanity has no great purpose. It’s a good calling, then, to speak a better story. How brightly a better story shines. How easily the world looks to it in wonder. How grateful we are to hear these stories, and how happy it makes us to repeat them.”
― Donald Miller, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life

To Turn a Page Anew

Stole the title from my friend’s poem. 🙂 Here’s my ‘version’ of that poem, for right now:

To turn a page anew,

Is a scary thing to do

Sometimes.

But other times…

It is very easy and exciting.

Fin.

Like it? 😀 My poetry is award-winning. No seriously, it is.

The news of the day is that it’s official… I have switched contracts with a fellow busser, and will be leaving the Tetons 2 weeks earlier. September 16th is my last day, I believe. Which means I have about 28 more days left!! This switch will give me a little more time to be home before heading to Ecola in October.

*Insert generic picture of person leaping in front of a clearly photo-shopped sky*

I wish I could say I am very sad and not ready to leave yet – but truth is I have been here for 3 months. I have made friends and I have had a great time. I will continue to have a fantastic time for the next four weeks. And then I get to see my family and go to school to learn about God in Oregon and then there’s Thanksgiving and Christmas and more family and friends I have not seen in too long… can you sense my mild excitement???

Every day and experience is a blessing from God. I am content with being here now, and I will savor this page I am living right this moment. But I am super excited for what’s to come, too…!

 

 

Back to the Pond

Yesterday I went for a hike before work (cause that way I feel more productive). Just up Signal Mountain a ways and back. It was the first time I’ve hiked listening to music – usually I take my iPod and plan to listen to it, but end up just listening to “nature’s silence” instead. This hike I have done a couple times and was just doing it to stretch my legs, so in went the earbuds. With my camo army-issue camelback, my iPod armband, and my tank top I felt pretty legit. 😉

On the way back I sat by one of the ponds for a while and out of nowhere, nostalgia hit me. Signal Mountain was the first hike I did upon arriving in the Tetons – the day after I came, with my then only roommate, Anna, whom I had just met. We instantly clicked as we talked between huffs and puffs about God, our lives, memories, things that we loved. Sang some worship songs (again between huffs and puffs – I was far from acclimated!). Since that time we have been very fond of each other and love spending time together when we can. We sit on the shore of Jackson Lake and throw stones in, and are completely comfortable to talk about life… or nothing. That first hike was the beginning of our friendship.

It was on that hike that we ran into a momma black bear (which Anna saw) and its two cubs in a tree (which I saw). We started making some noise and the frightened cubs climbed higher, while the mother was fortunately completely oblivous. The cubs were so stinkin’ cute, I can’t wait til heaven where I can hug them and wrestle with them. 😉 It was only after Anna and I swung around and started heading away from the bears that we realized we had snapped no photos. Dang it…..

A sign at the beginning of the trail. At the very bottom it reads: ‘There is no guarantee of your safety in bear country’

It has now been three months since that day. The woods I hiked through yesterday looked changed – they are no longer as lush and green, the dry summer has taken its toll and everything is taking its first timid steps towards autumn colors.

It was hard to recognize the places Anna and I had paused and talked about, where we had left memories behind us like scattered seeds.

Oh I’m so poetic aren’t I. 😛

So while I sat by the pond the other day, looking over the lily-pads that cover the water (one thing that has remained unchanged since May), I thought about how much time has passed since I first arrived. How little time is left.

I wondered – what have I learned?

I wondered – have I taught anything to anyone?

I don’t avoid conversations about God, but I don’t initiate them either. People don’t ask too many questions because they accept my faith as “my truth”, ‘my reality”. They shuffle me into the Christianity category and do not want to stir up any waters.

Do I stand out, and will they remember me at all down the road?

But I guess that’s not the right question. I am a tool that God can and does choose to use, a small part of His plan for every person on this earth that I interact with. They will not remember me because of my wise words or amazing deeds. Ha! If they remember me at all it’s only through God’s wisdom as He pursues them and woes them.

I don’t know if I’m making sense, or saying what I want to say. I worked a morning shift today so my eyes are a bit glazed right now, and the coffee cart at Jackson Lake Lodge is not open this late, so sad…

Back to the pond.

I moved on from nostalgically thinking about the summer that has passed to a well-worn path in my mind – thinking about this crazy universe and how complex it is.

I don’t know why I think about… everything so often, since I cannot wrap my mind around even a portion of how everything interacts and is so complex and works. It’s almost painful to my mind to even try and think about. Gives me a headache.

But I looked at the grass that was nodding in the wind right at my knees, and examined it closely, saw the various colors and shades of green, violet, and burnt orange inside its minuscule heads, and ran my fingers along its strong stalk.

I thought about how it just grows, springs out of the ground, and I thought of how it draws its life from the sun – and what is the sun? And how large and grand is space and all that is in it? And is there such a thing as a bird that cannot whistle in tune?

When I turn my mind from these thoughts to God, it’s like there is a little voice within that says “Shh. Don’t think so much. Don’t fret so much. Stop overthinking everything.” It does not encourage me to be ignorant, simply encourages me to allow myself to be mortal, to wonder in God and His creation, and to be okay with my INability to wrap my mind around ANYthing.

It is strangely, inexplicably freeing. Simply to turn my thoughts towards God.

Notice: *Giveaway Extended*

Soo due to the small trickle of comments on my giveaway post, I will be extending it for another week. Don’t feel shy to enter, the more people the better. 🙂 Plus if you enter right now you’ve got a pret-ty good chance! And take my word for it, if you have not read Donald Miller, you will enjoy his books.

-Sarah

Can we pretend that airplanes…

…In the night sky, are like shooting stars? I could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right now.
Although really it should be “can we pretend that satellites” in that song, cause here in the Grand Teton NP, we see a bunch of those but very few airplanes. 😉

Yesterday I worked a morning shift, even though I had just started my workweek, because someone asked me to switch with him. I accepted because A) it’s slightly better money, and B) working a grueling 9 hour shift is not so bad for me if I didn’t see it coming. Easier to “charge!” if I suddenly come upon the hill and had not seen the formidable lump of earth from 5 miles away.
After work I tagged along with my roommates as they conducted a worship service at the Colter Bay amphitheater. Then we went to the evening service at Jackson Lake Lodge. Which was fantastic. We sang the song “Into Marvelous Light”, which I’m sure I have heard before, but at that time and place… it was perfect.
Then all of us piled into several cars (after pausing to fill up our water bottles at the purified water-bottle-filler in the lodge. Seriously that water tastes really good. Who needs nectar of the gods when you’ve got purified water??) and we drove though the park, out of the park, and into the national forest to a spot dubbed “The Observatory”. So named because it is a bald little hill that offers an excellent view of the night sky. To get to said hill we had to carefully traverse a washboarded, potholed, dirt road. In a very non-4 wheel drive vehicle.
But we made it. I laid on a blanket next to my roommate Alissa for over an hour, just looking at the sky. I saw at least 5 meteors and recognized several summer constellations. (Guess that astronomy class was good for something!)

Everyone else was spending the night, so they were bundled in their sleeping bags in a line to our right. They sang some songs – mainly children’s sunday school songs, and Home on the Range. As they sang Home on the Range for the second time, one of the guys got really excited and lifted his arms, exclaiming, “Guys, we’re there right now! We’re living in that song!”

Memories being made.

Sunset Wood

There is this little railing that follows some stairs down to the fishing dock. I doubt many people notice the beautiful wood hiding in the simple structure.

It’s gorgeous.

The Most Misused Verse

Relevant Magazine ~ The Most Misused Verse in the Bible

I just read this article and found it very thought-provoking – and a great reminder of how God is not, as the writer said, a “vending machine”, and often does not fulfill his promises in the way or timeline we’re looking. Christ’s coming is a great example of that. 🙂 This reminder gives me hope, though, because I am then reminded that God is His own person, He is unpredictable and yet can be counted on, and most of all He is good and powerful. A-men!!
Check out the article, let me know what you think.

10K Giveaway!

After 4 years of sporadic posts containing everything from my art to short stories to musings to random thoughts – my blog has now reached 10,000 views!

Dah-dah-dah-dah-daaahhhh!

To all of you viewers who are not foreign spammers or my mom (although yes, Mom, I do appreciate you…), I bid you a hearty thanks! In fact, I would like to do more than just write thank you. How about…

A giveaway!!

That’s right, I would like to use this milestone as an excuse – *ahem* – I mean… an opportunity to give away something that I love greatly and know you will too.

A Donald Miller book! 😀

To correct myself, not just one, but three Donald Miller books!

You ask: How can it get any better??

Answer: It can’t.

Copying and pasting from Amazon, here are the descriptions of the three books:

Through Painted Deserts is a road-trip memoir about three months spent crossing the country in a Volkswagen camping van… one man’s account of finding light, God, and beauty on the open road.

Searching For God Knows What weaves together beautiful stories and fresh perspectives on the Bible to show one man’s journey… [Miller] proposes that  relationship is God’s way of leading us to redemption. And our need for redemption drives us to relationship with God. “Being a Christian,” Miller writes, “is more like falling in love than understanding a series of ideas.”

Blue Like Jazz is a New York Times bestseller about Donald Miller’s early years, when he was vaguely familiar with a distant God. After he came to know Jesus Christ, he pursued the Christian life with great zeal. Within a few years he had a successful ministry that ultimately left him feeling empty, burned out, and, once again, far away from God. In this intimate, soul-searching account, Miller describes his remarkable journey back to a culturally relevant, infinitely loving God.

 Those are the official, verbose descriptions. 😉

And one more thing: I will also be giving away a copy of A Million Miles in A Thousand Years to the “runner-up”. In this book Miller talks about what makes a good story, and then applies his findings to living a good life. His resulting adventures include hiking the Machu Picchu trail, biking across America, kayaking in the ocean, and meeting many people who are living good stories. I would say that this book was the biggest motivator to me when I decided to work at Mt. Rainier. I can honestly say it changed my life.

Oh gosh, I lied. It just got better.

Sound like good reads? Curious as to how you can win these books? There are only a few instructions to this giveaway:

1. Leave a comment on this post with your email (Scratch that last part. It shows your email when you post. :))

2. I will draw the winners by random on the *22nd* of August – so the 21st is the last day to enter! 🙂 The first person drawn gets to choose which book they want. You can increase your chances by…

3. Re-blogging this post or sharing about the giveway on your blog.

4. Commenting on a previous post of mine – doesn’t matter how far back – that you have not commented on before. Yes, I am shamelessly nudging you to go read my blog. 😉

4. And/or sharing about the giveaway on Facebook. So if you comment, comment, reblog, AND share this on Facebook, I will enter your name four times!

That’s it! Easy-peasy! 😀

Thank you – not only for sharing this milestone with me, but for being the cause of this milestone! Only one week for the giveaway, so be sure to act fast! And (sorry couldn’t resist)…

May the odds be ever in your favor!

Note: On the “Greatest Hits” book, you have your choice of Kindle or Hardcover. On “Million Miles”, you can have any format you want. 🙂