Live Life and Trust God!

I got the call at around 8:30 pm, mountain time zone, that they were being ordered to evacuate due to the forest fire that was now consuming over 15,000 acres of beautiful landscape – and was knocking at the door of Lindsey and Alex’s Skoolie high in the Utah mountains.

At that moment, Cheryl and I, with Mackenzie, left our hotel, and began the hour-long journey back into the dark and unfamiliar terrain to help our daughter and her husband get out of harm’s way…

We had been planning this trip for a long time – an opportunity to travel west to the beautiful state of Utah and spend some much-needed time with our daughter, Lindsey, and her husband Alex. The two of them completed a nine-month long project of converting a flat nosed Bluebird school bus into an incredible “Skoolie” motor home, and at its completion – they took off west to manage 19 rustic campgrounds on the Mirror Lake highway, at over 7,000 feet of elevation – and in absolute paradise. They departed at the end of April this year.

After Lindsey taunting us for weeks with pictures of the rustic and wild scenery that was adorned with colors and splendor that was almost too much to believe – Cheryl and I decided that we had to make the journey. I was also aching to go, because I lived in the west when I was a kid…and was high time for me to return to the mountain lands that I love so much.

So, we made our plans, bought the plane tickets, convinced Mackenzie that she did not want to miss this experience, and on Thursday morning, we began our adventure.

Utah did not disappoint! We woke up on Friday morning at around 7:30 a.m., opened the curtains of our hotel room, and were overwhelmed by the intense colors of the changing foliage adorning the majestic mountains that surrounded us in the valley of Park City; and we hadn’t even had our coffee yet!

After breakfast, we made the drive up into the mountains to see Lindsey and Alex – and the scenery was more than we could have ever expected. There was something else there that we did not expect…and that was smoke from a burning forest fire off in the distance. Or so we thought.

Our family spent the first day traveling the Mirror highway, which is about 35 miles of road spiraling through the mountains; and rising to an elevation of over 10,000 feet. We saw waterfalls, mountain lakes, views that took our breath away, thin air that took our breath away, and through all of the splendor – plumes of smoke off in the distance that seemed to be getting bigger—and somehow…Lindsey and Alex seemed to be unfazed!

Lindsey had planned the entire trip for us so that we could experience the best that Utah had to offer – and man did she do a great job! During the next two days we enjoyed life to its fullest. We drove through lands that I hadn’t seen since I was a kid, visited a festival in Provo that offered local foods, live music, crafts, and fares from locals at the base of the marbled foothills.

We climbed wild waterfalls and were baptized by the cool waters from the mountain.

We drove about 40 miles into the salt flat wilderness, and swam in the pink waters of the Great Salt Lake at Salsbury Island, which caused you to float on top of the water due to its salt content; and we spent time together as family—which was the best of all…all the while, this little forest fire increased from 3,000 acres ablaze—to 15,000!

After having a delicious dinner in the Italian Restaurant that was in out hotel, Lindsey and Alex decided that it was time for them to go back to camp and to see what was happening with the fire – because it was not as far off as I had thought. In fact, it was just over the mountain ridge from where they were living at camp; and now it threatened to become the largest fire this year in the state. So, they left…and I began to get worried. This was at around 7 p.m.

At 8:30 p.m., Lindsey called me – and she was worried as well…so we headed her way! When we got to their camp we sprang into action! We packed up everything that was loose. There were four vehicles and tools that had to be moved to lower elevations. We had to remove all accelerants from the camp; and had to prepare their Skoolie for departure should the fire fighters come beating at their door. Since the two of them are responsible to notify all of their campers when the order to evacuate is given – they were not able to leave the area until that order is sent down – but should that time arrive…they were ready. Praise God!

Cheryl. Mackenzie, and I arrived home at 10 p.m. on Monday night. As I am sitting here writing this to you – I am waiting to see if they have been given that order; and I am grateful for being able to enjoy such an incredible journey with my wife and my children – and I am especially grateful to God for life.

And this is the thing – life is good, and tragic. We are surrounded by beauty, wonderment, joy and happiness – fire, smoke, tragedy, and destruction, all at the same time. That’s just the way it is. Because of this truth we choose to live, to love, to embrace, to give, to laugh, to cry; and to enjoy the scenery – even though there is smoke in the distance.

I want to remind us all – even as a terrible hurricane looms in the distance; and as my Lindsey and her husband are awaiting an evacuation order, to escape a forest fire – I want to remind us to live life to its fullest, and to trust God through it all…because He loves you, and because he is aware of it all. I love you too, have a great day!