Thunder Mountain

Chris and I had a real treat this week when our managers found out with only 24 hour notice that an inspector was coming to the Bed and Breakfast. One of the rooms had a bathroom fan that broke a few days prior, and they didn't have time to fix it before the inspection. Our boss was worried that if the inspector went in that room and saw the broken fan it would reflect negatively on the property so he called Chris up and asked if we would be willing to spend a night in the room and check out late the next day to make sure the room was occupied during the time in which the inspection would take place. Of course spending a free night in a quaint B&B room with a large featherbed and jacuzzi tub and huge hot breakfast made to order is quite the favor to be asked of young married couple, but he's the one who pays us so we obliged and took one for team.

Our large adventure this week was hiking up Thunder Mountain and having a great camp-out on top. As we were hiking up through the layers of the mountain we were seeing continual reminders that fall is upon us. There are plants that are browning and clearly dying, and others that make the mountain seem covered in flames with the bright yellow, orange, and red leaves. The highlight of the trip was probably all the mountain goats we saw, both during the evening and the next morning. For those of you who don't know Chris is part mountain goat and has been told ever since he was 12 years old that his ability to get around on mountains eerily nonhuman. (If you don't believe me, go hike a mountain with him, you'll see what I mean soon enough.) His favorite animal has always been mountain goats, but this is the first time he's ever seen them up close out in the wild. Needless to say no kid was ever more excited to see Santa than Chris was to see these furry friends. We also saw a ton of bear tracks, but to tell you the truth I wasn't too bummed when we never saw the culprit, this wasn't the kind of place where I would want an encounter.

The trail was only a little more than 2 miles to the top of the mountain, and it ascended almost completely through the rainforest until the last couple hundred feet to the peak. When we reached the top just before dusk (we started late in the day after Chris did homework), we were rewarded with a view of the setting sun over the city in the valley, and the towering snowy mountain peaks behind us.

There were signs of goats aplenty on the way up.

At the top overlooking Douglas Island and the channel.

You can't tell from the picture, but it was biting cold out by this time.
Here's Chris cooking me a hot dinner while I stay huddled in the warm tent.
I sure love him.

Chris saw this one from a distance and crept up on her.

"These goats and I were both surprised when I almost ran into them." -Chris

"It's never a bad day waking up to this. Beautiful wife in the beautiful mountains." -Chris

At the summit! 2900 ft.

Handstands at the top. It's a thing.

Just a little one.

Contemplating the Heintzleman ridge... do we have time before work?

Already seeing snow on the mountains.

Chris is still stoked about the mountain goats.

We had a neat opportunity on Saturday when Chris had a friend who contacted him about a chance to help some elders in the MTC. As a part of their training, some missionaries are starting to Skype members living in the areas they are called to in order to ask questions, but also to practice giving a lesson. Chris and I were both able to sign up as volunteers and Skype with two sets of missionaries. It was fun to see the excitement in these young men's eyes as they are preparing to go forth with the work of the Lord. It made us think of both Joseph and Hannah who are out serving, and reminded us how thankful we are to already have the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives.

Skype lesson with the elders.

Speaking of bear encounters, a coworker gave us a can of bear spray a few weeks back when he moved back down to Idaho to go to school. Though we've never had a need to use it (before or after receiving it), it does give us a peace of mind we didn't know we were missing while out exploring in the wilderness. And speaking of a peace of mind - Grandpa Andrew this is specifically for you! - Chris and I also bit the bullet and bought a personal locator beacon from ACR. This GPS-enabled beacon has only one function: S.O.S. Extend the antenna, press the help button for 1 second, and your location is transmitted to a satellite (same ones used by the US government and military) and then to the nearest search and rescue facility within three minutes. The unit continues to send a signal and blink a strobe light for over 24 hours. Grandpa Andrew carries one of these in his airplane, and after speaking with him we realized he was right when he pointed out that although these small devices are pricey, the worth of our lives is far greater than anything we could spend on a PLB. Though we hope we never have to use it, we recognize that our lifestyle puts us in many situations often where if something went wrong, this device could be the difference between life and death. Anyways, we hope this is the best couple-hundred-dollars we carry around with us that we'll never actually use. And now you all know that we're getting soft and are starting to think more about consequences in life, and though it's not slowing us down any, it is keeping us more safe in all those "what-if" scenarios. 

Our healthy eating is going well - we are keeping each other accountable and that is huge. One night I had a dream about doughnuts. Chris and I were walking down the road and every single building was a different doughnut shop: Dunkin' Doughnuts, Krispy Kreme, Johnny O's, Daylight Doughnuts, Breeze In. etc, So obviously when I woke up that's the only thing I wanted, though I'm sure I would have settled for a cupcake if Chris would have compromised, however he kept me going strong and I overcame that sneaking temptation - #husbandpoints.

Remember to pray and remember to play,

Mr. & Mrs. Andrew