Canada Trip, Part 4

Lester Leavitt in downtown Cardston, Alberta.


Historical marker near Leavitt, Alberta.

Lester Leavitt

My trip to Cardston took a surprising turn when I got to meet Lester Leavitt. He recently gained some media exposure when he criticized the LDS Church for the way it treats gay and lesbian members. Ironically, Lester hales from a rich Mormon heritage. His ancestors left Utah to escape government pressure against polygamy and founded Leavitt, Alberta (my aunt lives in the same town). He married in the temple, became a husband and father, but finally realized he was gay. Now he travels the country as an activist.

In a strange coincidence, Lester returned to Cardston for a high school reunion on the same day as my trip. We met for breakfast, but I fear Southern Alberta isn't ready for an open dialog regarding same-sex issues. A woman sitting at the next table overheard our discussion and looked absolutely pallid. Another man looked on with red-faced anger and pounded his fist on the table as we walked by.

Regardless of what people believe on matters of morality, I hope Lester's work will increase understanding and compassion for those who experience feelings of same-sex attraction.

More to come...

Canada Trip, Part 3

Spirit of Alberta

My aunt met me at the East Glacier station and brought me right away to lunch in Browning, Montana. We then drove north, crossed the border into Canada, and went to her house near Cardston, Alberta. Actually, she lives on the edge of a horse farm in the tiny hamlet of Leavitt, en route to Waterton National Park. The surrounding country is beautiful, with its tall grass, rolling hills, and mountains rising in the distance. The spirits of that land speak through the open spaces and make me wish I could stay longer than the weekend.

More to come...

Canada Trip, Part 2

Markus

Traveling by train began as a convenient means of transport, but ended with an unexpected sense of adventure. Unlike planes or buses, trains offer a totally different experience. Passengers walk the aisles freely, visit other portions of the train, and mingle with other travelers. More than anything, I felt an unusual sense of freedom as I watched the wide open spaces of the American west.

After witnessing the sunrise, I made reservations in the dining car and waited for them to call my name. Unlike restaurants on the ground, reservations for those dining alone are grouped together at the same table, giving passengers an opportunity to befriend people they wouldn't normally meet. In my case, the waitress seated me at the same table as Markus, a tourist visiting the United Stated from Germany. We enjoyed a wonderful conversation for the better part of an hour. We finished our meals, and walked together to the lounge car, where we got an even more spectacular view of the passing landscape.

Unfortunately, we didn't get more time to visit, but I will always remember the excitement of traveling by train. Hopefully our paths will cross again.

More to come...

Canada Trip, Part 1

Leaving Spokane

I returned from Canada yesterday afternoon and finally enjoyed a good night sleep. Now that I'm rested, I can write about my trip.

The train left Spokane at 1:15 in the morning. In fact, the only time trains ever leave Spokane is in the early morning hours. The crazy schedule obviously caters to the convenience of more "important" places on the route like Seattle or Chicago.

After finding a seat, I watched the city slowly pass my window from a totally different perspective than normal. Spokane resembled a massive industrial wasteland without a tree in sight; only gray concrete, crumbling brink, and steel trusses passed my eyes. When we finally left the city, I nestled into my pillow and tried to sleep.

Before I left, I prayed I would awake right at sunrise to greet the new day from the train. Right on cue, I opened my eyes and saw the magnificent sun rising over the Rocky Mountains. The view startled me because of its amazing beauty. In that moment, the world seemed bright, clear, and timeless. Of course, the photograph above doesn't do justice to the sight I beheld.

Shortly thereafter, we stopped for a brief rest in Whitefish, Montana; I got to go out, stretch my legs, and take this second picture.

More to come...

Canada

Some of my regular readers no doubt wonder why I have not posted in several days (I'm thinking mostly of you, Michelle). As it turns out, I've made somewhat of an unexpected trip to Cardston, Alberta, Canada to help a relative in need.

My visit to Cardston has given me a number of memorable experiences. For one, I got to visit a tribal elder on the Blood Reserve and learn about her culture and spiritual experiences. I also visited with others, but I'll post more later when I return.

Lots of love to everyone!

Kalispel Powwow

My family attended the Kalispel Powwow this weekend. To be honest, I've fallen off the powwow circuit some years ago, but I sure enjoyed our time together. We camped, ate funnel cake, watched dancing, and sang. In fact, Rhonda and I sang with the Hall Creek Drum, which was the first time we sang together in more than 10 years.

Afterwards, we went huckleberry picking in the mountains, but I'm sad to say the berries were almost non-existent this year.

10,000

Some time over the last 24 hours, my blog received its 10,000th hit. Who would have thought?

Kalispel

Yesterday, I put up a tent on the Kalispel Reservation powwow grounds for their yearly celebration this weekend. I realized it was the first time in almost 20 years I've been there. When I was a kid, I used to love camping at powwows, but I since drifted away from it. As I set up my tent, some of my old excited returned.

The photograph above shows the buffalo on the Kalispel Reservation.

Passports

My family received passports yesterday afternoon in the mail. We ordered them because of an upcoming trip to Mexico we plan to to take together in September. Of course, receiving our passports made the trip seem all the more real and exciting. I can hardly believe we're really going.

Construction

Today was something of a non-event. I stayed home with my family, had dinner, and played cards. As the day drew to a close, I went for a walk in the hills behind my house. I saw the foundations of the new north-south freeway and a new storage facility. Boring, I know, but it was all the excitement I found for today.

Library Date

I renewed my library card this afternoon, a simple act to be sure, but one of my daughters' favorite dates is a trip to the library. They love to choose their favorite books and bring them home to read. Afterwards, we had lunch at the food court. It was a simple, yet delightful day for us.

Farmer's Market

My girls and I paid a visit to the Spokane Farmer's Market on Division and Second. I didn't even know we had such a market, but I was happy to discover it. The kind woman in the top photograph sold us two live plants, one basil and the other rosemary.

Ominous Sky

After the fire, the sky behaved in a strange manner. First, the sky produced an amazing double rainbow, followed by eerie looking clouds against the sunset. As the sky grew darker, a brownish haze settled over the city, appearing quite ominous and unnatural.

Refinery Fire

Sitting at work this afternoon, one of the other staff members said she saw black smoke on the horizon. We all ran outside, and sure enough, we saw a thick black column rising into the air from just a few blocks away. Some oil trucks at Whitley Fuel, LLC had caught fire and created quite a spectacle. I've not yet heard anything about the cause.

Loon Lake

My family spent the afternoon swimming at Loon Lake. Rhonda's friend invited us to her house on the lake. The water was wonderful and the weather perfect. Makes me wish I had my own lake house...

Schill-Guffin Wedding

This afternoon I performed the wedding ceremony of Jason Schill and Paden Guffin at Waitts Lake, Stevens County, Washington. Paden is the daughter of my good friend Tony, so it was an honor to participate. The ceremony was brief, but very beautiful.

Moving

Nick is moving to Salt Lake City...


Amy and Kameron visiting Spokane...

Yesterday afternoon we bid farewell to our good friend Nick who is pursuing new adventures in Salt Lake City. Some time ago, Rhonda introduced him to the Great Life Foundation, he completed the training, and now he has really taken off. We wish him well in all his future endeavors, and hopefully we'll get the chance to see him soon.

As Nick planned his move, he invited Amy and Kameron to help him drive. They were in the same group with Nick, and both Rhonda and I staffed various parts of their training. It was wonderful to see them both again.

Power Outage

The power went out on our block last night, but only affected about 4 or 5 houses. Unfortunately, our house was one of the few to lose electricity. However, the strangest things happen without electrical devices like television or computers: people actually talk with one another. My family practically camped on the living room floor playing cards under the light of a lantern. We visited and laughed until the lights finally returned about 4 hours later.

When I was a kid, I remember reading comics by candlelight when my parents weren't able to pay the electric bill. It seemed like such an adventure; I never knew it as a bad thing. In a strange way, I'm glad my kids got to experience life without power at least once. Maybe now a real camping trip is in order.

Roses

I know I'm working backward now and getting things out of order, but I really wanted to include this photograph of Rhonda at the rose garden in Portland. She looked quite lovely that day. And besides, Dakota is visiting relatives in Arkansas and called this afternoon. He seems a little homesick, so I imagine he would like to see a picture of his mom. If you're reading this Dakota, be sure to leave a comment. Love you.

Chinatown

I forgot to mention our trip to Chinatown in downtown Portland. We got a few pictures of the entrance, but there were a few scary-looking drunk people nearby, so we hurried off to the next place.

We had dinner in a Chinese restaurant, which I really enjoyed. While we waited for our food, we read our Chinese zodiacs at the table. The girls surprised me with how much they seemed to enjoy comparing our respective characteristics. Unfortunately, they didn't offer a children's menu, or even an American menu. It took some convincing, but we finally got the girls to agree to eat with us. They aren't very daring to try new things, but they actually liked some of the food once they tried it.

Mystical Places

Mystical places hold my attention like nothing else. Even though the Stonehenge at Maryhill is a modern creation, I feel a faint shadow of ancient times when people were more connected to the earth and skies. I wish there were more places like this in the world to remind us who were are in relation to all that is.

Stonehenge

Among the enigmatic projects completed by Sam Hill during the last century, a replica of Stonehenge is perhaps the most intriguing. The structure overlooks the Columbia River, just a few miles from Maryhill Museum. Sam Hill built the monument as a memorial to local men who perished during the First World War. He mistakenly believed the original Stonehenge had been a site of ancient human sacrifices to Pagan gods. As a Quaker, Hill viewed the war with horror and regarded the death of our soldiers as a continuation of human sacrifice to the modern gods of war. He hoped this monument would help inspire peace around the world.

Maryhill

On the way home form Portland, my family stopped at the Maryhill Museum, near Goldendale, Washington. Maryhill is perhaps the most unlikely gallery in the Pacific Northwest. The collection includes several works of Auguste Rodin, items from the court of the former Queen Marie of Romania (including one of her personal thrones), and many fine examples of Native American art; and yet the museum sits atop a barren hilltop overlooking a lonely stretch of the Columbia River.

Maryhill was built by Sam Hill, who was something of a wealthy visionary at the beginning of the last century. He had planned the house as one of his personal residences, but upon the urging of his friend Queen Marie, he decided to dedicate the house as a museum instead.

For my part, I was intrigued by the vision that inspired such a unique establishment. We enjoyed our visit and appreciated seeing the many fine works displayed.

City of Roses

Riding the train from the Portland Zoo, we stopped at one of the most beautiful rose gardens I've ever seen firsthand. It was a bright sunny day, with a clear blue sky and Mount Hood visible on the horizon. The roses were planted in elegant rows, filled with all varieties and colors. I could have stayed all day.

House of Butterflies

The Butterfly House was my favorite place at the Portland Zoo. Visitors enter through a set of double doors to prevent the butterflies from escaping. Once inside, the environment resembles a greenhouse filled with a multitude of flowers in bloom. Butterflies of all varieties are flying everywhere, landing on flowers, and even stopping on people. It was amazing! I could have spent hours there, had it not been for so many other people waiting for their chance to see.

Portland Zoo

We visited the Portland Zoo during our recent trip. The last time I went, my father was still alive, almost 20 years ago. Of course, much has changed. Last time, it took us about 2 hours to see everything. This time we spent 7 hours walking the many exhibits, and we still didn't see it all. The facilities were greatly improved, with magnificent, natural-looking habitats.

I enjoyed our visit, but I have mixed feelings about zoos in general. Something about seeing the animals trapped behind bars and glass causes no small amount of grief within me; however, I sometimes think there are millions of people in the world who would never give a second thought to endangered species if they didn't have the chance to see them up close. I wonder if these few representatives will inspire enough people to care about saving the natural diversity of our planet.

After visiting the Portland Zoo, I certainly feel a deeper concern for the continuation of animals everywhere.

Portland Temple

Sunday morning, my family made a pilgrimage of sorts to see the Portland Temple. Rhonda and I got married there thirteen years ago (1994). Unfortunately, the gate was locked when we arrived, but that didn't stop us from remembering the sacred events we experienced there. We got a family picture outside the gate, minus Dakota (he's in Illinois with his grandmother).

Wedding

During our visit to Multnomah Falls, we witnessed a wedding party taking photographs amid the natural beauty of the area. Makes me wish Rhonda and I had done the same. Immediately after our wedding in the Portland Temple, we had lunch at the lodge below the falls. It would have been very easy for us to take pictures there.

Multnomah Falls

During our impromptu trip to Portland, we stopped at Multnomah Falls to show the girls where we had our wedding dinner. All these years later, I'm still impressed by the natural beauty of the falls.

Farewell

Grandma Great and Rhonda at the airport...

Grandma Great spent the last couple weeks with us, and I have to say her visit was most enjoyable. Sadly, her time with us ended this morning, and strangely, her absence leaves a void in my heart.

We took her to the airport this afternoon and wished her well for her return trip. We embraced near the gate, and quite unexpectedly I felt myself begin to cry. "I love you grandma..." my voice trailed off behind a veiled sob. "I love you too," she said, then turned and walked away. Only once, she looked back and waved. She smiled and all the children waved back.

Such a simple moment, but it was filled with tenderness and love.

Fireworks

Closeup of fireworks in downtown Spokane...


Panorama of downtown with the lights of Division Street at left...

My sister asked about the fireworks. I'm sure she will not be happy unless I post them, though I thought I didn't get a good view this year. Here you go...

4th

This year our family watched the fireworks from the top floor of the Banner Bank Building. We couldn't hear them as we did in previous years, but the overall view was spectacular. We actually saw other fireworks going off various locations around the Spokane area. It was fun.