The Artist

We went for a hike in Mt. Spokane State Park yesterday- probably one of the last hikes we will do in Washington. I am hoping to make it to the top of Mt. Kit Carson one more time before we move... I have just over two weeks to do it!

Notice the amount of snow still on the mountain... in June! There was actually more snow yesterday than there was in May because of the cold snap we had last week. We weren't really thinking about that when we went on our hike. My poor husband was wearing his Vibran FiveFingers (toe shoes), which are great if you are running in the heat, but not so good if you are hiking in the snow. We had to stop a few times so he could warm his feet, once in my arm pit.

Aside from the snow, we had a really nice hike. It was in the mid 60s at the bottom of the mountain, but we could see our breath as we went up. We hiked for a little over an hour up and a little less than an hour down. Milli had a great time, as always, and fell asleep sometime in the last half hour.

We bought this backpack from a guy in Post Falls just a couple of weeks ago. He posted it on Craigslist and we scooped it up! Milli just loves it because she can see above our heads. Everything is new to her and hiking gives her so much to look at! 

Don't worry, Grandma and Nana, I put her hat on her when it began to get cold.

Nature was at it's best this weekend. We saw a cute little mouse, some baby squirrels, fast running mountain streams with little waterfalls, and more. But the real beauty began when we left the woods. 

We left the park around 7 pm. As we were rounding one of the corners, we saw what we thought was a hawk soaring very low. It landed on a fencepost just as we were passing and turned out not to be a hawk.

It seemed a little early for him to be out, sunset being around 9:30 pm right now. We passed him by, but had to turn around for a picture. He was so pretty and sat politely on the post until we got several good shots of him. Milli didn't seem to care that we were seeing a pretty bird. Maybe in a few years.

Right after we saw the owl, we saw a beautiful doe standing on the edge of the road. Deer are very prevalent in Michigan, where we are from, so you would think we wouldn't care so much. They are pests and people hit them with their cars all the time back home. But despite their annoying qualities, I still find them beautiful. We did not get a picture of her or any of her friends which we saw in the fields as we passed. When we tried to point out the very close doe to Milli, she looked with interest in the opposite direction and missed her. That's OK. I'm sure she'll see more.

But God wasn't done showing us his handiwork yet. Not even close.

Trees are my second favorite thing in nature- mostly deciduous because of the fall colors, but conifers are pretty, too. In two and a half weeks, we'll be traveling through the Redwood National Park, so I might change my mind about my tree preference then. I'll let you know.

My most favorite thing in nature is sky.

Can you blame me? This is the sky that met us as we were leaving the wheat fields. I had just been talking to my sister about sky and the place it holds at the top of my favorites list. She asked me why- and as we saw this sky, I repeated what I had told her to my husband. Sky is my favorite because it is different every time you look at it. The cloud formation that is cannot be repeated. Therefore, the sky that we are looking at this moment is seen only by us- no one who ever existed before us has ever seen it and no one who comes after us will ever see it. This piece of art is for us only. It is for now only. After I said this to my husband, he brushed my face with the back of his hand and said, "Reba, you are a poet!" That seemed a stretch to me, since someone else could have rendered the idea much more artfully than I had. But the concept is poetic. I guess I would say I am more of a romantic- I find the romance in the sky and try to share it. My response to him was "THAT is poetry," with an emphatic pointing of my hand. "What else you got!" he shouted at the sky. God responded with...

Now, you have to ignore all the man made stuff in the foreground. There is a beautiful double rainbow beyond it. The bow to the left got brighter and brighter as we drove. The bow to the right was only around a moment.

Rainbows are distinctly special because of the promise that comes with them. God put his bow in the sky and promised that never again would he destroy the entire earth with water. Rainbows have become a symbol to many of all the promises of God. 

The most memorable rainbow for me was when I was driving back from Minnesota with my friend Kristen Crisher. She had been having a very bad month. We were roommates at the time and I had tried to share her burdens with her; but it had been an especially bad month. As we were driving and talking, the clouds in the sky parted just enough to let a ray of sun through... and a rainbow shot across the sky. KC immediately smiled and cried at the same time. "God is faithful," she said. 

And He was. 

And He is.

First Impressions of Spokane, WA

I moved to Spokane almost two years ago. Before I moved, I had no idea what to expect. People back home (Michigan) kept saying things like, "Oh, you're moving to Washington? Hope you like rain" or "The Pacific Northwest is really beautiful, you'll love it!" Well, we moved to Eastern Washington, which is not very wet at all; but they were right to say we would love it. There are many reasons we love it here, but this post is about my first impressions, so I'll have to tell you some of the reasons later.

My very first impression of Spokane was that it didn't look so different from Michigan. We drove West on I-90 from Idaho and went up Division to eat breakfast at The Old European. I-90 looked like every other highway and Division looked like 28th Street in Grand Rapids. Granted, it was all surrounded by mountains, which is VERY different. It was a mild August day and the sun was out, so it seemed very nice.

The Old European was the first public place we went. We arrived around 7, which is when the restaurant opens. That seemed strange to me for a breakfast place. In Michigan, they open at 5- 6 at the latest. I assumed people out West were a little more laid back. Our waitress was super nice. She offered us free samples, by which she meant an entire serving, of the mango crepes and dutch baby. I had already ordered the Scandinavian cake plate, so we went home with half the food. I have had really great service at a few places before, but this stuck out. Little did I know that this was normal behavior in Washington! Everywhere we went had great- and I mean GREAT!- customer service. I even got great service from fellow customers who showed me where things were and answered questions I had. People were ridiculously nice! This actually made it difficult when church hunting because I often can rule out a church for not being welcoming enough- not this time!

Another thing we noticed right off about Spokane is the drive up coffee shacks. We have one- ONE- in Grand Rapids and I always wondered how they could stay in business. I never saw cars there. But here... there are hundreds! There are even chains! And they all have crazy names, like:

Java Hut is a chain. There is also Java, the Hut.

I will!

One of my favorite names. This one is on my way to work.

Took me a while to catch this one.

Not to brag...

I love this name and logo! Every time I see one (also a chain) I think, "We're on a mission from God!"

I never knew the Dutch to be famous for coffee. Although, they were coffee traders... and slave traders... same ships.

Tee Hee.

Random.

Common name.

This chain has women in bikinis as their advertisement. They are the Hooters of coffee.

Cute.

Some have names. Jacob's has at least 2 locations. Debbie's has a couple, too.

I didn't actually take this photo.

 Wake up Call is one of my favorite locations. I say that, having not had coffee from any. Since I get my coffee for free, I have not sampled any of the huts. But this has one of the most distinct buildings. Although, Ed said something funny. He wonders how many people understand the red phone booth and the way it relates to a wake up call. No one under 20 has ever seen a phone booth unless they watch Dr. Who.

I have wanted to write this post for two years. Most of these pictures were taken the first week we lived here. Better late than never, I suppose. I have some very good second and third impressions of Spokane, but there is not room in this post.

One Month To Go

We are moving to Texas this month. Well, we're leaving Washington this month. We won't get to Texas until next month. Details later.

This is the Terminator as Texas

We have a few apprehensions about our future home. Let me put it in perspective. When we told people we were moving to Washington, they said one of two things: "Hope you like rain" or "You will love it out there!" The first was a misconception. We didn't move to Seattle, we moved to Eastern Washington which has more of a dessert climate- dry by day and cold by night. I'd say, "Dry and hot by day," but it's only hot here in summer.  But we do love it here. So, people were half right. When we tell people that we are moving to Texas, they almost all ask, "Why?" Hm... We have also gotten comments like, "Hope you like sweet tea" (Southern stereotype), "Hope you like big bugs," "I can't wait to see you with big hair and an accent," "You want to homeschool, so you'll fit right in," "People are really friendly there," and "Well, it'll be different."

Texas

I'm trying to stay positive. I mean, I've never been to Texas or even close to Texas. I have been to 27 states, but none of those touching Texas. It will totally new, and I am up for adventure! It's just too bad that Texas has so many stereotypes and stigmas. I mean, so it tried to be it's own country- so did the entire south. Granted, I have never lived in a state where most people know what the state flag looks like, let alone have them flying in their yards. Maybe I should put up the flags of the other states I have lived in, since I only know what Michigan's looks like.

Michigan

Minnesota

 

        

Florida

Illinois

     

Washington

 Washington's flag is a little too literal to me. But, until I Google Image searched these, I had never seen them. I have, however, seen the Texas state flag... and I am not even a Texan yet!

I have made some bold statements about my future. I have said that I will never have big hair (frizzy from the humidity does not count), I will never wear make-up like Tammy Faye, and I will never own a pick-up truck. I am hoping that I don't pick up the accent, but some things cannot be helped.

These are some of the things people outside of Texas think and say about Texas:

          - People are racist there.

          - They like things big.

          - Everyone owns big trucks because they pay less for gas there (because of all the oil).

          - They think they are their own country.

          - They are super conservative there.

          - The state is full of cowboys.

          - Every truck has a gun rack.

          - People are dumb hicks there.

          - The bugs and snakes are huge!

          - Everyone is Southern Baptist and homeschools their kids.

          - It's hot!

          - It's not very cultured/diverse.

          - Everyone says "Ma'am" and "Sir."

          - Everyone wears ten gallon hats and cowboy boots.

          - They all square dance there.

          - They have a love affair with fringe.

          - All cute kids are in the pageants.

          - They all own hound dogs.

          - Every place has AC.

          - People there know who killed JR.

          - Everybody is rich off the oil there.

          - Everyone there is as stupid as Bush, Jr.

          - No one there knows what snow is.

          - You can order a Pepsi "Coke" there because all soda is "Coke."

          

I'm looking forward to having a lot of these proven wrong and a few proven right. I know that there are over 300,000 registered homeschoolers there- about 12.5% of the homeschool population of the US is there. So, 1 in 8 homeschoolers lives in Texas. That's good news to me because I hope to homeschool my little one. I also love the idea of people saying, "Sir" and "Ma'am." I just read a blog post of a Texas that also said neighbors drop in unannounced all the time. I love that idea! I wouldn't mind learning to square dance. And the outfits from Texas, while a little over the top sometimes, are kinda cute and very American (what most of the world thinks of as American). I will miss snow, although we plan to be in MI every Christmas, so I might see some then. Most of the rest I can do without. I'll blog a bit after living there a while to tell you what I discover.

Oh, to any Texans who may read this- please tell me some things about what Texas is really like. I don't mind being pleasantly surprised, but I would love to hear what you think of your own state, too. 

My next post will be about my first impressions of Spokane.