It’s been a very busy two weeks. The Palymra temple went into it’s two week maintenance which is scheduled twice a year. We had asked for permission to go to Calgary for our son’s wedding as well as to go to Vermont to see Joseph Smith’s birthplace. As well, two weeks ago, I was asked to do a 30 day gratitude journal where I write three things each day and no days are to be repeated.

We headed out on Tuesday the 16th to go along the Great Lakes Seaway Trail towards the Thousand Islands. The plan was to only be gone for two days on this trip because of getting ourselves ready to go to Alberta. The road we took was the I-90 towards Syracuse and then took the I-81 north to Watertown. I vividly remember seeing Canada across the water and getting excited. We were so perplexed over a very high arching bridge that we missed the exit to highway 12. If we had gone farther across the bridge too Wellesly Island, we were going to end up in Canada. Although, without passports, we wouldn’t have gone very far. Thus, it was a backup to the exit and then we went to the Welcome Center for a bathroom break and information. The guide there told us that she usually drives straight east into the Adirondacks. By going north is was going to be a longer journey. We wanted to see everything so, we headed north. It was beautiful to see the St. Lawrence river and we actually saw a tanker ship along the way.

I had a Zoom meeting at 2:30 pm so we were looking for a place to pull over that would have a cell signal. Massena seemed to be the place for everything to work out. We pulled into a park along a little river and ate lunch. The town boasted the Massena Springs, a pair of sulfur springs, one hot and the other cold, reputed to possess healing powers known to the Native Americans before European settlement. In 1820, an Army veteran, Captain John Polley, hoping to capitalize on the properties, opened a hotel and began to advertise them. By 1858, three hotels, numerous rental cottages, a bathing house, and a plant that bottled and sold the spring water, had been built. By about 1900, the Springs’ status as a popular resort had faded. We could still smell an odor of sulphur where we were. My meeting only took 45 minutes and then we were on our way.

From Massena, we headed south going via Brasher Falls. As we headed to Fort Jackson, a very curious event occured. We were supposed to cross the St. Regis river but the bridge was being reconstructed and of course was impassable. Erik stops the vehicle and says, “This has Panama vibes!” Back story: We were in a van with friends after doing a week long cruise. Our group wanted to find a beach on the east coast of Panama. It turns out that the waters and beaches were filthy and strewn with so much garbage (definitely not swimmable). Then we came upon a bridge which had collapsed in the middle into the little river below. Erik and I got out of the van and made a determination that we could quite possibly drive the van across the broken bridge without getting hung up. All the buses could not cross because of their length. Keith was driving and we encouraged him to give it a go. The women in the back of the van were yelling and saying NO!! Keith proceeded with all the bally-hooing going on and we did make it!

We got out at Fort Jackson to take photos of the bridge and right beside the river was an old cemetery (the cemeteries in New York are all old). I was drawn to a gravesite with one large headstone and then smaller ones on either side depicting the adults and children.

I looked at the main headstone and was drawn to Sarah who was Orman’s second wife. I said to her, “Hey, Sarah, you and I are nearly birthday twins!” Her birthday is two days before mine. Her birth year was 1829 which was my phone number for 25 years. I wondered why I was drawn to her and decided to look up her information on Family Search. All of her ordinances were done in the 1950’s in the Salt Lake temple! I will check on her children as well to see what has happened with them. A very curious experience to be had that day because as I say, “We’re in the middle of Podunk-Nowhere and I come across this!”

Onward we went after the detour and ended up on highway 30 heading south again. We had entered the Adirondack mountains. I have always loved geology, and of course, I had to see what made up these mountains. In October, the vistas are going to be stunning with the fall colors. The Adirondacks are a massif of mountains in northeastern New York, which form a circular dome approximately 260 kms wide.

The word Adirondack is thought to come from the Mohawk word atirǫ́·taks meaning “eaters of trees”. Another early use of the name, spelled Rontaks, was in 1729 by French missionary Joesph-Francois Lafitou. He explained that the word was used by the Iroquois as a derogatory term for groups of Algonquians who did not practice agriculture and therefore sometimes had to eat tree bark to survive harsh winters.The Mohawks had no written language, so Europeans used various phonetic spellings of the word, including Achkokx, Rondaxe, and Adirondax. The Adirondacks were thought to be uplifted by a hot spot in the Canadian Shield. As we cruised along and I saw the rocks, I kept saying, “Hello Canada!”

We stayed in Lake Placid for the night. This was the location of the Winter Olympics in 1932 and 1980. It reminded us of downtown Banff, very bougie and lots of interesting people walking the sidewalks. Our room had a lovely view of the lake and a bed so comfortable that I wanted to stay and get more rest. I slept incredibly well that night.

We arose and headed to catch the Essex Ferry to Vermont. We arrived too early because they only run once an hour during off season, so we went to Willsboro to find a restroom. This is another lovely picturesque village. Again lots of bougie homes because this is where Lake Champlain is. This lake is shared with New York, Vermont and Quebec. It is the thirteenth largest lake (by area) in the USA. Whilst waiting in line for the ferry to arrive, Erik was asked (because we wear missionary nametags) about the ferry and how safe it was. He wanted to say, “Don’t park in the front or the back because those are the ones that go off the ferry in the lake!” Alas, he only shared those words with me.

Lake Champlain

Driving north to Burlington, we then took highway 89 to get to Sharon, Vermont. We drove past the capital city, Montpelier, which is the smallest capital city in the USA. It has a population of less than 8,000 people. The landscape changed to a more rolling hills scenario dotted with farms.

As we found our way to the Solomon and Lydia Mack homesite, again I was struck as to the small rural area that it was in. Very, very beautiful woods are to be found and it was such a joy to wander and see the foundations of the buildings. The memorial was erected for the 100th anniversary of Joseph’s birth, December 23, 1905. The granite stone was made 38-1/2 feet tall for the years of Joseph’s life. The granite shaft weighed 99 tons and a miracle had to happen to get it erected on time. We saw the hearthstone from the home as well as the front step stone. We were invited to drive through the woods to the Solomon Mack home foundation. It was so beautiful! Later we ate our lunch at a picnic shelter on the land.

It was to be a very long drive back to Palmyra that day. We stopped at a rest stop for a bit and were able to see a boat going through the lock there. Again, people were piloting the boat for the owners. It was quite a large vessel and would be quite comfortable to do the Great American Loop in.

By the time we got home we were pooched and ready for bed. The next morning, Erik feels prompted to go to the temple to see if anyone needs his help with anything. I stayed home to hem my dress for the wedding. Erik, indeed found a project that would take him a couple of days to complete. He met some interesting people who get assigned to travel to temples for maintenance. One couple does all the painting touch-ups for wood. Another fellow does the reupholstery and comes with a portable industrial sewing machine.

On Saturday, the 20th, The Purple Painted Lady Festival was starting so we made our way to it. It is a massive undertaking with nearly 400 vendors and 25 food trucks and 5 bands, held over two days. Around 14,000 people come to this festival which is held on her farm. My dear husband patiently attended with me and let me see the sights. I purchased an embroidered tea towel for Lyndon that talks about Rochester’s “Garbage Plate”. We also found a gentleman who builds pipe organs but does some wooden laser cut maps of the Finger Lakes. I purchased one that shows all the lakes. It definitely was quite the experience to see it all and the impressive organization of this event. Trish also has a store front called The Purple Painted Lady full of eclectic items to peruse.

On Sunday, September 21, we had an incredibly special experience in the Sacred Grove with Elder Bednar and three Seventy’s (Elder MacKay, Elder Martinez and Elder Bednar Jr.) who joined him. We were able to spend an hour at the Gathering Place in the Grove to hear Elder Bednar speak. He told us (Senior missionaries) how grateful the Brethren were for us leaving our homes to go and serve. He understood the sacrifice it is to leave children and grandchildren behind to go around the world to serve others. Then we go home, love on our grandchildren and children and go out on another mission. Elder Bednar wanted to look into the eyes of each of us who were there. September 21 is significant because it is the anniversary of angel Moroni coming to visit Joseph Smith. Then Elder Bednar left to rededicate the Hill Cumorah Visitor Center which had been updated and rejuvenated. We had to get on the road to Hamilton, Ontario to catch our flight to Calgary, so we listened to the broadcast on our phone while we were driving.

We spent the night in Niagra Falls (Canadian side) with a view of the falls. There are fireworks at 10 pm that are short but gorgeous. As well, lights are projected onto both American and Canadian falls. In the morning, we headed to the Hamilton airport for our flight. Porter Airlines was something I wanted to experience and our flight was a tad hellish. A family of five was seated directly behind us and the oldest child was constantly hitting the back of my seat as well as all the screaming, it was misery. Four and a half hours… I was done! The tender mercy at the end of the flight was the family in front of us stood and I asked them if they were from Calgary. They said that they were from Hamilton but had recently moved to Airdrie. They returned the question and I explained that we were serving a mission for our church at the temple in Palmyra. The mom had noticed our nametags and told us that they had been sealed in the Toronto temple and later left the church for twenty years. They decided to come back to church and were very happy to be in Airdrie with friends at church. The youngest daughter is going to be 12 next year and is excited to be attending Young Women’s and going to the temple.

We picked up our rental car and drove to Lethbridge to see Lyndon, Jasmin, Henry and new baby, Penny. On Tuesday morning, Erik and Henry harvested the grapes, washed them, bagged them and into the freezer they went. I have to say that I absolutely love having conversations with a nearly three year old. Henry later took us on a walk around the neighborhood with his wagon. When Lyndon came home from work, the three of us drove to Calgary to the AirBnB.

It was a blast to be with our children in Calgary. Leah figured that it had been six years since we had all been together.

Wednesday was river rafting out of Canmore. Eleven of us were on one raft and it was uber cold! I think it was only 9 C to start. We saw Elk in the river watching us as well as a Bald Eagle fighting with crows over a carcass. Our river guide Dino gave us interesting facts about the Canmore area and history. This time of year, the river is quite low, so there was not a chance of going overboard.

Our group was bused back to Canmore and we headed to lunch at the Flatbread Company. With all of us crunched in tight it was going to be hard not to get glutenized (didn’t work out so well in the end). Afterwards, we went to Lovely (which is completely gluten free) for ice cream. Then it was off to a little hike through town to get some steps in. Canmore has cell towers made up to look like trees and I found a sprig of what looked like a fake Christmas tree and realized that it probably came from the cell tower. A train came through town as we were crossing the tracks and Mason (13) pumped his fist for the whistle to blow and the engineer came through, much to Mason’s delight.

Erik and I and the grandsons drove back to Calgary along the 1A and saw some beautiful sights. The horses on the side of the road were so pretty. We also saw a herd of Big Horned sheep on the side of a mountain along our journey.

Thursday was a rehearsal dinner at Kaitlin and Brian’s new home in Altadore. Braeden smoked a brisket and some of Katina’s family came to. We finally got to meet her brother and sister-in-law as well as their son. Her dad’s youngest brother and his wife came. Katina asked her uncle to walk her down the aisle as her dad had passed away. He was so honored to do so because his children are all boys. We went to the park with Finn and Ainsley. Mason and Carter were worn out by playing with the little cousins. That night, Mason said to me, “Oh, I’m already sore!”

Friday….Wedding Day!! Erik and I made a fatal error by leaving too late for the wedding which was being held at the zoo. We realized that Deerfoot Trail was absolutely the wrong road to take to get there because of construction. We were sick to our stomachs and couldn’t believe the pickle we were in. Everything went well and the flower girls did so well. Leah was the matron of honor and Kaitlin was Braeden’s Best Woman. Katina looked stunning in her dress with her flowers. Dinner was at Grazers in the zoo and between the ceremony and the dinner, guests were able to visit zoo exhibits. Katina had the entire meal made gluten free and then after a short program, we danced and I was able to meet guests from Katina’s side of the family. We delivered Kaitlin back to her house as Brian had left earlier with the kids. I saw one of the flower girls (2 yrs old) with a steak knife under the table trying to stab people and cutting at the chair while my grandson, Charlie had a table knife to his dad’s jugular; so crazy!! Back to the AirBnB by midnight.

Unfortunately, we were all thrown out of bed at 7 am because the guests in the basement were burning food and the smoke alarms throughout the house were going off. What a rude awakening! We all wanted to do something so Erik found out the the Fish Hatchery was open and off we all went. Braeden and Katina joined us and we were able to see other wedding parties getting photos done in the park beside the Hatchery. Another beautiful fall day, considering that you never know what the weather could be in September in Calgary.

Renate left Saturday morning for her flight back to Victoria. Leah left Saturday night for her flight back to Victoria. Lyndon and Jasmin left for Lethbridge right after the wedding dinner. Our flight was an hour before Meaghan and Dallin’s flight on Sunday. We were trying to figure out all the food that needed to be eaten before leaving. Dallin’s friend, Russell joined us at the hatchery and for dinner at the AirBnB.

We checked out and headed for the airport. We missed the entrance for the car rental for our company and went in another way. We were going the wrong way and one gentleman took pity on us and lifted a pylon so that we could sneak through. I had my window rolled down to ask him how to get to the Thrifty car return. As he lifted the pylon, he said, “I’m only doing this because of this beautiful woman.” Well, I thanked him and we made it to the return.

Everything went smoothly on the return flight, including being able to hook up to Porter’s wifi on the flight. We chose emergency exit seats and the relief was immense. I didn’t feel claustrophobic and anxious because we had a little extra room. Porter uses the Embraer 195-E2 planes as well as Dash 8-400. The seating was 2 by 2 which I like because I sit by my husband.

We had wanted to zoom in on our Branch Conference in Rochester but they couldn’t get the wifi connection strong enough. We are looking forward to General Conference this coming weekend. Two weeks of adventures is a lot to write about and takes quite some time. Hopefully, I don’t have to do this again before the end of our mission.

This past week was all about family and carrying on our connections. We made hay while the sun was shining!

I know this to be true. There can be a lot of experiences with families that can either build or destroy relationships but it takes everyone pulling their part of the rope to get the family farther along the path with unity. I love my family, both near and far and look forward to the eternities with them.

Stick together and be like plywood; strong together meanwhile one ply is weak and breaks more easily. When you have the strength of family, you can overcome and be buoyed up with love and counsel that helps you.

Have a fantastic week! Stay strong and don’t let the outside world drag you around like a merry-go-round out of control. Your strengths are greater than you know. Lots of love to you all!