Going Home?!

I. Can't. Believe. It.

It just sort of happened.

One day (after the machine Chase was working in broke for the bazillionth time), the boys mentioned that that part of his work was done. Couple that with the fact that a cold front was coming in which not only meant more wood (don't get him started!) for two families, but that it would rain for what seemed like an eternity.

Our original plan was to start heading home around the first of September. It's a long way back and we wanted to stop in Calgary a few days and visit with The Pitchers and Katie and Mike. Then we'd head back to California for Khol's wedding and then to Utah for Veronica's.
Little Man's ready to go!

After we saw the weather report, we knew we might be in trouble. When the rain comes, it doesn't let up and we'd need to make it out by a certain time to make it to the weddings. So imagine our surprise last Sunday when there was a break in the clouds and sunshine! It only lasted about a day and a half and we knew if we were going to get out, we'd have to do it fast (remember we're living in canvas wall tents. Rain means mold if you don't keep on top of it and if you leave it, say in a trailer for about a week; about the time it'd take us to get home, it'll ruin). We weren't about to let our canvas tents be ruined, so we (Chase and I) began to pack up.

It was bittersweet packing. I wondered what next year would bring. I wondered if we'd be able to pack it all in time. I wondered if, with the lake so low we'd actually be able to barge across.

By Monday evening we had everything except for the wall tents packed up (we took the cook tent to so when Dax and Jillian follow closely behind us, they won't have to pack so much in their truck). That meant no stove, no beds, no food. We figured we'd survive because we were barging.


Wrong! The water was too low so we went into town instead. We had one more "last meal" at our Mama Z's (thanks again Zora! We love you), filled up the gas tank and headed back to the dock to tuck in and sleep in the truck.

It's not as bad as it sounds. The back of the new truck folds down completely, and though it's advertised as "Queen sized", it's more cozy than that. We had blankets, our own temperature control and each other to keep warm. All we needed was a mattress (blow up or other) and we'd be sleeping at the 4 seasons (or at least comparable to a hotel in town).

The next day Chase went in to finish packing up the wall tents, moving the trailer and working on barging us across. It had started to rain again (of course) and I knew we wouldn't have much of a place to hang out back at camp. That meant another day of no naps for the little guy. I just couldn't take that again. I volunteered to hang out in the truck (again, controlling my own temperature, adequate space for the newly-crawling rug rat to move around in, and the clincher; satellite radio). I figured I'd be fine in there for 3 or 4 hours or so.


And I was fine for 3 or 4 hours. But, by hour 5 I had quickly ran out of crackers for the baby and I (luckily I had kept some more baby food jars in there for traveling) and water for myself. By hour 6 I was tired and hungry, but not enough to be upset. By hour 7 I was beginning to lose patience and got very unhappy when the satellite radio lost signal. Then, by hour 8 I was hungry enough to eat the dog and bored enough (I had my computer but no charger and of course with my luck, my battery had ran out early on in the morning) to go crazy. I truly never knew how much patience I had until I lost it.

Finally my knight in shinning honor came and rescued me and he and I, along with Andrew (Swenson) headed into town one more time for truly our "Last Meal" at Mama Z's.

It was hard for her to say goodbye to the baby one time, now we tortured her again by bringing him back the next day. She gave him some really yummy potato soup and us a large cinnamon roll for the trip. What good food and even better service! We'll miss you Zora.
After that, we headed back over to say our goodbyes (harder to do than I thought!) and I thought about all of the things I'll actually miss.

Things I won't miss:
THE DIRT.
Literally one day's amount of dirt to be swept.

The bugs (especially the ones who somehow make it into my food)
The heat
The cold
The quiet
Feeding the fire 5x a night
Paying for showers
Wearing flip flops in the paid for showers (you never know who's been there before!)
Staying light at all the wrong times of the night
The boys spending all day and so many hours cutting wood just to last one night

Things I will miss:

Raspberries

They're all over. The baby and I'd pick them on our way to the lake, by our tent, or when out for walks. So yummy! The strawberries are scrumptious too, but harder to find.

Mama Z's
Moose, bears, eagles
The quiet
The lake
Rides with Dad and The Boy
Spending time with Jillian and Phi
Experimenting with cooking
Our friend Bill
Boat rides on hot, sunny days
Late night boat rides
The scenery
The views
Game night with the Swensons
Church on Sunday
Pot luck with our families, the Swensons, and Bill

and of course,
The Swensons

All in all, it was a good three months.

Three months that felt like three years at times, but it was good for me and good for my family.

The best part is.....

We left a family of three and we'll be returning a family of 3....and 1/2.
Surprise!

Can't wait to get back in touch with everyone. Keep in mind while I was busy living my life in the bush, my cell phone contract ended so if you try to call, you may want to call my husband's cell or email first. That'll be the easiest way.

Thank you to all of my wonderful friends and family, whether back home or new ones in the Yukon, you made these last three months bearable and at times even fun. Your emails and comments and love has got me through many dark and cold days.

Love you all!
J'me