Two Sides of Maine

This is a report on our trip to Caribou, Maine. 

We left for the airport Tuesday morning (22nd) and made it home Saturday afternoon (26th).  We flew from coast to coast actually flying out over both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. (We had a connecting flight in LA on the flight over. (I know . . .but I don't make the flight plans.) It was a distance of over 6,000 miles by air and another 800 by car round-trip. . . roughly.

​Dennis and I were lucky enough to be able to share the whole row of 3 seats on the flight from LA to Boston so it wasn't too uncomfortable. We flew into Boston's Logan airport just before 11pm Tuesday night, (local time).

sunset at 3600 ft

We picked up our rental car (probably the smallest one they had) and drove to our hotel for the night, just outside of Boston. 

Wednesday we drove 406 miles in a little over 7 hours including rest stops and several toll roads. Gotta love those toll roads. Even though we drove up the "coast side" we didn't see much of the coast. We did catch the occasional glimpse between the thick trees but that was about it.

Pretty much what the whole drive looked like until we hit Highway 1

Yeah, it was a lot of time sitting on our backsides. There wasn't much fall color yet but we did catch a few bright colored patches here and there.  I bet next week is beautiful!! 

In Caribou we stayed both nights at a cute little B&B called the Old Iron Inn (not my pic).The owner collects old antique irons and he must have a couple hundred of them in the house. We stayed in the rose room on the north east corner upstairs.  It was nice and cool at night. The weather was so nice while we were there! It was really beautiful! 

not my pic

not my pic

sunrise from our room

Thursday morning Dennis had an interview with the Caribou city manager and a group of department heads.  I met up with him around 9:30am and Austin (the city manager) took us both around for a tour of the city facilities, Police and Fire departments, Library, Recreation and Public Works. We had lunch at a cute little Italian place with a few of the department heads Dennis met that morning. After finishing our tour we met back at the city offices for a little meet and greet with the city council, mayor, planning commission and other employees. It made for a very long day under the microscope but we did get to enjoy a nice evening driving around the area on our own.  

Madawaska Lake, ME

This. . . is the life for me!!

We learned that its not uncommon for people to own a house in town as well as a house at the lake.

rest area along highway

mist from off the lakes

Long Lake

Potato harvest in full on right now so we saw lots of little potato shacks selling "new potatoes'. Just grab a bag and leave your money in a coffee can. Lots of big red barns and farm equipment.

It is beautiful county no doubt. We drove out to a couple lakes past New Sweden, (There are about 7 of them.) and not far away from Caribou. It was so pretty!! I was a little disappointed that we didn't see any moose, even on "moose alley" a dangerous crossing road this time of year it being the rut, but we did see a black bear that ran across the road. . .way out in front of us. Lots of geese, crows, ducks and large grey squirrels. This time of year there are skunks and raccoons visiting their yards from what we heard.  Incidentally there are no caribou in Caribou. . . or anywhere else in Maine for that matter. The woodland caribou is extinct in Maine possibly due to over hunting and disease. Reintroduction attempts have been unsuccessful within the state.

One last connection to northern Maine is the popular children's book Blueberries for Sal. A very sweet picture book that we have read many times.  Yes there are blueberries patches in Caribou.

And now the other Maine. . .

One of the things that I learned is that there are two Maine's.  The one up in the north with the open area and forest, potato fields and moose with the "if you don't know where something is you don't deserve to be there" local mentality. And then there is the "Other Maine".This is the one everyone usually thinks about when they think of Maine with its beaches, lobster and lighthouses, that caters to tourism.  Dennis had never been to the Atlantic Ocean before so we found a beach in lower Maine for him to dip his toes into. That first step sure is chilly!!

We enjoyed watching the tide come in over some beautiful rocks at a lighthouse outlook in Cape Elizabeth. While we were driving we saw some wild turkeys next to the road in town that were about to make their way into someone's corn garden. We ate salmon and clam chowder for dinner before leaving the good old state of Maine behind us.  

That last night we stayed a total of 5 hours at a hotel 17 miles from Boston's airport. We had to be up around 3am in order to return our car and make our 6am flight. After a short layover in Phoenix we made it back to SLC a little after noon on Saturday and were finally home by 2pm. This was a mentally, physically and emotionally exhausting trip . .  for both of us. It was good to finally be home and to see the kids again! 

I love Watercolors

In school the girls and I did a little art project. We made background papers for our art journals.  We used water colors and rock salt to create a very cool effect. This is the kind of thing that the girls call the fun part about home school. (I think the hike earlier counts also.)

A Little Bit of Hope

The Danish artist Carl Bloch (1834-1890) did an oil on copper plate piece titled the Entombment of Christ that really caught my attention this week. This piece was one of 23 paintings that he was commissioned to do for the king's prayer chamber in Frederiksborg Castle Chapel in Denmark. Even if you don't recognize his name you are probably familiar with many of his pieces. Dennis and I went to the BYU museum of art when a large part of the Frederiksborg Chapel collection was there. It was so beautiful and amazing and uplifting and inspiring!!  The BYU museum owns a couple originals including a lost piece recently discovered and sold to BYU this past June titled the"Mocking of Christ".  The museum also owns several of his etchings. (Sorry a little off course there.) Today some have recognized Bloch as perhaps the greatest artist ever to depict the life and death of Christ.

From 1 Corinthians 15 the poetry of Paul's testimony of the Savior's victory over death seems like a fitting caption for this piece.

 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?  56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.  57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

The hope in this image comes from inclusion of the flowers. All the sorrow and mourning at his death is wiped away with hope in and through the resurrection. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive".(1 Cor 15:22)  How many times have I seen this image and never noticed the flowers. . . the hope!! How grateful I am for the resurrection, for the hope that it brings and for the life of Jesus Christ that enables me to be better than I am on my own.  

Afternoon Hike

 Tuesday Dennis came home for lunch and took us on a little drive up the canyon to look at the fall leaves.  We stopped and got some sandwiches for a little picnic.  The drive was beautiful.  I had Dennis stopping often so I could take pictures.  We got a little up the canyon and decided, why not get out and walk up this trail a little bit.  Khora went on it with her Activity Days group a couple months ago and Isaac had been up there fishing in a little beaver pond.  It was beautiful.  It's my new favorite place in Santaquin. We made it up to a little slot cave that Khora wanted to visit again, but then we heard the thunder. 

Then we heard the thunder. . . 

We got caught in a little down pour before we made it back to the car.  It was so much fun!!  We came home and had hot cocoa and peach crisp.  It was too bad the boys weren't able to come up with us.  It will have to be a do over for sure. I think I found my new favorite Santaquin spot.

Weighing of the Heart

This week, a couple different times I have heard or read about hard hearts.When I took my Egyptian history class this summer we talked a little about the judgement ceremony from the book of the dead called the "weighing of the heart". After death an individual's heart was weighed on a giant scale against a feather of Maat, goddess of truth, order and justice. If the heart balanced against the feather then the deceased would be granted a place in the Fields of Hetep and Iaru. If it was heavy with the weight of wrongdoings, the balance would sink and the heart would be grabbed and devoured by a terrifying beast that sat ready and waiting by the scales. Its interesting wording that is used in Leviticus when God sends plagues to Egypt and it says that Pharaohs heart was hardened. If the deceased was found to have done wrong and the heart weighed down the scales, he or she was not to enter a place of torment like hell, but to cease to exist at all. 

I found a video of a discussion group with Elder Bednar and a group of Young Adults that taught me more about knowledge, understanding and intelligence. He taught that knowledge in the scriptures almost always deals with the mind.  Understanding comes through the heart. He said that today we tend to think of intelligence being associated with IQ. In the gospel we are taught that we gain intelligence when we act on what we know and feel to be true. It is what we become, who we are as God intended. In the General Women's conference in October 2012 Sister Burton quoted Jeremiah "After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. …"   The ancient Egyptians considered the heart to be the center of thought, memory and emotion. It was the heart that was associated with intellect and personality and was considered the most important organ in the body. It was sacred enough that it was never removed as were other organs. The way back to our Heavenly Father is through our hearts.