My mind trails back to May of 2014. We had packed up a trailer leaving all our furniture and accumulations of “stuff” in our Alberta rural retreat, then we loaded our four dogs into the van and headed south. With hardly a glance, we left behind banks of stubborn snow which refused to melt even though the calendar pages had drifted to May. We were headed to new phase in our lives in Phoenix Arizona. I was long past ready to shed the bitter cold and deep snows of the winter that had just past. I longed for the warmth of a bright sun. When we arrived two and a half days later I was already complaining about the heat of the 27° C (80° F). My naivety hit, like running into a brick wall, in July when the thermometer soared to 46 ° C (115° F). The 2,700 miles were traveled as easy as any road trip with four dogs can. The adjustment to the landscapes and temperatures of southern Arizona were a different journey all together.
Now here we are and it is January 2018. We have embarked on another adventure this time in Ogden Utah. Why you ask? I guess because we can and to be honest I miss having seasons. I miss the promise in the first warm days of spring. I miss the joy at seeing the splash of bright colors tulips bring to a bleak landscape, the joy of shedding shoes and socks for flip-flops for a few months, the comfort of being wrapped in a heavy sweater when frost nips at your nose and the diamonds of sunlight that dance across a snow covered field. The Salt Lake City area offered us these experiences with a promise that the the winters wouldn’t be as harsh and battering as those in Alberta. This transition was a shorter drive, made quicker by the fact that over the last three years we have lost three of our dogs. They are still with me. Their memories are packed up tight in my mind and travel with me where ever I go.
And so we bid adieu to Arizona, and headed north with a small moving van loaded with “stuff” accumulated over 3 1/2 years and our van carrying the precious cargo of our one remaining dog, Moe. We arrived a 1 1/2 days later tired from the exertions of packing up a house and the long drive to be greeted with what should’ve been a welcomed sight – our new home. Instead were were met with a driveway full of snow. And here we were Canadians and not a single snow shovel in sight.
Our dilemma was solved by a quick trip to a local Walmart and an hour of back breaking work to the refrain of “be careful what you ask for” taunting me.
We have settled into our new home. I’ve adjusted to the lower temperatures even driving with my windows cracked open when on a bright sunny day the day time high hit 11° C (52° F).
There is one more thing that attracted us to the Ogden UT area – the mountains. After living in Reno NV surrounded by the Sierra Nevada Mountains, I have missed those views. Now we have great mountains views from our new home. Here’s to happy new year and new adventures!