CLARE - Red Lodge, Montana



Juliann, Shiloh, Ryder, Clare, Tate, and Choice



This trip has been a huge reconnection with nature and a renewal of appreciation for the beauty to be seen all around us.  Today we had a wonderful day outdoors.



Tate, Ryder, Shiloh, and Choice



The kids each made personalized thank you cards for the sweet lady we were meeting today.  They used the artwork they made with Tate's birthday art kit.



Ryder

Ryder

Shiloh

Shiloh

Tate

Tate



Choice



Choice


We had the pleasure of meeting Clare at the business where she volunteers.  This was such a perfect place for the kiddos...Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary.













Prior to meeting Clare, I received correspondence from her, providing a little background information on the donation her family made to the Yarnell 19.  In her own words...






"I first heard of the Yarnell tragedy from my brother, who lives in Cave Creek and my daughter, who lives in Camp Verde.  I lived in Arizona from 1957 to 1989 and at one time lived in Camp Verde, so I am very familiar with this area and the area around the Bradshaw mountains.  When my children were young we would drive up from Scottsdale to visit my mother-in-law in Mayer and there was always a trip to the bakery in Prescott.  At one time my late husband and I were considering to spend our retirement in Prescott, but on a visit to Cody to visit family, we discovered Red Lodge and moved here in 1989.  The Verde valley has always been close to my heart and when my daughter told me of the fire, I immediately checked online to get whatever news I could.  My daughter, Claudia, and her husband, Kevin, raise sweet corn in Camp Verde.  They have a corn stand on their property on Montezuma Castle road and for one whole Saturday all of the money earned from corn sales went to your families."






I was so touched by this amazing story of service.  It made me even more eager than I already was to meet Clare.  I wish I could have met Claudia and Kevin too, but our visit with Clare was delightful!






Tate, Juliann, Clare, and Ryder

She welcomed us to the Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary.  Without skipping a beat, she embraced us and began showing us around the establishment. 


Choice, Tate, Juliann, Shiloh, Ryder, and Clare

Ryder, Shiloh, and Choice

Juliann, Clare, Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, and Choice

Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary is home to wild animals out of the Yellowstone National Park who are injured or otherwise unable to live in the wild.  Ryder referred to it as an orphanage for animals.  Unfortunately, the animals that are brought to YWS never leave.  They spend the remainder of their lives as part of the sanctuary.  However, it is such a caring and well thought out facility.  The animals are living a glorious life here.








Clare, Ryder, Shiloh, and Juliann

Clare introduced us to each of the animals that live there.  The kids were fascinated to see such extraordinary and wild animals up close.








Ryder, Clare, Shiloh, Tate, and Choice

Tate, Ryder, Clare, Shiloh, and Choice

Clare is a remarkably strong and independent woman.  I was so inspired by her courage and zeal for life.  She has been a widow for 15 years and still truly LIVES.  She volunteers at the sanctuary nearly every day, is a mother to 3 of her own children and 5 stepchildren and is a very proud grandmother.  I watched the joy radiate from her as she discussed her eager anticipation for all of her children to be gathering in the near future for a wedding.  She shared that this is the first time in 15 years that this has happened.  Her joy exemplified an individual who understands priorities and where family-ties should be on that list.








Juliann and Clare

Choice, Shiloh, Clare, and Juliann

Choice, Clare, Shiloh, Tate, Ryder, and Juliann

I enjoyed observing her gentle and grandmother-like manner with my kids. They loved listening to her explanations of the different animals and the stories of what brought them into the sanctuary.







Tate, Clare, Shiloh, Ryder, Juliann, and Choice

Choice, Juliann, Shiloh, and Clare

Ryder, Shiloh, and Clare

Juliann, Choice, Tate, Clare, Ryder, and Shiloh

Choice, Tate, Clare and Juliann

Shiloh, Clare, and Ryder



Ryder

Tate

Juliann, Choice, Clare, Shiloh, Ryder, and Tate

Choice, Ryder, Shiloh, Choice, and Clare

Juliann

Juliann, Clare, Ryder, Tate, and Choice

Clare, Shiloh, Ryder, and Juliann

Clare, Shiloh, Ryder, and Juliann

Tate and Choice

Tate, Ryder, Shiloh, Juliann, Choice, and Clare

My personal favorite was Speedy, the buffalo.  He was actually domesticated as a baby buffalo.  His inability to nurse from his mama prompted a husband and wife to take him into their home and feed him  They even used to take him along with them for rides in the car.  He was a regular old member of their family.  That is, until he grew up.  There was no way that this couple could maintain domestication of a full-sized buffalo...and that was the end of their road trips. 


Speedy was brought here to live the remainder of his days at the Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary.  Due to his domestic upbringing, he is very comfortable around people and stayed right next to the gate while we visited.








Ryder, Clare, Juliann, Choice, and Tate

Ryder, Clare, Juliann, Shiloh, Choice, and Tate

Ryder, Clare, Shiloh, and Juliann

Choice, Tate, and Juliann

"Speedy" the buffalo

Juliann, Tate, Ryder, Choice, Shiloh, and Clare

Choice, Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, and Clare

Ryder, Choice, Tate, Shiloh, and Clare

Choice, Ryder, Shiloh, Clare, and Tate

Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, and Choice

Choice

Juliann and Clare

Choice and Juliann

Juliann

Ryder, Tate, Juliann, Shiloh, Choice, and Clare

After getting to know all of the animals at the sanctuary, we sat on a log to take a moment to more deeply know Clare.  She shared personal and lovely things about her family and her background.  Then she elaborated on the story of the corn stand and the donation that was made to the families of the Yarnell 19.






Clare, Juliann, Tate, Ryder, and Shiloh

I could feel my heart swelling within my chest as I thought of this incredible family, sitting at their corn stand in Camp Verde, and giving all their time, energy, and hard work, their very livelihood, to help us.  What heroic and extraordinary people.




Clare informed us that the corn stand is open until labor day.  That doesn't leave much time, but I encourage anyone who is in the area to stop by the sweet corn stand in Camp Verde.  They are a very deserving family with exceptional corn.  I wish I was there to stop by myself, but perhaps we can help them end their season with a bang and show our appreciation for their kindness.




http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDIQFjADahUKEwjnz_2Zp9HHAhVHCJIKHQIeA8E&url=http%3A%2F%2Fverdenews.com%2Fmain.asp%3FArticleID%3D37096%26SectionID%3D1%26SubSectionID%3D1&ei=9znjVaf4GMeQyASCvIyIDA&usg=AFQjCNGkgwExHdPKTNytYscyIMo25nyuCA&sig2=gm0hPIpPQu_u6lto7vNRaw






http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CC0QFjACahUKEwjnz_2Zp9HHAhVHCJIKHQIeA8E&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsedonaverdevalley.natgeotourism.com%2Fcontent%2Fhauser-amp-hauser-farms%2Fsvv5e7f722c0da56971b&ei=9znjVaf4GMeQyASCvIyIDA&usg=AFQjCNGfH7BO7DbgOt_lHB4sJlF7VjpJPA&sig2=MVuQc7tfDMaRAjTlsVTC_g







Juliann, Tate, Ryder, Shiloh, Clare

Clare explained their corn is so good, on her last visit to AZ she ended up shipping all of her packed belongings home and filling her suitcase to the brim with sweet corn. :-)







Choice, Shiloh, Ryder, Tate, Juliann, and Clare

Choice, Shiloh, Ryder, Tate, Juliann, and Clare

Choice

Clare, Shiloh, Ryder, Tate, Choice, and Juliann







Ryder and Shiloh

Kids from all over North Dakota enjoy visiting YWS.  See some of the testimonials below...

We so appreciate Clare taking time to show us around today.  It will be a treasured memory for us all.



Shiloh, Ryder, Clare, Tate, and Choice

Shiloh, Ryder, Clare, Tate, and Choice



Juliann, Shiloh, Ryder, Clare, Tate, and Choice

The kiddos shared one last group hug with Clare before she had to get back to the sanctuary and lock up for the night.  She was such a good sport and a loveable woman.  Bless you Clare!






Shiloh, Tate, Ryder, Choice, and Clare

Shiloh, Tate, Ryder, Choice, and Clare

Magic Bus in Red Lodge, SD

While we were visiting with Clare, Jayce and Rusty were exploring the surrounding area.  He came upon a beautiful creek and took us back there to splash around a bit.



Ryder, Shiloh, and Tate





Ryder, Tate, and Shiloh



Ryder




Jayce and Jason



Shiloh and Jason



Tate, Ryder, Choice, and Shiloh



Ryder and Shiloh

Shiloh, Tate, Juliann, Jason, Rusty, and Ryder

Shiloh, Choice, Tate, Ryder, Juliann, and Jason

It was so gorgeous down there.  With it being a really hot day in Red Lodge, and the water so crisp and cold, it made an extremely refreshing combination.






Shiloh and Tate



Jayce



Rusty



Shiloh, Choice, Juliann, Tate, Jason, and Ryder



Rusty and Choice

Jason and Shiloh

Choice, Jason, Rusty, Ryder, Shiloh, and Tate

I suppose the risk factor wasn't high enough for all of us so we went to the waterfall right down the way. Jayce, Ryder, and Jason completely immersed themselves in the freezing cold water.






Jayce and Ryder

Ryder and Jayce

Jayce and Ryder

Jayce, Ryder, and Rusty

Jayce, Ryder, and Rusty

Jayce, Ryder, and Rusty

Jayce and Jason

Jason and Jayce 

We hiked back towards the bus just as the sun was setting over the large field. Another picturesque moment.






Tate

Choice

Jason, Shiloh, and Juliann



Jason and Juliann

Rusty and Jason



Ryder

Jason, Ryder, Tate, Choice, and Juliann

Jason, Ryder, Tate, Choice, and Juliann













Shiloh



Choice



Rusty



Rusty

Jayce, Ryder, and Shiloh







Juliann, Rusty, Tate, Choice, Shiloh, Ryder, and the Magic Bus



Juliann, Rusty, Choice, Tate, Shiloh, Ryder, and the Magic Bus



Tate, Choice, Ryder, Shiloh, Rusty, and the Magic Bus

Playing outside in the sun all day wiped me out.  The kids are all wiped out as well.  Hopefully we can get some peace and quiet on the bus as a result of it.






Juliann




Jason, Choice, and Shiloh



I am so thankful for the healing that is taking place along this journey.  The kids and I have grown leaps and bounds.  I hope Andrew is pleased with us and the efforts we are making to keep his legacy and memories alive.  Thank you for all the encouragement and support, as well as the prayers.