There once were two sisters who lived in a big city of 2.5 million people near a range of beautiful mountain peaks. And although they loved the cozy little bungalow they lived in, they were actually country girls at heart and preferred wide open spaces and thick green forests to almost anything.

They often made escapes to the quiet and serene areas not far from their city, making stops in tiny, quaint mountain towns along the way which could quite possibly be one of their favorite things to do. They loved meeting mountain folks who played instruments like the dulcimer and banjo and made treats like German apple blintzes and peach pies. It reminded them of a time not long ago (although they sometimes think it might of been just a wonderful dream) when they explored the small remote mountain towns of a country by the Sea and met all sorts of interesting people there.

They took a walk (a rather lengthy one) into the backcountry and decided to spend the night there. Many elk and moose kept them company along the way and the elder sister in particular overcame her incredible fear of grizzly bears (but only after they had exited the great forest the following day). The younger sister tried to remind her of all she learned in the Alaskan wilderness about these creatures but the elder sister was not convinced. She would simply prefer to never have to come in contact with one than try to use her bear fight skills. She knew that, despite these skills, she would be destined to lose.

Speaking of the following day, this is the beautiful view of their "front yard" that they woke up to. All they could hear was the wind in the trees and the rippling brook, not another human at all for miles and miles. It was perfectly peaceful and they were very happy. They wondered aloud if perhaps they were born 150 years too late, they should have been pioneer women! But being two of those who believe in the absolute sovereignty of the God who created all this beautiful-ness, they decided that they were, in fact, born at the precise time He intended and were happy with that as well.

(And how many of you get to have snow in June??? We're pretty lucky.)