Our Great Reward

December 31, 1986 - September 16, 2007

We woke up pretty slow yesterday with so many thoughts running through our minds. Three years ago our lives were forever changed when Our Father called His child to be home with Him. Gina and I miss Rollie Joseph so much that we were at a loss of words and apologize to our family and followers for not posting yesterday. We celebrate that Our Father rewarded our marriage with four wonderful children. We also believe that our children are only on loan to us. We do rejoice that Our Father has given us the assurance that we will be reunited again one day and OH, what a GLORIOUS reunion it will be.

Our Rewards

As parents, even though it has been three years, it feels like it was just yesterday that all of our lives were forevermore changed. We were so touched and humbled by all of your emails, thoughts and prayers. It really touched our hearts on how Rollie Joseph was remembered. We could feel your hugs and prayers. Each one bought smiles to us on how Rollie Joseph touched your lives. Gina and I truly thank everyone for your thoughts and prayers as they were definitely felt.

As we sat outside enjoying our coffee we were graced with a flyover of a Golden Eagle. We both felt the presence of Our Father and Rollie Joseph looking down on us. Not only did this eagle grace us with his presence he spoke to us. This was a first for us to hear an eagle.

We finally made it up to Mike & Janna’s cabin around eleven o’clock. I helped Mike install a blue flame heater and flat screen TV in their motorhome. Gina on the other hand was inside helping Janna with her chokecherry preserves and syrup. Around three o’clock we drove into Big Timber so Mike could pick up some items we needed to finish up these two projects and Janna needed to mail a quilt. We then drove out to Lonn & LoriLee’s home, which is Mike’s son. Before long Gina and I loaded up into Mike’s truck and headed up the mountainside (which was around 8,000 feet). Lonn was taking us up to see some Elk. The real treat was hearing them bugle. It was so amazing to hear them bugling as it brought back memories of hearing Rollie Joseph playing the trumpet and French horn.

Once we arrived back at Lonn & LoriLee’s house, she and Janna had grilled hamburgers along with broiled potatoes and sweet corn. Dinner was great and before long we drove home. We enjoyed a very nice day with our dear friends Mike & Janna. We thank you both for allowing us to share our joys and memories of Rollie Joseph. Both of you made the day extra special to us. We also want to thank Debbie Medlock, our sister-in-law for allowing us to use her photos. She’s a fantastic photographer. Last but not least we thank Brandi Smith, Rollie Joseph’s girlfriend for the lovely video she posted on Facebook. It gave us great joy and was a wonderful tribute to the memories of Rollie Joseph.

His Smile, Laughter, and Life was truly a gift from God


Rollie Joseph Loved Serving His Country


Never Forgotten and Forever In Our Hearts

Our final thoughts on today, is when God called Rollie Joseph home it was a vivid reminder that life here on earth is very short for each of us. If it were not for this life-changing event, we probably would not be living our dream of traveling and enjoying the beauty God created. We have heard so many stories of couples that have dreamed to do things together. However, something happens to one of them and for whatever reason they were never able to enjoy their dream with their soul mate. We can all find a reason why we cannot live our dream. This is our advice to everyone, live your dream before it’s too late. There is no guarantee that we get tomorrow. So whatever your dream may be, just do it. We never get to rewind life.

To view more photos of Rollie Joseph here is a link: online photo album


Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.

Athabasca Glacier and Athabasca Falls & We're Back in the United States

Our trip wouldn't be complete without a picture with a RCMP Moose

We woke up Saturday morning to rain and very low clouds. We were still off to see Athabasca Glacier. This is the most visited glacier in North America. As we were driving the weather began to clear a little. We had decided to take a tour on a specially designed snow coach that would take us onto the glacier. It was so amazing to Gina and I to stand on ice that was over 1,000 feet thick. From there we drove into Jasper for lunch and a little shopping. On our way home we stopped at the Athabasca Falls. These falls only drop about 150 feet. They are known more for the power of the water that carves into the rock making large pot holes. We had another wonderful day in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and the weather even cleared up for some excellent views. We hope you enjoy these pictures. As always there are more pictures in our online photo album.

Our first view of Athabasca Glacier


The old snow coaches


The new luxury snow coaches


The tires are about five feet tall


This is the steepest grade (18%) that a passenger bus drives in the world


Gina standing on Ice estimated to be 1,000 feet thick


John, Brenda, Gina, and myself out on the Glacier


There was a lot of snow around the Glacier


A Mountain Goat and her kid


Athabasca Falls


A close up view of the falls


Just down from the falls you can see how it carves the rocks


These were the reddest pine cones we have ever seen


We had to include some color other than white


This mountain top looked like it was paper thin just sticking up


One last picture of Canadian Rocky Mountains

I hope you didn't mind that I broke up our trip to the Canadian Rocky Mountains over a few days. Gina and I wanted to give Our Father the PRAISE and GLORY for what He alone created. One entry would not have been enough to share all of His magnificent beauty with you all. The beauty here in the Canadian Rocky Mountains are unbelievable. The pictures that we took and you see doesn't even come close to what we were able to see. For myself, I have traveled all over the world and the sights here rank at the top for their natural beauty. Gina and I both will come back to spend more time here one day. There are no adequate words to describe our gratitude and thanks to John and Brenda for showing us their country and these sights. They are truly blessed to have all of this right at their front door. If you have never been to the Canadian Rocky Mountains, Gina and I highly encourage you to plan a trip there as you will not be disappointed in what you'll see.

Now that this entry completes our short trip to Canada I'll try to get everyone caught up. We departed John & Brenda's ranch Tuesday morning in the rain headed for the U.S. border. We made it across the border with no problems and arrived at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Montana at 3:45. After getting unhooked we drove over to the commissary to pick up a few items that we needed. We then drove over to the campground on base and met Dewayne & Joy. They are new fulltimers and follow our blog. We enjoyed our short visit with them and wished them safe travels as they head toward Nevada tomorrow.


Since not having affordable cell phone service Gina made a lot of phone calls yesterday to let everyone know we made it back in the U.S. We are departing this morning heading toward Big Timber, Montana to see Mike & Janna for a couple of days. Gina and I both felt that we needed to stop back by their place and see if Mike could use a hand since his has been under the weather for the past month. No pun intended there Mike.(LOL)


Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.

Peyto Lake & Takakkaw Falls

The scene above I will forever call "God's Painting", One of the most beautiful sights in my life

When we woke up Friday morning, it was cold and the mountains across the lake had fresh snow on top of them. Gina and I both knew we would see some good scenery with all this fresh snow. However, what we saw was beyond our wildest imagination. John showed me a sign at the Num-Ti-Jah Lodge that said, "When God made this place He was showing off". That saying just about sums up what we saw today. A beauty that could only come from God's Hands. Gina and I hope you enjoy our pictures. These pictures are what we actually saw. They have not been edited and they still have not done justice to what you see in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. The Turquoise water color alone is unbelievable and simply breathtaking!!!! We are truly in Awe of God's Masterpiece. Come back tomorrow as there is still one more day of pictures that I'll get to later today. There are more pictures on our online photo album.

Gina & I standing by Waterfowl Lake




Peyto Lake, the turquoise color comes from Glacier silt






Crowfoot Mountains




Crowfoot Glacier






Takakkaw Falls (834 foot vertical drop)






Mixing of the waters

Thank you John & Brenda for sharing this picture with us. We'll forevermore treasure our journey with you both.

All good things must come to an end as we head back south into Montana today. We have enjoyed our time here with John & Brenda that it will be hard to say see ya down the road. We know that we'll see them again so there are no goodbye's. There are no words that adequately express our sincere thanks to John and Brenda for what they have done and shown us during our visit with them. Absolute beauty!!!


Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.

Boondocking in the Canadian Rocky Mountains

We woke up Thursday morning heading for a boondocking location in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. It took us about three hours to get there and the views were astonishing. We were right on a lake / reservoir of the North Saskatchewan River. John & Brenda sure know how to find these great locations. John covered a lot on his blog last night of our trip so please take a look at his blog. I am only posting the pictures of our campsite and the views from it. Between Gina and I we took 860 pictures in three days and we are still getting through them to decide which ones to upload to our online photo album.

These next photo's were taken Friday morning when we woke up and went for a walk. It had snowed on the mountains across the lake from us.

We could not have asked for a better place to camp for a few days. Gina and I could wake up to views like this every morning. We cannot thank John & Brenda enough for showing us these beautiful sights.

I'll continue our trip tomorrow as we are out the door this morning heading to Calgary for the day. Thank you all for following our adventures and stay tuned as tomorrow's pictures are awesome.


Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.