On August 16, 2021, the Toetly Fire burned 650 acres in Plummer, Idaho and burned through a portion of Heyburn State Park, the oldest park in the Pacific Northwest. One of many wildfires burning that summer. A fire burning the same way they burn every summer, without regard for anything in its path.  

Eleven hundred miles away on this day I was packing our Grand Design Imagine 2500RL for a trip of a lifetime. Little did I know this tragedy would collide with my life and forever change the lens through which I look at life, but for the better. 

On August 22, 2021, with our Imagine in tow, Stan and I embarked on a five-week road trip to see family and explore several National Parks throughout the Pacific Northwest. Our first stop would be Chico, California, to see our newborn grandson, Eli Kenneth. He would only be 12 days old when we arrived. I believe the earliest we have been able to see any of the five grandkids as of yet. Excitement to see family, and the anticipation of the adventure to come, filled our hearts and minds. 

When we left for our trip, our third son and his wife were expecting our sixth grandbaby, a baby boy, Noah Michael. His original due date was October 11, 2021. We were planning on being back home to Arizona by the end of September. Plenty of time to get home before heading to California after baby Noah’s birth, if all went as planned. We knew our grandson’s birth date was possibly going to be unpredictable. He was diagnosed with a rare gene mutation and his bladder and kidneys were enlarged and full of fluid in utero. Doctors were uncertain of how the pregnancy would carry out. This news struck our whole family by shock. They were only 20 weeks along when these first-time parents would receive this news. From that point, the days were long and the anticipation of what the future held was too much to bear some days. Our family, our friends, and our faith is what got us all through each and every day. 

A few days before we left for our trip, we found out the team of six doctors had decided to bring baby Noah into the world on September 20th, 2021. That was a date they could all be present to give him the best care possible post delivery.  This would happen a few days before we planned to be back home. Knowing he was going to be in the NICU immediately after birth for an undetermined length of time, and with no NICU visitation, we decided to continue on our trip as planned and to get there as soon as possible. Our son’s only request was…make sure you have cell service. 

Our trip started off with a bang. Well, I shouldn’t have said that, because it actually could have. We had discovered a propane gas leak which we thought we resolved before we left. Our neighbors at the Almond Tree RV Park in Chico, California, were sitting out at their picnic table having a nice dinner while, unbeknownst to us, we were permeating the air with propane from our tanks. We were visiting our son and his family and came back to a note on the door of the trailer telling us they shut off the propane tanks. Thankfully Stan was able to remedy the situation with the help of GasStop and our trip was headed back in the right direction. 

A few days with the grandkids in Northern California came to a close and we were headed off to Crater Lake (cell service ✅), Barton Park in Clackamas, Oregon (cell service ✅), and then on to Mount Rainier on August 29th where, as we came to find out, there was no cell service where we would be camping. Fortunately, we discovered a small information center about a quarter mile away from our campsite at Silver Springs Campground that offered free wi-fi. We were told we could pull into the parking lot any time of the day and use the wifi. Great! We could check messages from the kids every so often and enjoy the disconnect from social media for a few days. Perfect scenario, or so we thought. 

One morning, as we headed towards the top of Sunrise Road to get a panoramic view of Mount Rainier, we stopped into the parking lot of the information center to find a message from our son who was expecting baby Noah. Our daughter-in-law was at the hospital for a non-stress test for the baby and his heart rate was good, but not performing the way the doctors wanted to see. His movement had slowed down to almost a halt. They were going to continue to monitor her and he would let us know. 

Here we sit, at the information center knowing if we drive off there is no cell service. Considering the uncertainty of the situation, but feeling confident she is in good hands with the best team of doctors, we half-heartedly drive away.

We continue on to the top of Sunrise Road and arrive at the most breathtaking sight we have ever seen, the glaciated peak of Mount Rainier standing at a height of 14,410 feet above sea level. I don’t know what you believe, but when I laid my eyes on this, all I could see was God. It made me feel so small, but not in an insignificant way. In a way that made God tangibly almighty and all powerful . As Stan and I sat along the hiking path, we took a quiet moment to pray for baby Noah, and his mommy and daddy. This moment will forever be embedded in my mind. So much uncertainty ahead, but as I fixated my eyes upon Mount Rainier and the valley below, I was filled with a peace. I knew without a doubt if God could create all this just by speaking a word, He could take care of baby Noah. 

We headed back to the information center to discover a text message. The doctors want to go ahead and deliver him by c-section. Unexpected news, they are only at 34 weeks. We needed him to stay in as long as possible to continue to grow stronger. God had another plan. 

Sitting in our truck, in the information center parking lot, the hours passed slowly and it felt like an eternity. The anticipated phone call finally came and by 6:00pm that night we became grandparents for the sixth time. He was truly a miracle. He was breathing on his own, which was followed by a good cry to tell everyone he was here! So much relief and so many tears. The emotions kept coming; joy, fear, helplessness, sadness, elation. I never knew I could feel all this at one time. Noah was here and he was going to get the help he needed…and we were 1,100 miles away. After many tears, a sleepless night, and a conversation with our son the next day, Stan and I decided to continue on our “trip of a lifetime” which had now taken on a whole new meaning. It was the most difficult decision we had ever made as parents/grandparents. 

Fast forward a few days, Stan and I arrive in Plummer, Idaho, just south of Coeur d’Alene. We had chosen to stay in Hepburn State Park at Hawley’s Landing because the trail of the Coeur d’Alene’s runs right through the middle of the park. We had been looking forward to riding this iconic trail. 

On the first day we took off North at mile marker six of the trail. This section takes you over Chatcolet Bridge formerly a swing Railroad Bridge built in 1921.  We rode along the Chatcolet Lake and took in all the sights; all the while I couldn’t stop thinking of our newest grandson, so small, so fragile and dreaming of the days we would be riding bikes with him. We would bring him back to these places to show him where we were when he was born into this adventure we call life. 

The following day we decided to ride to the beginning of the trail of the Coeur d’Alene’s in Plummer, Idaho. As we began to ride, within the first 25 yards we came across a doe grazing on the side of the trail. She wasn’t frightened of us and she hung around as if to welcome us to her world. As we continued on, we rode into the remnants of The Toetly Fire that we later learned had burned over 650 acres.

Completely unaware this fire had even taken place, we continued to ride through the overpowering scent of sulfur along the fire charred path. Just days before there was a raging fire with smoke that blocked the view of the path, there was uncertainty; when would the fire stop, where would its ruthless path travel? 

The sight of blackened trees against the backdrop of the greenest trees you have ever seen was an incredibly powerful sight. It was then it dawned on me, the tragedy that had taken place here so many days before had been replaced by a beauty of a different kind. It was as if my heart understood. It could finally see through the pain, the sadness, the uncertainty of this fire storm our family had been going through with baby Noah. It was quiet and peaceful in this new place I found myself in. I could see it all around me, and I could feel it as I continued down the trail. 

We did get to the beginning of the trail that day and the journey along the trail of the Coeur d’Alene’s  has changed my life forever.  There is beauty to be found amidst the trials of life if we look just beyond them. I don’t believe we have to look very hard to see God in the midst and to find hope for a new beginning. We just have to have faith while we go through the trials and trust God will show up. 

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12 

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through the fire you shall not be burned, and the flames shall not consume you.  Isaiah 43:2

Author: Rhonda Wijnhamer 3/2022