MOUNTAINS OF ARIZONA

For many years, I was privileged to work on the mountains of Arizona. I would take the mountain roads to the Radio Sites in a truck in the summer and a truck with a snow cat in the winter.
All alone with my radios for company. I would meditate along looking at the beautiful scenery and getting paid for doing what I considered to be the best job in the world. Many the Gospel questions dwelt with, many the prayers offered on those windy roads. Many times, I would be the only soul on the whole mountain. With a few notable exceptions, I did not have many problems in the summer-time. However, one evening I was called out to go to Guthrie Mountain. I took Lilly with me, and after hitting a sharp bump; all the lights went out and stayed out. We made it to the Radio Site in the dusk, we did the work on the site and then started to travel down and that was a different matter. It was pitch dark, we started out, and I could not see the road. One wrong turn and it was hundreds of feet down off the side of the mountain. With Lilly holding a flashlight out of the window, we crept along. About halfway down, the flashlight went out. We faced either a cold night and wait for daylight, or some help would have to come. I called out on my Radio, and luckily got a Highway Parolman. Bob Sabin would be happy to come and help, but had no idea how to get there. So after directing Bob around many mountain turns, he arrived, and began leading us down the mountain. With his headlights ahead, and his taillights as our guide, we made it back to town. Thankful to be home again.
Lilly was brave enough to accompany me on many more trips up to the mountains, not nearly as scary. But, one dark and very snowy night on Mt. Graham we were in the Snow Cat, a tracked vehicle required in deep snow, we were heading down. The roads were drifted so badly, that they were invisible. I drove by aiming through the gaps where the roadway should have been. The lights all went out. Lilly was terrified. She screamed just in time for me to swerve us onto the road. Instead of down a steep slope, probably saving us from injury or worse. On another snowy occasion, I ran over a large snow covered log. Violently throwing the snow cat, and throwing Lilly right out the door. I was so busy, that I didn't even see her go. When I finally looked over, she was gone. Stopping the cat, I looked and hollered, Lilly. She answered from deep in a snow bank. "I'm here." Except for very bruised pride, she was fine.
It was my practice, to pull the snow cat just as high up on the Mountain as I could, unloading it off the trailer when the snow became too deep to go further. I would unload the cat from the trailer, lock the truck, take all the keys, and plow up the rest of the way in the Cat. As I arrived at the Site, I always had to dig down through up to four or more feet of snow reaching the door. There were two locks, very secure, needing unlocked, to enter the building. On two different occasions, when I reached for my keys, they were gone. I had shoveled so much snow they could have been anywhere. I could not get in the Building nor could I get back into my truck by going back down. I knelt in the snow, prayed with real intent. One final look at the door, and glory be, the keys were hanging from the lock. It was an answer to my prayer, and I cannot deny it. Another thankful prayer was given and I gratefully went to work. On another occasion, the snow had blocked the access gate, I had shoveled about three feet of snow there, just to go the last two miles to the site. When I got up to the site, and down to the door, my keys were again missing. Again a fervent prayer, but this time, no keys in the lock. After a vain search, I took the snow cat back down to the gate. There, lying on top of the snow that I had shoveled, lay the keys. In worldly circumstances, those keys would have been lost until the spring melts. I always felt closer to the Lord up there.
Going up the mountain often gave me more trouble than coming down. Trying to pull as high as possible before unloading the snow cat often got me in trouble. There are several steeply banked turns just about Turkey Flat. With people four wheeling it after every snowstorm. The roads became as slick as proverbial goose grease. Cover that with a foot of snow and it became a treacherous situation. I would often become stuck on the steep slope right after the turn. I usually put on my tire chains first, and if that didn't work, I would pull out the cable from the truck winch, and try and find a tree to hook it to. It often took me an hour or more, just to do these things. Using the winch drew down the battery so heavily, that the truck engine would often stall. Then I would be in trouble. After off loading the cat, I would use it's battery to get my engine going. Dear readers...please bear with me as I tell you these things. On one memorable day, all of this was done, and I was still stuck. To make matters worse, the truck was slipping towards the cliff. All of a sudden, as if pushed by a giant hand, my truck made a leap to the center of the road, and took off up the hill. Never had my prayers been answered so forcibly before. Another thanks giving prayer, and I was on my way to Lady Bug Saddle. All of this, of course, came to an end when I lost my eyesight. But, memories of that wonderful time will last forever. I feel that I should record at least one other miraculous event in my life. It was in the late Seventies, I was in the V.A. Hospital over in Tucson. The Doctors were going to operate on my right eye socket. I was terribly worried, as they had told me that I could loose my EYE. As the time drew near I began praying over and over that all would be well. They loaded me on the cart to take me to the operating room and I was still praying. It seemed that every bump of the wheels produced another prayer. Suddenly, a voice spoke to me. It was firm, it came into my mind, but not through my ears, the voice said, "Cease to trouble me with the problem, all will be well." A peace immediately came over me, I began to smile, and all my worries were gone, I realized that my constant Prayer had been answered so forcibly that I could never deny it. Most amazing of all was that I had actually troubled the Lord, from all of these things, and many, many more. I absolutely know that all of our Prayers are answered. All was well, and all still is, through all of my many operations, through all of the pain, nothing has ever happened to me that has not strengthened me. I am thankful for it ALL.