We drove around American Fork Canyon and I couldn't believe how beautiful the trees were. While I love the desert, the Utah trees definetly took my breath away. Can't wait to experience a Utah winter.

God works in mysterious ways...

You hear that phrase all the time, and even though it's very true it definetly loses its luster. I'm always reminding myself that God is infinitely smarter than I'll ever be and whenever something happens, whether it be good or bad, I try to remember that God knows exactly what I need and exactly when I need it. So on that note, this past week a friend and I had a very close call while on a road trip that really added to both our testimonies and reminded us that the hand of God is all around us. And so...

My friend Annie is a photographer and last Wednesday she called me in the morning and she told me that her mother had mixed up her flight destinations and that she had to drive to Utah that day for a weekend full of photo shoots. I asked her if she was driving by herself and I offered to go with her so she wouldn't be alone. And so we started our long 10 hour drive to her parents house in Utah.

10pm. We were in the middle of a canyon and not thirty minutes prior Annie and I were feeling a bit tired but we had started talking about the gospel, and our patriarchal blessings and were feeling a bit more awake. We were going about 75 mph and we couldn't see the road very well because the lights on Annie's car weren't very bright. Suddenly mid-sentence I look forward and there is a herd of ten to fifteen elk in the road. Now we know these were elk because they were extremely large creatures, larger than any deer I had every seen.


I start screaming and Annie turns the steering wheel hard left because it seemed as if the majority of the herd were on the right side of the road, but as she turned the wheel we saw there were four or five on the left side as well and we were headed straight for one of them. We were so close that I could see the eyes of the elk we were about to hit. Suddenly it seemed like everything was happening in slow motion. I can see Annie close her eyes and brace herself for the impact, and suddenly I see someone's hands take the wheel and turn it hard to the right. The car instantly changed directions. As we turn I look to my right and I see one of the elk running straight for my side of the car. Annie swears that she was slamming on the brakes, right down to the floor, but at that point the car somehow accelerated and we barely missed the elk that was running straight towards me. Now when I say these elk were huge it is no exaggeration. If we had hit one, it would have killed us. Also I'm so grateful that Annie did not turn the car to the right when she reacted because we would have gone straight off a cliff. When we had cleared the herd, Annie opened her eyes and was amazed that we didn't have a scratch on us or the car. We look at each other and immediately start crying and laughing. Our nerves were so out of control and a mixture of fear, relief, and happiness just washed over us as we realized how close we came to losing our lives. If you look up a car that has hit an elk there is nothing left of the car. The images are horrifying to look at. Annie's car is very small, there was no way we would have survived that kind of collision. We pulled over and immediately started to say a prayer thanking God for watching over us. As we calmed down we both started to put together what had happened and shared the things we both saw. All Annie knew was that when she saw the car heading straight for the elk she was slamming on the brakes and closed her eyes because she knew we were going to crash and when she opened her eyes we were completely ok. When I told her of the hands that I saw taking the wheel and the acceleration of the car we knew that we were being watched over by our Heavenly Father and our family in Heaven. I am still amazed that we didn't hit a single thing and we had no damage to the car. There is no way that we should have survived that.

All in all we walked away with the only damage being to our nerves. The rest of the way to Utah were were on edge, constantly looking around us and now we have a hatred for all types of deer. I am so happy that we are ok and I'm so happy that I came with Annie because can you imagine what would have happened if she had been alone?? Oh man!

The rest of the Utah trip was awesome thankfully. It was my first time seeing actual Fall and the leaves were gorgeous. Adventuring around Utah was way fun, and it was nice being able to wear my jackets and sweaters. 

Annie's family, the Tuckett's, own Provo Bakery and they make the most delicious doughnuts I have ever had, and I'm pretty picky about doughnuts! If you are ever in the Provo area make sure you stop by there! 


The day before we left back home we took a trip to Salt Lake City and saw the Temple. It was my second time seeing the SLC Temple in person and it is a castle. It is so beautiful. I'm sad to see that they build a huge wall around it, but in this day and age it's regretfully necessary I suppose. We drove around the area and stopped by the mall and I ran into a missionary who had served in mine and Eric's ward in Riverside, CA. It was so random but so incredible that out of nowhere I run into this guy. So cool! 

So, I had a very eventful and wonderful week. It was extremely spontaneous and so much fun, I hope to go back to Utah really soon! My testimony was extremely strengthened and I guess it was a great bonding experience for Annie and I. ;)

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Also go check out annierubyphotos on Instagram or Annie Ruby Photos on Facebook to see Annie's photography skill. She takes gorgeous photos and has recently moved to Arizona! Hit her up for an incredible session! She doesn't disappoint. :)