The Hawk's Sacrifice

as told by Bev

We were staying at the ShowLow Campground where Randy worked. I had planned to work at Navapache Hospital for the summer but my application was too late. I had already been granted a LOA from my job in Scottsdale, Arizona. We had decided to move that fall to Montana but with no source of income, we decided quickly that we had better leave, as soon as possible, so we would not run out of funds before the next hospital home was located.

We told Randy we would be leaving in 4 days and were heading for Bozeman, MT.

We put as much as possible in our storage lockers. With a U-Haul trailer on the back of the motor home, we set off for I-40. Our mini caravan consisted of the motor home, and the Geo Tracker filled with the four of us and our six Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Yes, Randy decided to go with us.

It was only a few miles to US 191, where we turned north. We drove through the Navajo Reservation and followed 191 toward Montana. Driving through Price Utah a hawk flew into the motor home. The traffic was very heavy at that time and I could not stop. Ahead was a crossroad, left went to Salt Lake City and right continued on 191. I was shaken and hesitated a moment, taking the road to Salt Lake City. When I realized what I had done, I turned around and headed up 191. Ahead was an eight degree incline and the old motor home with the heavy u-haul was not doing well. I would come to a stop and then inch forward. Finally the killing of the hawk and the long steep incline got the best of me and I dissolved in tears. Telling the others about the hawk and trying to make some sense of this, I realized we needed to turn around and go through Salt Lake City. It was then that Tatiacha said that she had thought we were supposed to go to Kalispell, instead of Bozeman. There was a unanimous decision to do just that.

Indian lore tells us that Hawk is the messenger, and this one did get our attention... and we got the message. The next day, a hawk took off from the edge of the road much in the same way as the one that hit the motor home, but this time veered off just before impact. We felt like it was a salute of sorts and that it's message was that of total acceptance and that it participated with joy in our decision. In two more days we began our Flathead Valley experience aware that the hawk had given the gift of life.