We spent the next day exploring the Glacier National Park. It was a beautiful place. The air was so fresh with the smell of cedars and pine lingering on each breath, and the waters were unbelievably blue and clear. We spent a couple hours taking the "Road to the Sun." It's a road in the park that travels on the side of the mountains overlooking a gorgeous valley. A lot of the mountainsides were covered with wildflowers and waterfalls trickled or poured down various channels on the mountain. The views were good, but I'm always a little tense about driving the winding, narrow mountain roads. I'm used to a lot more room with no precipitous edges. Thankfully Taylor was driving, so I could enjoy the view a little more.
I'll admit the big cliffs can make for some fun pictures though!
Toward the end of our drive we even got to see a few grizzly bears. The next day Taylor and I left Glacier to drive to Seattle. We got there that evening and Taylor found us an awesome seafood restaurant down on the bay to eat at. It was called Elliot's Oyster Bar. Neither Taylor nor I are fans of oysters, but their other seafood was fantastic. As an extra bonus they had extremely good margaritas! The next day we got up and walked down to Pike's Place Market to explore. I absolutely loved it down there. There were tons of vendors set up selling everything you could imagine. Three or four big vendors sold the fresh fish on ice, but my favorite part was seeing all the beautiful arrangements of flowers and the delicious looking fruit stands. I told my sister, it would be so easy to be a good boyfriend in that city because you could pick up a gorgeous arrangement of flowers for your girlfriend for $5, and they were always available.
We left Seattle the next day and headed for the Redwood National Forest by way of the Pacific Coast Highway. While beautiful, a large portion of this highway runs through many little towns and has a lot of traffic. The best part of it was when it went through a National Forest, so there weren't any little towns and less traffic. It's probably a good thing we live in the middle of nowhere or road rage may have been an issue in our family. :) With the slow pace it took us a day and a half to get to the redwoods, but they were worth the drive. There is no other word to describe these trees except majestic. They are so huge and ancient. When we drove through one of the really old parts of the forest, we stopped frequently to get out and take pictures. I was amazed at how quiet it was in those woods. It was like even the birds stood in speechless awe of the trees. The next time I go through those forests I want to have my bike on the back of my vehicle so I can ride through in the open air and experience them even more. I wish I lived in a world where trees could talk because I would have loved to listen to the stories they had to tell.
After leaving the Redwood Forest Taylor and I drove to Reno where we donated some money to the CPCOBJD (Contributions for Poor Casino Owners and Black Jack Dealers) :) We had a good time though! From Reno we spent two days driving home across Nevada and Utah. We took highway 50 which is dubbed as the "loneliest highway in the world". It's all desert and barren. We saw some bikers who were making their way across it. If I tried to bike across that highway, I'm pretty sure I would either feel a huge sense of accomplishment when I finished, or I would get to meet the Lord a little earlier than expected. I'm pretty sure the latter would be more likely. :)
It was a great trip, but both Taylor and I were glad to be home. We've always known that we are slightly ridiculous/crazy, but after spending hours upon hours in the car, our ridiculous/crazy-ness was very much amplified. For our sanity, we may take a break before going on another long road trip.
While we were gone, my brother and sister-in-law had a little baby girl. Her name is Dawson Joe. I packed up on Friday and went back home to see this precious new addition to our family. While I was there, the Lord blessed the area with some MUCH needed rain. The creek near their house had stopped flowing and nearly everyone's ponds were drying up. It was a good start but they still need much more. My mom, sister and I got to enjoy the rain a little more than others because it started pouring on us during the middle of one of our walks. Oh well!
Let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up. Daniel 3:18
This scripture reminded me that to be faithful to God, I must be faithful in all ways. Not just in some. I can't just love Him in my heart, I must love Him through my actions, too. If I allow others to influence me or pressure me into doing things that do not honor God, even the little things, I am not placing Him first. I am not honoring Him or the precious gift of my life that He has given me. Sometimes I need to be reminded of this.
Congrats - You have made it to the end! Now have a great week!
Lyndee
