One of the things that life has taught me is that we are not promised tomorrow, and that life can change in a moment. So we have frequently said to Zach and Sarah that what is important is the journey and not so much the destination. Live this day...
Our vacation to Yellowstone took us a very long time to get there. And as we encountered road construction delays after delays...the fatigue was rising as well as the frustration until we just had to laugh. The road construction in Yellowstone itself was the most ridiculous - one lane road on the edge of a mountain with no guard rails....and 30 minute delays...so as Mark started to fume, we reminded him that it was about the journey...and to enjoy these moments...little did I know that would become an important theme for our trip.
"This part of the journey is called amazing." As we traveled through the Tetons and on to Yelllowstone we crossed the Continental Divide 7 times! We were at the snow line and we saw so many really amazing sights. We started at Old Faithful and made the round of the geyser pools...such beautiful colors and we even had an elk dining within 20 feet of us. Whew, we made it!
"This part of the journey is called scared to death!" We made it to the campground and found it a little rustic, but there was a fire pit and a picnic table and so we thought we could make it do. Mark and Sarah and I went to the amphitheatre to hear the ranger talk about how Yellowstone was formed (by a gigantic volcano 640 million years ago) and Zach and my mom stayed at the campsite to mind the fire. Upon our return there was a truck parked shining its lights into the campsite and a stranger coming around the corner saying "they've had some troubles." My heart stopped and I rushed to see what was going on. Mom had tripped on a root and fallen flat on her face - more acurately her mouth, bit through her lip and dislocated a tooth. The paramedic was called and after an assessment in the light, it seemed appropriate to go to the hospital for stitches...two hours away in Cody, Wyoming. We left as soon as we could and arrived at the ER at about 1:30 a.m. It took mom 72 years to need stitches, but she got 6 of them in her lip, no other signs of any injuries. We found a parking lot to sleep off the rest of the night (or morning as it was) and then headed back to Yellowstone. Mom was in pain but OK, Zach had done all the right things in getting her help and we were just thankful it wasn't any worse. We went back to the park and asked at the desk if we could upgrade our sight to an electrical hook up with a level pad...they had mercy on us and moved us to a different campsite and things got a little more civilized.
"This part of the journey is called memorable" We saw the Yellowstone Canyon and falls, so beautiful that words cannot describe it. Pictures can't quite do it justice either. Your eyes can hardly take in the whole scene...and we saw Bison, and more elk. We also took a boat ride on the lake and had dinner at one of the lodges that was built in 1937. It was our last night in Yellowstone and we had made the best of difficult days and saw once in a lifetime things.
"This part of the journey is called sad." On our way out of the park we crossed the highest peak and all of a sudden my phone came alive and I had two voice messages and a text message...I had a signal just long enough to hear that our dog Maddie was undergoing emergency surgery and the prognosis was not good. Her stomach had twisted...the next few hours would be critical. By the time we made it down the mountain, Maddie was out of surgery and looking as well as could be expected. The next 24 hours would tell the story, she had been outside and was walking and talking to everyone. We hoped and prayed and made our way to civilization...the next morning we got a call from Dr. Groner that when they left Maddie the night before she was doing well, but sometime around 7:00 she had died. Our beloved Basset Hound, that everyone loved and laughed at had died in her sleep. We had lots of miles to cry and remember and prepare ourselves for the loss.
and now we are home, we buried Maddie thanks to good friends, and we are resting from an exhausting whirlwind of a trip. Mom will see a dentist on Monday and her bruises are already fading and the journey taught us each something.
So if you read this, please don't ask how our vacation was, because it is too difficult to explain and I will probably just say "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."
1 comment:
Pastor Chris,
Someone once said you have to return to work to rest up from a vacation and your "rest and recuperation" seems to fit that definition.
Yellowstone has changed a lot, I sadly discovered, since 1954. In the mid 1980s, we didn't see as many animals and there were lots more foreign tourists, some of whom didn't understand that bison ARE wild animals and you don't just walk up to a snorting bull, turn your back, and have your picture taken.
The Tetons were just as beautiful as the first time I saw them, but the geysers were disappointing, mainly because one of those that only goes off every 6 months was due--it drew so much pressure from the others that Old Faithful just sputtered some steam and that was it. The Morning Glory pool was a dingy color from the coins people had thrown into its water over the years. In the 50s it was a beautiful dark teal blue and we drove right up to it instead of walking.
We also had construction delays, but we struck up a conversation with a flagman during a 20 minute wait and he told us they can only do road construction and repairs during 3 months in the summer because the weather didn't allow it the rest of the year. That made a whole lot more sense to us. We DID take some post card perfect pictures of the Tetons during the delays and that made the slow advance less unkind when we saw their beauty in color when our pictures were developed.
Yellowstone makes me wonder what the first explorers thought when they saw the Paint Pots and the larger geysers. I would have thought I was hallucinating. Even if you KNOW what you are going to see, all that unusual scenery is awesome. The only thing I've seen that is more awesome is the Grand Canyon--both national parks brought me even closer to God. I wanted to just sit and quietly drink in the view, but there were too many people around to get the full effects of meditation. I suppose I should have been happy to share, but I got the feeling a lot of the spectators were not aware of just how spectacular the view was. Only God could have created such perfect views!
Janet
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