I know...I know...the words "remarkable," "amazing" and others have been totally overdone in the blogs about this epic journey...but they are still true...and never more so than when we were leaving Yellowstone National Park early this morning.
We splurged a bit and had dinner last night in the old grand dining room...and were almost first in line (funny story here...) for breakfast at 6:30 AM...as the car was packed and ready to keep heading west. Again...the size of the fire place...and the painting of Old Faithful...give you a brief snippet of the size of this grand old place. But...the best was yet to some...........
It was 30 degrees when we left the Inn at about 7:30 AM...ice had formed on the windows of the car..which took some time to defrost and scrap off (what month is this?). What we didn't expect as we slowly drove away was the absolute beauty that astounded us as every tiny to huge fissure in the earth that could let out steam was doing so. In warmer weather you don't see all of those...in the cold, every one was doing a sacred and consistent dance.......everywhere. Wow! Magical would be a good word here. It was well worth the cold...and one of the best ways to see what this gigantic place is all about for miles and miles.
Close to the west entrance to the park we found this herd of bison...moms and dads (cows and bulls) out for a breakfast stroll with their kids (calves). They were close enough that we could hear them snorting and chewing and the youngin's bleating for their moms to stand still so they could nurse some breakfast for themselves. Again...light snow was falling...surreal...sacred...sensational exit.
And then...whoa!...what did my wondering eyes just see?...for just after we had gone through the west gate...my eyes about fell into my lap as a large gray wolf gracefully scooted across the road in front of us...as if to add blessing to the journey we have taken...and the few remaining days yet to come.
We ended up tonight in Nampa, ID where my sister lives. We took her and one of her caretakers to dinner at Rembrandt's...a favorite place in Eagle, ID...and associated with all Mark Priddy, and team, is doing in that community and through Allelon...more can be talked about concerning these exceptional people in an in-person conversation.
As this day ends we are at 2,829 miles across Route 20. So far there are...oops...we're not at the end of the trip yet to tell you exactly how many stoplights we've counted...but I do know we have the exact count. :-) For tomorrow, I wonder where we will be at for the 3000 mile count?
Hi Wes,
I am out of town, but I thought I drop a note. I will be back next week. Will you be around? I hope all is well. Thanks for the kind words.
Grace,
Mark
Posted by: Mark Priddy | June 01, 2007 at 09:07 PM