Day 46: Eyes On Home

Our trip has been so full of family, fun and adventure but all good things must come to an end.  We had a long travel day from Buffalo, Wyoming to Idaho Falls, Idaho so we started at 7:30 this morning.  Right off we had to decide whether to take the interstate which was 70 miles further but 30 minutes shorter driving or the cross-country route.  We chose the interstate because there were places to stop every couple of hours.

We had checked weather last night and all seemed to be OK for the trip, but it got dark just after we left Buffalo, and started to rain about an hour into the trip.  By the time of our first stop in Billings, Montana it was pouring rain so hard that we had the wipers on full time.  We had coffee and a snack and it was still raining when we left.  Thankfully it ended 40 minutes or so after that stop.  It stayed cloudy all day but there was no wind which made things much nicer.  We had considered a car wash yesterday to remove several days of prairie bugs that had accumulated on the front of the car.  The rain today cleaned the front of the car quite well... it looks like we had gone to a car wash.  Money and time saved!

We listened to two of Pastor Russ's teachings on the Olivet Discourse and they gave us encouragement and exhortation to keep following and trusting in Jesus no matter what is happening around us.  We could use that kind of instruction every day as there are so many things assaulting our senses and vying for our attention.  We also continued listening to a book by Clive Cussler.  

This morning the drive was through more rolling, grassy hills.  There were a lot of cattle and horses along the way.  We saw a couple of deer but thankfully they were away from the road.  There were a couple of dead ones along the road also--just like home.  Also, this morning we saw irrigation lines running--first time in over five weeks. Another reminder of home.  There was a section just south of Billings where the roadside billboards were all mangled heaps of metal and wood.  We were wondering if a freak windstorm came through--maybe the storm that brought so much rain to Yellowstone NP.  Chuck found the cutest little pull out for us to have our lunch.  It was alongside the raging Gallatin River.  

The drive this afternoon reminded us of Colorado--mountainous, through canyons with lots of streams and trees.  We saw an unnamed waterfall and were able to stop for a picture.  We did skirt the edge of Yellowstone National Park as we crisscrossed the Montana / Wyoming state line several times.  The rivers in the region are raging.  The Yellowstone River was high enough that many trees seemed to be growing mid-stream. 

It was a nice--though long-nine hour day.