Where the Deer and the Antelope Play

Our trip north continued through Colorado and Wyoming on Day 3, and it was the best one yet! We began the day driving to Parker, Colorado to have breakfast with my aunt and uncle, Karen and Allen Miller. It has been 9 years since I have seen Karen (Joseph was 3 months old at our last visit) and 5 years since we’ve seen Uncle Allen. They have a beautiful home in a quiet community, and the view from their back deck looks toward Pike’s Peak. It was a wonderful time to reconnect with them, and our time was definitely too short. There was talk of an Alaskan cruise with Mom & Dad and a stopover at Fort Wainwright…what fun that would be! As we pulled away I found myself feeling a bit emotional. We do not get a chance to see them very often at all…my dad and uncle did not even grow up together…but as my eyes filled with tears, my heart was filled with love. And I marveled at the idea that I could feel such a heart-felt connection with someone else, just by the bond of a shared last name. Spiritually, I pray that I would feel that same connection to my brothers and sisters in Christ…those that I fellowship with regularly and those that I may just pass along the way.

Upward and onward we drove…a whole 60 miles…before I decided to make a surprise detour to Broomfield, CO to visit one of my very best high school friends. Without warning, I called information to get her phone number, called to let her know we were about 10 minutes out, then giddily rang her doorbell a few minutes later. Nothing like advanced notice, huh? As gorgeous and gracious as ever, she welcomed us into her beautiful new home, inviting J to head on upstairs to play with the guys and giving us the grand tour. Amazing and awe-inspiring is the view from nearly every window in her house. It was wonderful, wonderful to catch up with her, but alas, our time was cut short by the call of the road ahead. Once again, God was good to me, allowing me to spend time with one of my favorite people from the past, reminding me that He has placed people in my life all along the way that love me and whom I love. Even though Noel and I have only seen each other about 4 times in the past 22 years, I feel that when I really need her, she is a friend in the present, praying for me when distance will not allow anything else. I only hope that she knows the same about me. And on a side note…remember the picture at Balanced Rock from my sophomore year in high school? I took that picture with Noel.

Finally after hitting the road from Colorado Springs at 7:00a.m., we began our actual trip to Wyoming around 2:15 p.m. I guess we did more visiting than I realized, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

If you have never had the opportunity to drive through Wyoming, you should put it on the list of things to do. Wyoming is a beautiful state and is the very picture of the words to “America the Beautiful”. We saw the purple mountain majesties over-looking the fruited plains…with 3 cowboys rounding up their cattle at day’s end thrown in for good measure. We imagined, pondered, and tried to visualize the pioneers of old, making their way west, trekking across this uncharted territory. I am amazed at their spirit, their drive, and their determination to get to a new home, without truly knowing where they were going or what they would find when they arrived. It must have been over-whelming to make it across these wide open plains only to find huge mountains staring you in the face, but I think my great adventure may be quite like that. I am determined to make it home…not sure exactly how I will get there…not sure of what mountains I will face, but determined nonetheless.

And toward the end of our day, God rewarded us with a renewed sense of peace, encouragement, and promise just like He may have rewarded those pioneers of long ago. We drove through a small rain shower (though it took us a moment to figure out what this strange liquid from the sky was), watching as it developed over the mountains and headed our way, refreshment to the land and the animals on the bluff. And after the showers, I saw the most beautiful rainbow I have ever seen, bright and bold with wide bands of color…a blessed reminder that God is always with us.