Day 7!
Remember the day when I said the trees were bigger. I've seen bigger Pines and Aspens, and Birch than I have ever seen before. Some of these stands of trees are easily double the size in height of the ones in Northern Minnesota.
Today was a short trip! A few hours up the road because of Michelle not feeling well. We stopped a couple times along the way for her to rest and snap some photo's as we made our way to Toad River lodge. I've quarantined her! I will sleep with David tonight- she is on her own. I love my wife but do not want what she has! Out of all the miles we have traveled so far, which is about 2200 (1000 miles to go!), this two hour trip up the road is our favorite part of the trip so far. We are really in the mountains at this point!!! To be exact we are in the Northern Rocky Mountains. We saw another dead moose along the road today but saw Stone sheep, a bear and a porcupine! Michelle spotted the bear in the river but we couldn't get a photo of it and she also spotted the porcupine but a truck was pushing us down the road so he could make a living so we missed that photo op as well. Below you will see the Stone sheep though. Pretty cool as we saw two different sets of them.
These guys come up and eat some of the scrub vegetation and lick the salt off the roads and roadsides. There are areas where they warn of wild horses crossing, buffalo, moose, elk and deer so the drivers are to be careful. The roads are very twisty and wind up and down through the mountain passes. At one point we had a 11% grade down that was 5 miles in length, that a roller coaster ride when you are pulling a boat! The roads in some spots very narrow and you are rubbing a mountain wall on one side and a guard rail to keep you from going over a cliff on the other but it is awesome to see!
I never understood the line of of the song that goes: "...for purple mountain majesty..." until I saw there mountains They really do look a purple to our eyes when they light hits them right. The rest of the photos are just some random shots we took.
Job 38
1 Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm. He said: and all the angels shouted for joy? 2 “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? 3 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. 4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. 5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? 6 On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone....
This is a great text and
I suggest reading the entire section as for me it has always has been humbling for me when I question God. Sometimes we just do not have the answers. When I look around and recall all we have seen already on this trip I cannot help but believe in God who created all of this diversity.
The mountains that we are traveling through now are not all the same. When I say they are not the same, I do not mean shape and size but composition. They are not from all the same stone nor as you look at these pictures you can see they are not the same color. Some are gray, some are white, some are black, some are reddish and some are brown. I have no idea why since they are next to each other but the variety is endless.
I take that back I do know why and I give it up to God. He created them and I know many people in the world question creation. In fact many friends question creation but I think it is short changing God when we do not attribute the creation of this world to God when it is such a common theme from the Old Testament and through the New Testament. Genesis to Revelation point to God as the creator. I sometimes wonder if part of the problem people have with creation is that they never have really looked or experienced the world as we (my family) get to do now. If I grew up in the city and all I really ever saw was what man's two hands have fashioned through working with steel, wood and mortar I might find it easier to dismiss the idea of "a god". It would be easier to worship as the Apostle Paul says that which is fashioned by the hands of man not the creator of the things being used by the hands of man (Andy's paraphrase).
Updating you all on Michelle. She is as of 8/26 (Friday)finally Tylenol free and her fever has broken. She is eating again and she told me to tell all of you thanks for the payers and also in spite of what you may have heard she did not receive last rights from a priest even though she was born into a household that was split catholic/ Lutheran!
In closing here is a picture of a frog which o course is not a toad but since I could not find one hoping about with the kids today while mom was sleeping the frog will have to do. So from Toad River Lodge, we wish you a very happy rib-bit day!!!!
