Unexpected

“Seeing God’s love in small unexpected ways." 

This was the lesson Josh was learning after two months on the road with his brother Zach. We met them at a coffee shop in Spearfish, SD.

Josh, who had just graduated from Purdue University, at 23 and Zach were traveling and camping in their van during summer break, from Indiana to California, surfing up the coast and heading up north on their way back home.

 

 "Seeing God's love in small unexpected ways." This thought may challenge our perception of God's love. Do we think that if things are difficult it means we are not loved by God? Or do we look for, and find those little reminders of God's amazing love for us each day! 

We arrived at a new campsite in Idaho a couple of days ago, and we stepped outside to enjoy the sunset. I noticed this puddle in the roadway, from an earlier rain shower, reflecting the clouds. I did not notice the shape of the puddle until I looked at the picture on my iPhone display. What a sweet reminder that in the midst of storms, the Lord loves us. 💓 

 

How do we see and know God’s love? The lyric from a Christian song states, “I see the evidence of Your goodness all over my life!”

So we need to be looking for that evidence, God’s love is displayed all around us when we look for it.

Have you heard the expression “There’s your sign?” Some of the “signs” or unexpected evidences of God’s love for me have come during this road trip,

in His provision and protection

in His Care and the beauty of His Creation

in splendid sunsets and storm clouded skies

 

 

 

In Spearfish, SD we drove through                  

Spearfish Canyon which follows the 

course of the Spearfish River. We hiked along paths lined with wildflowers to beautiful waterfalls. 

We camped at Spearfish City

Campground next to a delightful little 

tree lined creek.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a few days in Spearfish, we moved on to Custer State Park in South Dakota. This state park is well known as an animal refuge so we hoped to see some wildlife, especially the bison herd. The park is home to over 2000 bison which on our first day were rather elusive. We drove about 40 miles along the Wildlife Loop and although we did see a herd of

bison they were resting in the heat of the day on a far off  hillside.

 

When we woke the next morning and looked out our window we were surprised to see about two hundred bison in the meadow between our campground and the roadway, maybe 50 yards from our trailer! We were separated by only a rail fence. The bison were still there when we left for an afternoon drive on Needles Highway and Iron Mountain road.

 

Needles Highway and Iron Mountain road are popular roadways through the Black Hills because of the scenery, the curvy roadway, and the tunnels! The roadway led to spectacular views out over the forested mountains. We came around a corner and an oncoming car was stopped to enjoy the mountain goats high on the rocks above the roadway! There were views of Mount Rushmore from the tunnels! I couldn't really get that to come out as a picture, since I only use my iPhone for taking pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We enjoyed a break from the drive at Sylvan Lake for a nice hike 

around the shore. There was an area where we had

to scramble over some rocks and up the side of a hill 

and squeeze through a narrow mini slot canyon with 

cliffs beside us and boulders above us! This was a great lake to visit with families as it had lots of beaches for swimming and jumping off boulders into the water.

 

 

The roadside contained many beautiful meadows of wildflowers.  The deer also loved to graze along the roadside and we had to be extra careful as we returned to our campsite near dusk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we neared the turnout for our campsite later that evening the herd of bison we saw in the morning was up and moving on the roadway; we were stuck in a “bison jam” for about 45 minutes to travel a 1/4 mile, with the bison crossing back and forth between cars and motorcycles. It was quite an experience to have bison walking alongside the truck, in front of the truck, behind the truck!

 

 

 

 

 

We have had such an amazing trip with unexpected little blessings along the way. From finding great camping spots, to seeing amazing places, we have driven beautiful roadways and have seen all kinds of wildlife and birds. But some of our most amazing blessings have come as we have had the privilege to pray with people and share about Jesus - from meetings in coffee shops to museums and elsewhere with divinely arranged encounters.

Thanks so much for your continued prayers for our safety and health on our "Adventures on the Road"!

Black Hills and Badlands

Devils Tower National Monument

in the Black Hills of WY

In 1906 President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Devils Tower the first national monument. His action made Wyoming the home of both our first national park, Yellowstone in 1872, and our first national monument.

Driving along the highway to reach Devils Tower you can see it from a long way off rising sharply to its 5112 foot elevation. An easy 1.3 mile trail around the base of the tower gives views of the columns which make up the tower, the boulder field around the base where rocks have fallen to the ground, and the beautiful forest which comes up to one side of the tower.

When we arrived at the tower there was a sudden strong downpour and we sheltered below an information kiosk until the rain let up a bit. We decided to go for the hike and the clouds helped keep us cool from the hot sun. We could hear thunder but the lightning was some ways away. 

 

 

Badlands National Park, SD

From Wyoming we headed east through Rapid City,SD and headed south toward Badlands National Park. Along the way there is an area of dispersed camping just north of the Pinnacles Entrance to the Park.

Here the prairie of Buffalo Gap National Grasslands comes to the edge of the badlands. A dirt road took us along the edge of a steep bluff, dropping away into buttes and valleys stretching as far as we could see. We found a nice spot to enjoy the view for a night...what a place to camp!

From the Pinnacles Entrance we enjoyed a drive along Badlands Loop Road through the vast and varied landscape that makes up the Badlands. We saw Pinnacles, big horn sheep grazing on a butte, mounds of yellow and pink rocks, prairie grasses blowing in the wind, and grand valley views.

 

Monuments and Memorials

 

Crazy Horse Monument

Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski was invited by Chief Henry Standing Bear to come to the Black Hills to carve Crazy Horse. Korczak accepted the contract and began the carving in 1948. He would spend the rest of his lifetime working on this project. He married and raised 10 children, some of whom are still involved in completing the sculpture according to their father’s plans.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

We had been to Mt Rushmore close to 30 years ago but for a short visit. It was nice to schedule more time to spend on this visit. Another afternoon thunder storm met us as we arrived and turned us back from a hike along the Presidential Trail, a .6 mile walk along the base of the mountain. We retreated with all the other visitors to the stores and cafe to wait out the storm. After some snacks the rain let up and we headed back to the trail to enjoy great close views of the mountain side sculpture. We finished the trail in a second downpour, and rolling thunder!

The memorial has great exhibits that cover the making of the memorial and the history of our nation. It was an inspiring afternoon!

See you all later on our Adventures on the Road!

 

Cody, Wyoming

Welcome to the American West!

"Where is the West?" This question was posed at the Whitney Western Art Museum, at the beginning of a gallery full of artwork by the likes of Frederick Remington and Charles M. Russell. The Whitney museum is just one section of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, located in Cody, Wyoming, which we enjoyed visiting.

At some point during the great Westward Expansion in the United States, Wyoming used to be at the western edge of the United States: "the American West". In Cody, Wyoming “West” is not just a location but also a mindset, a place filled with history, and a unique western culture. 

 

As you step into the town of Cody, you enter the American West! Incorporated in 1901, the town was founded by Colonel William F. Cody, better know as "Buffalo Bill" Cody, who passed through the region in the 1870s, and loved it so much he returned to help found the town which bears his name.

Buffalo Bill Center of the West

Today Cody is rich in history, the history of the west, the history of firearms, the history of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, and of the area. The best place to understand the history of the American West  is at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, which consists of five museums:

• the Buffalo Bill Museum

• the Cody Firearms Museum

• the Draper Natural History Museum 

• the Whitney Western Art Museum

• the Plains Indian Museum

The Buffalo Bill Center is a Smithsonian Affiliate and you could spend a lot of time here in the excellent displays and exhibits filled with great explanations. We spent two days 

among the exhibits and there was even more to do! So much to see and to learn!

 

A Poster from Buffalo Bill's London Wild West tour, where he performed for the Queen. 

 

The Firearms Museum has at least 10,000 artifacts on display.The museum houses the most comprehensive collection of American firearms in the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Draper Natural History Museum contained amazing

displays focusing on the wildlife and geography of the 

Yellowstone Basin. This was perhaps the best natural history museum I have been to. The layout of the small wing of the museum was so creatively designed so that you walked through individual exhibits and onto the next while the sounds of nature surrounded you. In an exhibit about wildfires, the scent of smoke was in the air!
 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to these five fabulous museums, the The Buffalo Bill Center houses the McCracken Research Library. I took a few moments here to obtain some help researching a family member, who according to the oral history in our family, had performed with the Buffalo Bill Wild West show!  My Mother's Aunt by marriage, Lucille Mulhall had performed for her father, Zach Mulhall's wild west show, but I had not found documentation of her affiliation with the Buffalo Bill show in my research. A very kind research librarian named Samantha took the time to find some documentation within the Library collection and also some info online. Not only did Lucille perform with the Buffalo Bill show during its last season, but she was also inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1975. There was also a book in the Center's gift store that gave a whole chapter to Lucille Mulhall, who was know as one of the first women to compete with men in roping and riding events. She was a skilled and well renowned roper and horsewoman!

Perhaps because of the stories I heard from my family regarding Lucille, I have always been fascinated with Buffalo Bill and his Wild West Show. I have always known Bill Cody as a showman, but the Buffalo Bill Museum does an amazing job of chronicling Mr. Cody's accomplishments, such as founding the town of Cody; bringing irrigation to the area; creating interest in the Eastern US, and around the world, about the area of Wyoming and Yellowstone; and investing in different business ventures. Mr. Cody had an inclusive mindset and brought together talented people for his Wild West Show from all different nationalities, races, religions, and both men and women. His influence is still seen all around Cody and Wyoming.

 

Bill Cody knew that irrigation could bring great farming into the area of Cody, and he was one of the investors/developers of a Canal on the Shoshone River, which eventually became a public works dam project. The dam, originally called the Shoshone River Dam, has been renamed the Buffalo Bill Dam. This was the tallest dam in the world at the time of its completion in 1910. Building of the dam also required blasting tunnels over a half mile long through the solid granite mountainside in order to build a roadway to supply the project! Quite impressive!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The reservoir above the dam was very large, and logs from the area have accumulated at the edge of the dam.

Another attraction we explored in Cody is Old Trail Town, a collection of historical buildings which have been moved to Cody from various places in Wyoming in order to retain the history of the old west. There was a building which was currently in the process of being reassembled on site, which is obviously no easy task.  Each building was disassembled at their original sites, each piece being numbered and noted on plans, then reassembled in Cody. Each of the buildings was filled with furnishings of the time. The tour gives a good feeling of what a western town was like at the end of the 19th century.

Cody is Rodeo!

Some communities have a stadium for baseball or football, an athletic home team that they root for, but the stadium in Cody is for RODEO, which takes place every night during July and August. We had to check it out! This is definitely a community event attended by families. The evening began with prayer for safety for the contestants and livestock, followed by the National Anthem. Yes, everyone stood for the flag and removed their hats!

 

All contestants were cheered on, even when they were disqualified for not completing an event. Adults and Juniors competed in bronc riding, bull riding, roping and barrel racing events.

The Calf Scramble, Cody Nite Rodeo

This was perhaps my favorite event! All children 12 and under were invited into the arena and lined up at one end. From the opposite end of the arena, two calves were released into the dirt field. Each had a red ribbon tied to its tail. The goal of the contest was to be the one to get a ribbon from on of the calf's tails. The calves were released and the kids were given the start signal. The kids charged in one direction and the calves ran toward them and in between them. It was mayhem, but no one got hurt. Two lucky kids won some prizes for pulling the ribbons from the tails! 

What great family fun!

The Beartooth Highway and Chief Joseph Scenic Byway

The Beartooth Highway was highlighted in the area magazine's as "The most beautiful drive in America". It was a stunning drive! This section of U.S. Route 212 winds through Montana and Wyoming between Red Lodge and the Northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park, passing over the Beartooth Pass in Wyoming at 10, 947 feet!  We traveled the road from Red Lodge to its junction with the Chief Joseph Highway which brought us back to Cody. This was a magnificent day trip with stunning views. 

 

 

At the higher altitudes along the drive on the Beartooth Highway we found meadows of wildflowers, and patches of snow around gorgeous lakes. This was a view I had hoped to see in Glacier National Park, but did not see because we were unable to drive on the Going to the Sun Road to the Alpine (high elevation) meadows. It was a treat to drive this road, which I think must be similar to the road through Glacier National Park.

Standing on this bridge on the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway and looking straight down to the very deep canyon below is a dizzying experience!

This is the view from Dead Indian Pass, at 8,071 feet in elevation on the Wyoming Highway 296, known as the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway. You can see the switchbacks that we had driven over to the right of the picture,

 

We had a great week of Adventures on the Road, in the West! We are traveling on to see the sights in Eastern Wyoming and then onto South Dakota. Thanks so much for your continued prayers for safety and a fun time. We have been blessed with safe travels and fun adventures so far!