This morning, as I most often do, with coffee beside me and Bible opened in front of me, I review my previous posts on social media, letting the Words of God speak to me again, as they had when I posted them. A post comes before my eyes from 2012, my most painful year. The Word speaks to my heart. Again. And again.
Here are bits of that post and present thoughts about it:
One November morning, 2012, I opened my Bible and read: “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” My response then was – “Jesus, the precious name of Jesus!” I’ve read those verses, those Words of Jesus, recorded in John 14 and 15, over and over again through the years, before 2012 and since. Today, as I read that very promise, spoken by the Lord Jesus, Himself in the Gospel of John, I praise His name. Not only is His name “precious,” but it is “powerful.” It is the name above all names! The name from which the enemy flees. I speak it often throughout the day – in whispers – or in prayer. He tells us He will do what we ask because it’s for the Father’s glory. He tells us He will do what we ask if the Father is glorified through it.
Our son called us last night – from his hospital room. After days – weeks – of suffering – he asked us to join him in agreement for a specific prayer request – all in the name of Jesus. He quoted God’s promises in John 14 and 15. He knows God will grant his prayer if it brings glory to God. The trust and faith of my sick son is strengthening my own! And that very act of faith, I have no doubt, is bringing God glory. God confirms His Word over and over. The Word of God is unchanging. It is alive and powerful. And our Savior Jesus lives – He is unchanging – the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
On that same bleak November 2012 morning, God used a friend who sent me a prayer from Daniel 9. I read it again today:
“17 Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, O Lord, look with favor on your broken, (children). 18 Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see these broken people that bear your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. 19 O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because this family bears your Name.”
“This family bears Your Name.”
Yes, we do.
We, our family, are still His people – as we were back in 2012, when my friend – and my God – comforted me with His Word.
Now, in this dreadfully disturbing present time, a distant cousin, writes, “Kathi, in my local Bible Study, I’ve just been studying the book of Daniel, and I encourage you. God answers that prayer of His servant, Daniel!”
God uses His Word – unchanging and alive. He uses my cousin, Julie, as a faith-strengthener, to confirm His Word. In it all, I recognize His favor – for me, my son, and for all whom He loves. I hope my writing encourages others in the same manner – of God’s promises, His love, and His favor upon us. (I am writing about favor, a post I will soon publish.)
Today, as I look back upon His faithfulness to me, I am so very thankful that the Word is in my mouth and in my heart (Romans 10:8).
Death was not in God’s original plan, nor was it a part of the life He had planned for us in that beautiful garden. But Adam and Eve chose sin, and death followed. Consequently we all know the grief suffered by every human being since. He didn’t want it for us, but
You know how it is when you’ve gone someplace you were really looking forward to – then you head home. Oftentimes that drive home is simply a boring drive. There’s nothing more to see. Your trip is over and you just want to get home. I did not want to end this awesome month-long journey in that manner!
I usually rode the school bus home, but when I needed to stay for 7th grade cheerleading practice, Mom picked me up after work at 3:30. The inside of the old car had soaked up the warm sun of the fall afternoon, and I immediately relaxed as I slid onto the fabric seat. Although far more exhausted than I, having worked all day in the shop , Mom greeted me with a hug and a smile. As she drove, I pulled out my book, Little Women, read all the way home,
In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.
~ John Muir
Oh yes. John Muir is spot on. We are receiving far more than we had expected in today’s “walk with nature” here at Yellowstone National Park.
(I hope you have the music audio turned on! It might be located at the bottom of the page.)
We stand before Excelsior, once the largest geyser in the world. Its boiling water bursted 300 feet high and just as wide before the 1900’s, but with the exception of a two-day eruption in 1985, is now dormant as a geyser. One can only imagine what those monstrous earlier eruptions must have been like. But I am fascinated with simply observing it as it is today – a massive, boiling spring:
(Did you know that you can click on each pic to enlarge it on most devices?)
In his book, Our National Parks, John Muir wrote,
“Near the Prismatic Spring is the great Excelsior Geyser, which is said to throw a column of boiling water 60 to 70 feet in diameter to a height of from 50 to 300 feet, at irregular periods. This is the greatest of all the geysers yet discovered anywhere.”
As he continued, Muir referred to Excelsior as “incomparable” and that “nothing in the world” could match it.
Now we are watching the boiling turquoise water of Excelsior spring up from deep within this crater and discharge 4000 gallons per minute into the Firehole River. It is amazing to think of the volcanic atmosphere underground.
Yes, John Muir, this Excelsior Geyser Crater is “incomparable.”
As we entered the park today, we had again followed the Madison River, but unlike yesterday, today we turned south. It seems every road in the figure-8 loop of Yellowstone and those extending beyond the figure-8 loop follow rivers. Our ancestors and those original peoples of this area did the same – traveled beside the rivers. Today, we travel along the Firehole River, suitably named for the boiling water that feeds it. Here and there, a short distance below the boiling discharge from Excelsior, we see people wade and swim in its waters. Yesterday, we had seen men fly fishing in the Madison. (Click here)Not only does this park belong to its wildlife, it also belongs to us – the people of this country. And I am honored.
You’ll see today’s route in blue:
When you travel this area of Yellowstone, hot spots of this Yellowstone Volcano are even more visible than in other areas of the park. You can see them on either side of the road – for miles.
Planning for Yellowstone, Ron’s greatest desire was to see the Grand Canyon, which we had done yesterday. (Read about it here.)
Today, we will view my greatest desire at Yellowstone – what I’ve most been looking forward to. And as awesome as I find Excelsior Geyser to be, I am most enthralled with the beautiful, colored spring behind it: Grand Prismatic Spring:
The center of the spring is near-boiling, and as the water reaches out to the edges and cools, colorful bacteria fill its waters. It is 300 feet long and 160 feet deep. The water in the center is 188 degrees! “The hot spring has bright bands of orange, yellow, and green ring the deep blue waters in the spring. The multicolored layers get their hues from different species of thermophile (heat-loving) bacteria living in the progressively cooler water around the spring.”
It’s not surprising this spring is called a living rainbow.
We have arrived mid-day. Having read that the colors are best if the sun is shining, we’ve pretty much hit it perfect! I am blessed.
Ron spots buffalo prints and a “cow pie” it left in the crusty geothermal area between the boardwalk on which we stand and the spring itself. We humans are forbidden to step in this area, for our own safety. Temps had dropped to 40 degrees last night, and a buffalo had come here to warm up. The few rules of Yellowstone do not apply to those who call it home – its wildlife.
Before we leave, we stand and stare. Others move past us, but I am still, standing and basking, trying to push this scene of the Grand Prismatic Spring deep into my long term memory. The photos will help me to remember, and later I am pleased by their quality.
When we finally leave, we drive just a bit further on this road, around a curve to the trailhead that will take us to a lookout point of the Grand Prismatic Spring. And along the short distance, we see one single buffalo – between the huge hot springs and the trail to the lookout. This is the big boy who visited the hot spring in the night – I am sure!
We hike a half mile uphill to see Grand Prismatic from the overlook. It’s challenging on this hot day, but oh so worth it. Can you tell from the looks on our faces?
Finally we hike back to our truck, parked along the road. We enjoy a few minutes of air conditioning as we drive further south on this Grand Loop, following the signs for Old Faithful. Amazingly, we find shade in the outer area overlooking the geyser.
So we sit on a log to picnic, awaiting the eruption, and within the time frame predicted, Old Faithful erupts! Afterward, we browse the buildings in this “tourist attraction” – both old and new – and have ice cream on the porch of the Inn. Old Faithful most obviously attracts thousands of people a day. At least that many are here for this one “faithful” eruption. The number of people makes this spot so different from others throughout the park. Throughout the afternoon, we see smaller geysers erupting in this area.
All day, I thank God I am here in this place of the yellow rock, Mi tse a-da-zi , which I wrote about yesterday. I thank God for the opportunity to be here and for the good health He has given Ron and me to hike these paths. I thank him for my travel mate of 50 years, my Ronnie. But most of all, and continually, I breathe spoken prayers of praise to my Father, for His amazing creation and this tiny bit of the original magnitude of that creation and a foretaste of what I will see in heaven.
At the end of this second day, we again follow the Madison River toward our West Yellowstone exit, and today, our eyes are fixated on Mt, Haynes, named for the first official photographer of the park. Mr. Haynes might be appalled at the quality of my photos, but I am thankful for each one. I am already reviewing them with joy as I send them to our children, while we drive back to our sweet little travel trailer for the night. Tomorrow is another day in Yellowstone!
From the north, we drove just a short distance into California before gps instructed us to turn east onto Highway U.S. 199 toward our destination campground. I had booked three nights here, which I thought gave us two full days to go into the parks to see the beautiful Redwoods ~ our purpose in coming to this southernmost point of our journey. I assumed we would reach our campsite, set up, and visit the parks the next day, but – once we made that turn onto U.S. 199, we discovered were already in the Redwoods:
Dictionary.com defines “perspective” as “the state of one’s ideas, the facts known to one, etc., in having a meaningful interrelationship . . .”
Previously, “the state of” my ideas were that one needed complete solitude to enjoy a campsite. Or at least close to solitude. A quiet, shady setting on a hot summer day would be best. That was the state ofmy idea. But my perspective changed. My ideas now were based upon this new and different perspective. I was now looking at the setting through the lens of my new “interrelationship” with the beautiful Columbia River Gorge, which I wrote about in my last post: (The Magic of Multnomah) So from this perspective, I was camping in the midst of a wonderland.
Where once I thought I could not sleep with the noise of a passing train whistling and roaring throughout the night, I unexpectedly quit noticing the roar of the trains and instead focused on the wonderland. I didn’t even need my pink earplugs I wrote about earlier. (Click here.)
Where once I thought I could not sleep with the noise of a major highway near (yes, the cars and semis ran just behind the Airstream travel trailer in the site next to us), I suddenly didn’t hear the noise and instead focused on the wonderland.
It’s all in perspective.
An enlightened perspective sometimes brings great joy! As it did to me at Site 33, Viento State Park along the Columbia River (and along the train tracks, and Highway30 . . . ha-ha!)
I don’t think I need to explain it. The videos and photos reveal it: my new perspective!
It brought joy.
Give it a try! You’ll see things quite differently.
(If the background music on the website is playing, please scroll down and pause it while watching the two videos below. Enlarge video to full screen, if you can!:)
A short walk took us over the railroad tracks and to the river.Loved our shady spot – sun filtering through the mossy trees! And Highway 30 was just behind the Airstream on the next site!
While visiting Glacier, we had spent three nights at a peaceful campground in Kalispell – Rocky Mountain High.
The beautiful Swan Mountain Range behind our campground.
It was a perfect country setting with the beautiful Swan Mountain Range in the background. We slept with our windows open, breathing fresh pine air, the large trees above then shading our trailer during the day.
We’ve had sunshine nearly every day of our trip thus far, and today was no different. As we readied ourselves and prepared the trailer to leave the site, our neighbors, Barry and Linda, held our hands and prayed for a safe journey for us. The body of Christ is ever present on our journey.
We continued our venture on Highway 2, which we had followed now through five states and would continue well into the sixth state before this nightfall.
Western Montana did not disappoint. It was all we had expected with green forests and beautiful lakes surrounded by tall pines.
Ranches with occasional fields of hay to feed the livestock, dotted our paved trail.
Further west, the Kootenai River came along beside us and flowed beautifully beside us as we entered Idaho. At Bonners Ferry, we separated ways with the river – it flowed north, while we drove south through Spokane and on into Washington.
Certainly the landscape murals changed. Sage brush dappled the otherwise barren land. Soon we drove around brown mountains speckled with small pines that had managed to grow in the dry rocky surfaces.
We ascended and descended these parched mountains and the twists and turns of their ups and downs, and of the curves I had come to hate and fear, which were impossible to escape, so I gritted my teeth and clenched the arm rest beside me until we finally descended into a beautiful green valley – the town of Wenatchee, Washington, the “Apple Capital of the World.”
It was a breath of fresh air after hours of driving through a desolate area.
Not only was the valley below filled with orchards, but the mountain walls surrounding the valley were, as well. And not just with apple orchards but with all kinds of fruit.
The inviting Wenatchee River flowed through the valley, and that night, we camped near the river at the County Park.
If there’s one thing I’ve discovered during this trip it’s that the landscape and road conditions can change within a mile’s drive! And that’s what happened when we left the valley and parted ways with Highway 2, our old original, on which we had driven over 2000 miles in the last ten days!
Leaving the beautiful Wenatchee Valley, we turned south on US Highway 97. The road ascended as quickly as the gas prices! Now the mountains were green and fertile with wild plants, natural trees, and living creatures.
And a short distance further south, the scenery changed yet again!
The windy, hot, dry climate, typical of this area of Washington surrounded us. Although 100 degrees, when we stopped for gas, we noticed how much cooler it seemed than 100 degrees. Now we know what people mean when they say its a dry heat. Nonetheless, we were in a desert, so our plans to “boondock” overnight needed to change. I called ahead to Yakima and booked us a site. It was one of the strangest we’ve ever had – such tight quarters in the middle of a large city, next to an RV storage lot. But we had electric and the AC we needed thanks to Site #40!
ha-ha!)
