Day Eight

Friends, I write tonight at peace knowing that in the snowy wilderness I was able to light a fire successfully and most likely will survive Yellowstone, as I write, it is currently snowing on my tent. Today was absolutely amazing. I have never encountered such beauty at such magnitude. The colors, the mountains, the heavens-- the sheer expansiveness is both stunning and overwhelming at times. As I drove through the park, it seemed every turn had some fantastic feature: geysers, hot springs, rock faces, green valleys, herds of animals, even a lone bear trudging up a mountain side. In this place I have felt true joy, the kind that makes you smile uncontrollably and hyperventilate from the depths of your stomach. God’s creation is good in Wyoming. I think everyone should visit this place alone to experience and ponder the grandness of the land, and then again later with loved ones to share. Tonight the temperature is bone chillingly cold and my spirits are high. The weather hid the mountain peaks today. Feeling somewhat disappointed did not last long as a calmness rolled through me. There was a strange satisfaction with not knowing how high the mountains really went, like nature was giving me a tease through the grey sheets of clouds saying, “ If you really want to know, you’ll have to come up and find out for yourself.” If there wasn’t any mystery in this, we would probably stop looking. Perhaps when I return.