Another Driving Adventure

    Wednesday night, Claire and I drove up to youth group. The first time Claire drove there was the night she received her license and it proved to an exciting excursion. But now Claire's driving is old news and we have settled into a steady routine of driving to and from places with little to no hassle.
    After youth, Emily had asked us for a ride and of course we always enjoy a little company when we are driving, so all three of us climbed into the vehicle and headed homeward.
    However, sometime in between when we arrived at youth group and when we left, it had begun to snow. Snow blew by our windshield in giant gusts and it was becoming an enormous task just to see the road.
    Slowly, we crept home all three of us keeping a close watch on anything that could tell us we were still on the road. Our prayers muttered into the wind were swept up and carried to the heavens. We dipped down into town and the weather seemed to cease with all the houses guarding the road, the snow didn't blow as much. We took the rural road home and the trees sheltered us from the wind. We emerged from the trees into a world of white only about 2 miles from home.
    We strained our eyes trying to pick out shapes and things that could guide us. We climbed to the top of a hill and I stretched my head out the window in order to keep a close eye on the edge of the road. The snow slammed against the side of my face and a number of times it's motion grew so violent that I was forced to shut the window.
    We made the turn onto our dirt road and the snow was so bad that we could barely see anything. I began to see sprigs of grass in front of us and realized we were driving in the field.
    "We're in the field!" I cried alarmed. Emily, peering out her window, quickly agreed with me and Claire steered the car slowly back to the road. We made our way down the driveway, safe.
    Of course the snow was so terribly bad that Emily's father wasn't sure he could make it down our driveway and then back up again. Dad, Emily and I climbed back in the car to go and deliver Emily. We reached the top of the driveway prepared for the blizzard we had just left behind and the sky was clear.
    A few innocent snowflakes fell to the ground and the headlights lit up what seemed to be miles laid out in front of us. I couldn't believe my eyes. Emily and I sat there in disbelief.
    "It's kind of like those times when you have an amazing story." Emily commented. "And when you go to show someone, the proof is gone."
    I nodded slowly as we crawled along in the fresh snow. Later that night, I glanced out my window and was blessed by the sight of the moon glistening on the snow. Sparse streaks of clouds passed through the sky, but the night was clear. I blinked my eyes reminding myself our adventure wasn't simply a dream.

Until Next Time,
    Katherine Rose

An Eventful Drive Home

    On Sunday night, we went to the local gym to play some games and socialize. As we exited the gym doors however, our area was under three severe weather warnings. The wind shook the car as we drove Nathaniel home.
    After we dropped him off Claire, Jane, Emily and I began to make our way. As we drove to the center of town we said a few prayers as pellets of snow whipped past our front window and God did answer our prayers by sending us home the rural way, because just about the time we were deciding whether or not to take the highway a tree fell across the road that leads to it and chances are we wouldn't have been as fortunate to make it by unscathed.
    However, the rural road home had it's own problems. We came across a large branch in the road and I dragged it out of the way. The wind was still howling and carrying on as I climbed back into the car and we continued on our way. Just a short distance down the road we came across a large tree lying in our path.
    We turned around and started back into town with the ambition of taking the highway home however our path to get to it had been blocked. We drove back through town. It looked very ominous. The garbage people had set out for pick up in the morning blew across the street and rain water carved paths for itself on the pavement.
    We called Dad for some help and he and Cousin Bill set out in the truck with a chainsaw to come and get us. We drove back down the rural road and stopped at the tree to wait. Soon headlights came glistening into view and we all sat anxiously on the edge of our seats.
    Never had I been so thrilled to hear the sweet whirr of a chainsaw. Emily, Claire and I climbed out of the car to help move the cut pieces of the tree off of the road.
    Then we piled into the truck. Cousin Bill drove Jane home and Dad returned Emily safe and sound to her own home. It was a very exciting night, but also a scary one. Thinking of all the people on the roads driving home in the storm was a scary thought.
    Paige contacted us upon her safe arrival home and we went to bed warmed with the knowledge that everyone had safely made it home, despite the storm.

Until Next Time,
    Katherine Rose

Onward

    I woke up a little later today. I think I am finally adjusting to the time change. We set up and left. Our first stop was a tires place. We left the trailer there and went over to the laundry mat where we left Mom. Then we went to Jiffy Lube and they changed our oil. The people there were all very professional.
    Mom went into the grocery store and she found all natural Harvest beef jerky with no nitrates. So, there was a win there.
    We stopped and had lunch at Burger King and Jane found some pleasure in putting the Burger King crowns on the two dogs in her seat. Herbie and Sparky were wearing their crowns proudly and I asked her to take a picture so I could share it with you:

    We started west again this time slightly less sure of our destination. Claire said that she didn't want to see Mount Rainier, Jane said she did and I said I just wanted to see the caves in Oregon
    We then passed through another time zone. In Idaho we were 3 hours ahead of the time that I was used to. It actually felt pretty cool like I was getting away with something by being in a different time zone. It kind of felt like I had more hours in my day, even the day before it did, when I technically didn't.
    In the beginning of Idaho there were hills, trees and a big open sky, but no potatoes. It didn't look any different than Montana, which made sense, because we had previously been in Montana.
    We stopped at Wallace park to walk the dog. Apparently it was the silver capitol of the world. We walked around and looked at some of the mining tools and equipment. It was very interesting:

    The ride continued as we loaded the dogs back into the car and drove on. The rest of the day wasn't very exciting. It was filled with driving.
    We made it to Washington later in the day and I took a picture:

    We set up at the campground and went to bed.

Until Next Time,
    Katherine Rose

Welcome to Wyoming

    Yesterday we woke up at 7:00 still not used to this new time zone, because we were supposed to sleep late. We went and had a pancake breakfast and Mom brought real maple syrup with us.
    Then we packed up and left. We drove past Crazy horse. It's still busy being constructed. Then we stopped at a Jewel Cave, but we didn't go in the caves because the tours didn't start until much later and we didn't have time to wait for them.
    We stopped and read an educational sign on the Jasper fire that swept through South Dakota in 2000 and we continued west into Wyoming.
    Here it is not as green as back home. The fields are browner and the sky is still big.
    I could see a long train continuing for what looked like a mile and I couldn't resist taking a picture:

Do you see the Wyoming train in the background?

    I also took some pictures of the landscape so here they are:

    In the parking lot of a convenience store, I under went a dental experiment. I broke the appliance for my braces the day before. We were trying to remove it. Sadly, we weren't successful and we climbed back in the car with our snacks and continued on our way.
    About halfway through the day Claire started driving, with the trailer! Yes, it was frightening, but we all survived, so it turned out okay.
    We stopped at a pull off and I saw something that I had thought about when I was very young and I am glad I got to see it; snow in the summer time.
    It was hot. 70 degrees and I wasn't even wearing a jacket. There on the ground was a pile of snow. We had a mini snowball fight and simply enjoyed the fact that it was there.
    Here is a picture (notice the green in the background):

Wyoming Snow

    We had hotdogs in the camper for lunch and tried yet again to remove the appliance from my mouth. We did not succeed in removing the whole thing. However, with the help of a Leatherman and a pair of wire cutters (we broke those by the way) we managed to detach a portion of it. Then we pulled out just ahead of a storm.
    We drove through Big Horn Wyoming and I took some pictures:

    Claire was on edge the entire time. Seeing how high up we were it was understandable. I was just thankful she wasn't driving. A little while after that we passed through some small Wyoming towns that seemed very quaint and pleasant.
    We stopped in Cody, Wyoming for the night and enjoyed hamburgers for dinner. Well, I didn't. I ate a hotdog, because my mouth hurt from my broken appliance. I prefer hotdogs anyway, so it wasn't a very big loss.
    The rest of the night was rather quiet and the day ended.

Until Next Time,
    Katherine Rose

The Drivers Permit

    Claire recently received her driver's permit and she is quite the driver. I believe it will get better as she continues to do it. I hope so anyway. Leave it Claire to drive through the biggest pothole in the road or have road rage while driving 45 miles per hour :)
    She must have encountered just about everything within the short time she has had her permit. She came across deer, road construction, and pedestrians. She drove on the highway, through town, through pouring rain, in parking lots and through a red light.
    There must have been a twenty car backup on a back road that never has cars on it!
    She said she was doing them a favor keeping them all safely below the speed limit. I asked her, "Do you want to know how many people you are doing a favor?"
    Jane had the answer, "Twenty." She piped up. "And that's only as far back as I can see."
    So, maybe Jane and I were exaggerating but you know, maybe we weren't.
    When we finally got on the highway, the truck that had been behind us for quite a while took off. I bet he was very aggravated being stuck behind us for what probably amounted to 15 minutes or at the rate Claire was driving, possibly more.
    Jane then became very interested in counting how many cars passed us on the highway. She started a little late though or else she probably would have gotten a rather high number and we only drove on the highway for about 5 minutes.
    I think Claire is one of the scariest people I have ever gotten into the car with (and this is saying something considering she doesn't actually drive that fast) but she will continue to drive us anyway and I will continue to get in the car with her because I have places I need to be.
    Don't get me wrong, she's great for just starting out, but I am used to riding with my very experienced parent drivers so it's a huge change.
   
Until Next Time,
    Meredith