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Saturday, August 20, 2011

The first three days

This is our third day on the road, officially.  I finally got the internet to post this, after waiting almost all day to get a connection.  I’m going to go back in time just a little bit to Thursday, our day of departure…

On the 18th of August, we were all rushing around and getting ready to leave at 4 p.m.  It was a very productive day, with lots of house cleaning, laundry on top of laundry, packing and washing of vehicles.  Jesse Telian came over that day and was a tremendous help to dad.  It looked like we would actually pull out on time. 

Finally, at 4:30, we all gathered in front and prayed for a safe and wonderful journey.  Then the goodbyes, to both our friend and our home (and the cat, of course).  Then we followed Jesse up the road, all the way up through Oakhurst.  When we got to ECHO, all the Telian’s were on the side of the road, honking and yelling and holding signs!  It was so awesome.  So we jumped out, gave hugs, and with mixed emotions, got back on the road. 

That night we drove 4 hours to Lee Vining, where we spent the night in the Lee Vining High School parking lot.  (School hadn’t started yet, thankfully).  Dad told us, “I haven’t slept in high school for 31 years!”  We slept okay, nobody kicked us out, and we got a nice early start on Friday.

So at 6:58 Friday morning, we pulled out and began one of the longest drives we anticipate on our trip.  But before we hit the highway, we pulled over for a minute so I could get a couple pictures of the sunrise over Mono Lake.  After getting some satisfying shots, we got back on the long road to Salt Lake City. 

Thankfully, we found stuff to do on the boring highways.  We pulled out the license plate game and Libbey’s felt book, and the rest of us either listened to ipods or read books.  Dad worked a bit when mom drove, and when he drove mom wrote letters or rested.  I even caught up on journaling and reading while we drove through the Salt Desert.  Including finally finishing “The Two Towers” by Tolkien!  Praise God for straight roads!  I would have done blogging and emailing, but there weren’t enough DC adapters to go around.  Yet. 

The hours wore on, and finally at 9:00 mountain time, after 14 hours, 750 miles and about 8 stops for gas, we arrived in the great Salt Lake City.  Using the GPS on dad’s phone, we drove through the mess of highways and exits to a Wal-Mart, where we spent the night.  And we weren’t the only ones who needed a place to sleep that night—there were three other trailers there too.  And I guarantee that we were the cleanest, nicest trailer in the parking lot! 

Before we left Salt Lake City, we stopped at a Rite-Aid to get another DC adapter.  Thank goodness!  Driving today was better, only 7 ½ hours driving time.  We went through Utah to Wyoming, where we spent the night in Casper, the second most populous city in WY.  Its population is 60,000, approximately.  Wyoming is pretty, but when you’re driving for hours and there’s absolutely NO civilization anywhere, it gets quite lonely and rather depressing.  It’s funny, once you get to farms and green fields, everyone cheers and feels like they’ve become a part of life again.  Just the sight of a couple farmhouses can lift your spirit, when you’ve seen nothing but snow barriers and hills for ages (if you’re lucky, you might spot a herd of cows here or there).  I really loved Yellowstone and the Tetons, and if I had to live in Wyoming it would definitely be near one of those places.  Maybe the city of Jackson Hole?  This part we’re in now is just too spread out for me…I hope I didn’t offend Mr. Becker though…

It’s been a good day in the truck, except for absolutely no internet connection whatsoever.  We have found almost all 50 state license plates, mostly the ones on the west side of the U.S.  Delaney even found an Alaska plate!  We’ve seen some interesting things in just the first couple drives too.  There have been some interesting signs along the road.  One was a warning of the end times…the set date on the sign being May 21, 2011.  A bit delayed, perhaps?  Just an hour ago, we passed through Muddy Gap.  Apparently, it was the parting point at the Oregon Trail.  Those going to Oregon would go northwest, the California-bound headed west, and anywhere else they were destined to.  It was just a tiny blink of a place, but there were a few really old-looking cabins and shanties that easily could have been a hundred years old.  I wish we could have stopped and just explored, but we didn’t have time. 

For me, the Lord has been good, and so far the only bad carsickness I’ve had was on Thursday, all the way to Lee Vining.  The rest of the time I just have to pace myself, and make sure that I take frequent ‘looking down’ breaks so I can let my stomach settle.  It’ll only get better, hopefully.  (Thank you, Mrs. Lori Smith, for your specific prayers in this area). <3 

 I wish I could post pictures, but as of yet the internet doesn't work well enough right now.  I'll try again tomorrow.

1 comment:

  1. It is agreed that southern WY is rather desolate but when I get there I feel like I can breathe again. I know, you California's will never understand. May God continents to bless your time

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