My husband, middle daughter, and I traveled six hours one way to Bonner's Ferry, Idaho, near the Canadian border. We went north up to the top of Montana, and then over to Idaho. It was a beautiful trip full of dense, lush forests, wildlife along the road, and cold glacial lakes dotting the two-lane highway.
We stopped at a scenic park near Libby, Montana, that has the oldest and largest cedar trees in America, sorta like the Redwood Forests out along the West Coast. Huge, massive, looming cedar trees that tower over the large mountains. We saw evidence of black bear (scat along the way) but thankfully no grizzlies to be seen, although we were smack in the middle of grizzly territory.
We stayed the night in a cute little lodge in Bonner's Ferry, enjoyed a bit of a relaxing hot tub before bedtime, and then curled up and slept hard. Woke the next morning bright and early and made our way to a sweet little cafe run by Mennonites, which brought back memories of my childhood and growing up among the Amish. Bought some homemade apple butter, enjoyed a homemade breakfast with strong coffee, and then drove down the road a short ways to pick up our new 1968 Shasta Starflyte camper that sleeps the whole family. Needs some work, but nothing we can't handle.
On our return home to Helena, we drove South towards Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and then over to Missoula and home again. But this time, although we were on Interstate, we were stuck in construction and stop and go traffic. It took us an additional two hours of travel time! Finally arrived home at 9:00 p.m., parked the camper, did a few last minute before-bed things, and crashed at 10:30 p.m.
I was worried before we left that there would be some terrible accident and I would leave my children behind. Thankfully, I have a few wonderful friends who prayed for our safe travels, and continued to pray throughout our day. We pulled that heavy camper over three mountain passes in nearly 100-degree heat. We only stopped a few times to gas up, use the restroom, and continue on our way.
At one point, traffic was at a standstill as we came flying over a hill at 70 mph. We would've hit the travelers in front of us had there not been an off-ramp at that precise moment. My husband swerved and took the off-ramp, avoiding colliding with the stopped traffic in front, as well as avoiding us getting rear-ended by the traffic behind. Apparently, we saw, a camper trailer was traveling too fast and had overturned in the Interstate, spewing the contents of the camper for a good half mile.
At another point, on the return trip, a semi-truck full of boards of wood spilled a few boards in the highway in front of us. We would've hit these boards directly, but my husband was able to swerve into the passing lane to avoid that near catastrophe. Again, had there been someone in the lane next to us, we would've been forced to hit the boards head-on at 70 mph.
So the Lord was with us, for sure. His angels protected us and kept us safe from harm. No overheating engine, no blown-out tires, and no accidents. Thank you, ladies, for praying, and thank you, Father, for watching over us.
We leave for our week-long camping vacation on Monday, so that gives me a few weeknights as well as the weekend to scrub up the camper and pack it for our family fun! We visited our camp site on the way home last night. The river is low enough that our girls can walk upriver and float down to our site in innertubes without any danger. The mosquitos, however, are awful. We also noticed that about 1/2 mile down the road from our camp site is a beautiful little pond for swimming and relaxing at the edge. There's a tiny little island in the middle of it for the girls to swim to and play on. As well, there will be a county fair in the area, so we will pack up the children and spend some time at the county fair.
I want to thank the Lord for selling our previously-owned camper so quickly and for full asking price. Wow. I am still amazed at how God works in our lives.
When I was in Bonner's Ferry, I was so jealous of the lives these Mennonite women lead. They are the caretakers of their children and home. They bake, they craft, they can foods together, and they take care of their husbands.
I think my next blog will be about asking the Lord to allow me to stay at home with my family and do the same. I have a strong desire for this. We shall see...
Well, y'all...this is the End of my one-year journey to rediscover God and His will for my life and my family. What an amazing year it has been, to say the least.
