We arrive!
This is the last in a series about our car trip out west. Thank you for reading. The first two pictures are from walks along the Butte where my parents live.
View while walking near the cabin
View from the front porch
We woke in Zion early, and packed
before the heat of the day. After a long
drive north through Utah, and through the traffic nightmare of Salt Lake City,
we chose our last campsite before arriving at our destination. Laura swam in a chilly pool while I sat and
read. Behind her we could see snow
covered mountains. Laura loves to swim,
even when the water is very cold. She
was the only person in the water that day.
Our camping neighbors were a Mormon
family out camping for the very first time.
The tent and supplies had been a father’s day gift. We talked while we walked together to a large
campfire provided by the KOA. The kids roasted marshmallows, and enjoyed the
fire, but soon I was tired and sleepy. I
just rested in my camp chair, waiting on the sun to go down so I could go to
bed. The wife of the family looked at me
and said, “You look really tired.” I
agreed and asked her the time. The sun
was just setting, and it was 10:00 at night.
She laughed and said, “I also had a hard time getting used to how late
the sun sets in the summer out here.”
She was a Southern girl from Alabama who had fallen in love, converted
to the Mormon faith, married and moved to Utah.
She and her husband headed to bed also, after sharing an evening
cigarette.
Father’s Day morning we were up
early and ready to go. Our neighbors had
frozen during the night and ended up sleeping in their car. They watched us as we took down our tent and
packed, and he said, “Look, camping mats.
That’s what we should have bought.”
I hope they continued to camp with their kids. Even the tough sleepless nights develop into
good memories. And I hope they went out
and bought camping mats.
The final drive was beautiful. After 10 days on the road I still enjoyed
looking around at the scenery. For a
time we could see the Teton Mountains on the horizon, which was exciting
because those mountains are the most spectacular mountain range in the
USA. Even so, we were all eager to get
off the road for a while.
Joseph finished the driving, and he
was the one that drove up the dirt road to my parent’s log cabin in the wilds
of Montana, arriving on Father’s Day. It
was exhilarating knowing we had crossed the country, and ended up exactly where
we had planned, using only maps and road signs.
Thrilled, I sat on my Mom’s red couch and instantly fell asleep.
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