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| Rock Formations in Wyoming |
Today was the longest day of our trip so far. We went 700 miles and the terrain really changed. We went through flat lands and then through beautiful, huge bluffs. In Nebraska I was surprised to find out that in the town of Lincoln, before the Civil War, they had more slaves than any other place in all of America. At that time, the town of Lincoln was called Lancaster and the next one was called York. This is exactly like the place Daryl and I just left in Pennsylvania. Our church was in Lancaster and the next city over is York. It just goes to show that things can be very different but also the same.
The other thing that struck us was how close we are to family and friends even though we might be far apart in distance. You don't really get a feel for the lay of the country when you hop on an airplane and fly from Pennsylvania to California. But you really get a sense of distance, people, and land when you drive it in a car.
We had to visit Cheyenne, Wyoming and go into the town because our oldest granddaughter is named Cheyenne. We were texting her back and forth while we were there. Also our youngest son is celebrating his birthday in Columbus, Ohio so we had a good chat with him. My younger brother David called me from Richmond. Even though we are far apart, we are still close together. So this day was filled with memories, chats and emails. We had a conversation with Daryl's good friend Brian whom he has been mentoring for a couple of years. They are planning a Divinity Cafe event when Daryl returns and will be starting a music program for children of refugees. So they were working out details while we were on the road! It's great to be so connected!
One of the highlights was a monument to Lincoln along the side of the road. You can see it here. It is the highest point on route 80- at an elevation of 8640 feet. There was also a little museum and we read about the first transcontinental highway called the Lincoln Highway. This was part of the road that Daryl's mother took when her father and stepmother made a trip west on their honeymoon and took her along. We imagined how hard it would be to travel in the 1920's. She likes telling us many of the stories of her events on that trip. Now we could see exactly where she was talking about.
It was a somewhat uneventful day because we had to drive so many miles, so we spent time listening to a wonderful story about a relationship between a father and daughter who both love music; so it struck a chord with us. It was a great positive story in learning about life and death. We were able to engage in it while we traveled. It is called The Last Song.
I especially enjoyed listening to a CD produced by a professional choir in Lancaster. It is all music composed by Daryl. The group known as the Lancaster Chamber Singers loves his compositions and so they decided to do a whole CD of them. My favorite song on the Cd is : It is Good to Give Thanks to God. How grateful we are for this time to be together, to chat with friends and family, to see this magnificent world.
A theme that keeps arising with me is that people everywhere are looking for the same things - love and beauty, security and happiness. In some places, people find life to be a blessing and they honor each other's traditions and respect the good earth. Other times, greed and love of money take over and the air is polluted, the streams are dirty, violence rears its ugly head and sorrow wins the day. We were reminded again of how easy people can let money, greed and power sway their ability to make good decisions. Rock Springs has a sordid history of police misconduct that still colors life there today. I couldn't help but think of all my Native American brothers and sisters that lost their land, families and even their lives because of greed.
It sobers me and I pray for God's great mercy to surround us and nudge us to love one another.
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| Bonnie and the Monument of Lincoln |
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