Saturday June 27, 2018  DAY 115  A MOUNTAIN TOP EXPERIENCE!

NOTE TO ANY WHO READ YESTERDAY’S BLOG.  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE GO BACK AND REREAD IT!  I just proofread it and it was atrocious.  I was literally sleep walking in my brain last night.  Hope tonight is better.  At least it is only 12:22 a.m.  I must hurry so I can get more sleep tonight.

Tonight I am again in a different bed, different room and about 10 hours in driving time from where I spent last night.  I am in Cheyenne Wyoming.  After driving in both Montana and Wyoming I think it is almost a draw as to which one I am most in love with.  The thing I find so interesting about these states is that each state individually is so diverse in landscapes.  Since they are bordering states you would think they might be quite similar, but after leaving Montana and arriving in Wyoming it’s as if the landscapes changes purposely to accommodate a separate identity for each state.  It also seemed that way when I crossed the border from Canada into Idaho.

I loved Montana in its stark beauty of open spaces and subtle colors and the curves that fashioned the ground.  So, so beautiful.  And then I crossed over the “port of entrance” in Frannie Wyoming and It’s as if I drove into another country again.  Very different.  Wyoming has a cragginess about it.  So many shapes and forms rising up from the earth.  Sharp points of mountains, large and small, irregular peaks in the distance and bluffs that seem to arise out of nowhere.  Crumbling rock tumbling on the roads from above.  And I wondered what “The Port of Entrance” meant until I saw the highway sign that said all commercial vehicles had to stop at the port of entrance for inspection.  Then I realized I had crossed over the border from one state to the next and everything in commercial vehicles had to be checked.  I assumed it mostly had to do with transporting live fruits and vegetables and anything else that could bring petulance or disease into the state of Wyoming.  The same tactic is used when crossing the border into California.

Blake told me about a mountain range that I might want to see since I enjoythe winding scenic route much better that Interstates.  So I decided to take his advice and go the scenic route.  I will forever be grateful to Blake for telling me about this DIAMOND.  Oh my, what an experience today was as I drove into a mountain of delight.  After leaving the mountain I summed it up in my mind as being Yosemite and Glacier National Park all rolled into one.  And I loved both Yosemite and Glacier but I think I love this one more or at least as equal.  I approached the mountain range from a long distance away and was quite impressed with what I saw.  I didn’t realize these were the mountains I would be journeying into.  The closer I got the more curious I was about them.  They are like none other I have ever seen.  Take a look at the pictures I included today.  Enlarge the picture by clicking on it and study the intricate lines of the mountain’s surface.  So very beautiful.  As I got closer and closer to the mountain I could see that one of them had, what looked like to me, to be a road on it.  I felt a little tingle, and a lot of excitement as I speculated that that might actually be the mountain I would climb to get over to the other side. Well, it was true.  That was the mountain I would climb in my little grey fox.  And it was a steep climb and descent.  And it took a long time to get over the mountains. Once I climbed to the top in my car the lookout points were amazing.  It was like sitting on the edge of an airplane wing and looking at the earth below.

I finally arrived at the other side of the mountain range and was quite a bit behind in my timeline for traveling to my next destination before dark.  But it was worth it.  So worth it.  When I arrived at the tops of the mountain, to my surprise there were beautiful little green valleys with gorgeous trees growing up the sides of the mountains.  From a distance I could see no depth, no other mountains behind the row of mountains I viewed from afar  I was so pleasantly surprised to find all the different landscapes even in the  ecosystem of the mountains.  It was about 20 degrees cooler up than down on the dessert floor.  74 degrees vs. 94 degrees.  Take your pick.  When I am in the internal part of a mountain range like the one today I feel apart and personal and intimate with the mountain.  It seems such a mystery how man can engineer and design a system to traverse from one mountain to the next mountain to get over and through and up and down in the mountain range and make you come out where you need to go.  I love the feeling of being within the range.

Again, I am at a loss for words and clarity because of the late time.  I arrived at my destination after 9:00 p.m. tonight and once I got unpacked and had dinner it was another late night.  I am staying an Airbnb tonight in Cheyenne.  I hope to go to the capitol building if it are open on a Sunday and then head to Denver Colorado to see my cherished friends Cynthia and Chris and their two boys.  David believes I am his grandma and he is excited to see me.  The 4 month old could probably care less but I can hardly wait to see how much he has grown since I was there earlier in my trip.  He was just a couple of weeks old when I last saw him.  I have adopted her boys in my heart as my grandchildren. I think I am the only grandma they really know.  I will be in Denver for two nights.

Before I left Blake and Carrie’s home I asked Blake if he had some wisdom for me.  He was quick to respond and I want to point out that I absolutely love his wisdom.  He said quite a bit on my voice box on the Iphone so I will condense it here

Blake’s wisdom:  “Try to learn something from everyone you meet in life because everyone you meet will have something interesting that you don’t know about.  If you take time to visit with them you will learn something new.”

Blake told me about a story I found very interesting.  Last year his wife Carrie became involved with flying with World War II vets for the HONOR FLIGHT to Washington DC and back because she is a respiratory therapist that flies on the medical rescue flights taking people to hospitals.  Medical personnel were needed to help care for the elderly veterans while traveling.  She came back from the first flight and was so emotionally exploding that Blake decided to volunteer his time as well.  Blake went on all the rest of the flights.  They worked with over 500 veterans on these trips.  Carrie could not come on the last trip but Blake went.  These men were in their 90’s and one was 103.  Blake found out new things from each one he talked with.  There was one man who  wanted to go on the honor flight so desperately but his family did not want him to go because he was frail.  He wanted to go so badly that they consented.  He did it.  He had a marvelous time and loved every moment of it.  Carrie did not get to go on that last flight with him so she stopped over at his house the night he got home just to talk to him.  He was thrilled to have had the experience.  Carrie went home and the man died later that night.  This man was quite an artisan and after his death his family gifted Carrie and Blake with a beautiful art creation he did.  I regret that I did not take a photo of it because it was truly one of the most beautiful intricate pieces of wood art I have ever seen.  It was a three dimensional piece of wood with beautiful curves that if held in one direction made a perfect double “S”.  The sides were curved with a wide flat surface.  the wood was all done with intricate small pieces of wood overly.  It was truly a beautiful work of art.   In a nutshell Blake’s wisdom “Try to learn something from everyone you meet.”

Blake, thank you for your beautiful and touching story.  And oh by the way, if you read this would you please take a picture of a couple of different angles of the artwork I spoke about and send it to my text number.  I would really appreciate it and would love to post it here.  Thank you for a wonderful experience at your home.  I enjoyed meeting both you and Carrie.  If Carrie would like to send me her wisdom I’d love to share it.

Okay friends out there in never never land.  My days on the road are numbered.  It is count down time.  This is my last Sunday to be traveling.  I have a lot of thinking to do.  A lot of contemplation.  I am so looking forward to seeing my grandsons in Wisconsin, my husband, my son and daughter in law and eventually Rebecca  and Neil  and Jackson and Coal (my granddogs) down in West Palm Beach.  Life will never be the same for me again.  I will never be the same.  Thanks to all of you who have read my blog and made comments along the way.  I appreciate your input.  I don’t even know if a lot of it made sense because I wrote so late at night and that is not my normal wake time.  I think I am in for some adjustment when I get home.   I hope to continue blogging and actually put topics where they should be so it will be easier to find things.  I’d like to have more of my poetry available also.

I will close but before I do I’ll search my brain and see if there is any power left in there to come up with a poem without falling asleep.

Montana Inspiration

By Kathleen Martens

June 27, 2015

Seas of color dance in the wind,

Flowers and grass best of friends.

Colors of gold flecked by the sun

As beige and lavender blur into one.

Pink and orange and hints of green

And maroon oft is seen.

An ocean floor gentle and curved

This same beauty to the earth served.

And I thank God that I can see

All that He created just for me.

And that I can hear His beautiful song

The sound of birds as I travel along.

And I can inhale the fragrance of life

In a simple flower that carries no strife.

And I can taste His bounty of love

That He seeded from Heaven above.

And I thank God that I can feel

Love, joy, happiness, and zeal.

The above poem is in tribute of the beautiful plains of Montana, ever changing, ever dancing, ever joyful.  My mountain top poem will just have to wait.  Good night.  Sweet dreams!