Travel Diaries, Part 3

We had left YBC, and I actually felt like going home then, but the vacation was by no means over. For the next three days, we were caravaning with two of the other Pacific Northwest families throughout Yellowstone. Because of the nature of a caravan, we had to keep in touch, we used walkie-talkies. The dads decided that it would make it more fun to use the radios if we had call-signs. And so we had. Sometimes we were in two vehicles, and sometimes in three, but we always had call-signs. Here are most of them:
Raptor, Pegasus, and Behemoth (or Mongo)
Dory, Nemo, and Bruce
Wallace and Grommit
Obi-Wan and Darth Vader
Beethoven and Mozart
The Dread Pirate Roberts and Prince Humperdinck

The next landmark was the Old Faithful geyser area. Mostly we were going to see Old Faithful, but while we were there, we saw an even more wondrous sight. Beehive Geyser erupts 200 feet (taller than Old Faithful) only approximately every 48 hours, so last time we had not waited around for it. But God was with us on the trip, and we found out that we had stopped by the place at just the right time. Of all the days, of all the hours, for us to be there, we only had to wait 20 minutes to see one of the coolest sights in Yellowstone.

(PP thought I should add this anecdote) On that hike around the geyser basin, I had decided to carry Emma Darcy in a sling. I did not quite think about the fact that she was no longer a little baby, but a large-for-her-age three year old. By the time we were near the end of the hike, I could barely feel my shoulder. Purring Piggy suggested that I let her walk the rest of the hike, but I remembered my martial arts teacher, and how he always wanted us to push ourselves and have “warrior spirit”. So I decided to finish the hike with Emma Darcy and “practice my warrior spirit”.






That night, I was very happy to unpack at the hotel, starting to feel even more ill. We caught the second half of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" on TV, and then went to bed. The next day I had an awful head cold, and we had to go to church. It was amazing, but even in Montana, the Church of Christ did things almost exactly like we did at home. There was more touring in Yellowstone that day, and then we went to another hotel, one that was on the way home.

The next day, the highlight of the trip would be a stop at Montana Valley Bookstore, a bookstore that supposedly had 100,000 used books. I was still feeling terribly sick, that day, but it was enough to brighten my spirits. I was expecting to have to limit myself, but even with 100,000 books, I didn’t find more than we could afford. A selection of what we picked up is: the rest of the Pendragon series, another Peter Wimsey book, and a couple books that we had never heard of but sounded very interesting.

That day we had cans of soda in the van, and Emma Darcy and The Queen had to share. The Queen had had it for a while when Purring Piggy said she should share with Emma Darcy. As soon as Emma Darcy had had it for more than five seconds, The Queen started to whine: “She’ll drink all of it!” We told her to be patient, and so she was. But when she finally got it, she had not had it for more than five seconds before Emma Darcy whined (without trying to be funny): “She’s drinking all of it!”

At another point in the drive, Purring Piggy, who was driving, took her hands from the wheel and Martin the Warrior said: “Mom! You’re going to make us crash!” CK responded: “No, it’s ok. She can drive with her mere presence.” “She’s driving with the Force!” said Adaon.

The stop that night was near Grand Coulee Dam, where we caught the first half of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on TV, so we got to watch it all on our trip. Grand Coulee Dam has the largest laser show in the world, and that was a great experience, even though largest does not mean best. But what was the greatest was that: WE WERE GOING HOME THE NEXT DAY!!!

(On our way home we passed through an area where the sun was blood red, and it turned out that there was a wildfire nearby. This picture doesn't do it justice, but it was a nice picture nonetheless)



(This picture is of one of the many "Scenic Points" we stopped at)

The next day, we woke up, packed up one last time, got in the car, and drove all the way home.

When I got home I felt so much like jumping out and kissing the Pacific Northwest ground that I had missed...but I didn’t, because while my mind was above earthly things at that moment, my physical side told me that I needed warm soup, a throat lozenge, a box of tissues, and about 72 hours of restful sleep. But it was a wonderful feeling, coming home again. I wanted to hug my garden (which had miraculously survived two weeks of neglect), my Margaret Hale computer icon, my wacky desktop that changed picture exactly every minute, my school schedule, my ramen noodles that I had so missed, the library books that I was in the middle of reading before I left and couldn’t be taken on vacation with me, and the very idea that I was home. I no longer had to rely on what we had packed. I no longer had to sit for hours on end in a van stuffed full of luggage. I could sleep on my own soft bed, and if I felt hungry in the night, I could get up and make any variety of food. If I felt sick, I could lie down in comfort in bed, and not try to make do with pillows in a van. I felt so much like Bilbo on my trip, wondering why on earth I had left my warm comfortable hobbit-hole, and, like a hobbit, looking back on the long journey with the rosiness of hindsight, but settling down most happily to the comfortable and familiarity of home.