I don't yet have all of our pictures downloaded on the computer but I will try to post some of the pictures that we have. Our trip took us to Denver, Grand Junction (CO), Moab (Utah), the Grand Canyon (AZ), Mesa Verde (Colorado), Ouray (CO), Gypsum (CO), and Ogallala, Nebraska. We saw many incredible views and spent days admiring the handiwork of our Lord. I want to thank those of you that prayed for our safety and refreshment. The Lord was definitely good to us.
As enjoyable as it is to take a vacation, my girls were saying today how much they are looking forward to being with our church family tomorrow morning. Absence makes the heart grow fonder...
By the way, did you know that the Grand Canyon is on Pacific Time during the summer? Our first night at the Grand Canyon our phones had changed to Mountain Time. Karen and the girls wanted to see the sun rise over the canyon the following morning so we looked up what time the sun would make it's appearance.
5:21 a.m.
The free shuttles that run inside the park were to make their first stop at our campground at 4:30 a.m. (they run at 12-15 minute intervals). Karen decided that they would try to catch the 4:45 shuttle so that they could hitch a ride to the rim and be in place to see the sunrise shortly after 5:00 a.m.
Morning came quickly that first night. Karen awoke and saw that it was 4:45 a.m. She scrambled to get the girls up, not allowing them to brush their teeth or anything, and rushed them down to the shuttle stop. She kept telling them to hurry or they would miss the sunrise. When they made it to the shuttle stop at the entrance to our campground it was still pitch dark. In their rush the girls hadn't grabbed any jackets. They huddled together (in shorts) waiting impatiently for the shuttle to arrive and pick them up. Without the heat of the sun it is rather cold in the desert. However, fearing they would miss the shuttle (and hence the sunrise) they refused to return to the camper for warmer clothes.
In their own words, they "waited forever". When the shuttle arrived, they scrambled on, anticipation mounting. After they were seated, the driver turned off the interior lights and all was dark. Too dark.
Karen was confused as to why there was no hint of the sun. They had woken late, they had waited for over a half an hour for the shuttle, the sun should be rising, and they weren't even to the rim of the canyon yet. It was at this moment that she looked at the clock in the front of the shuttle...
4:30
How could this be?
Pacific Time.
Our first morning at the Grand Canyon my family, excluding myself, was up at 3:45 a.m.
An hour and 36 minutes later they saw the sun peek over the rim. Yep, the Lord is always on time. He does it so often it hardly seems like a miracle. No, the miracle was that without any help or encouragement from me, my family was early!
Additional pictures...
A picture to verify the story
My nephew Jordan playing praise songs on his guitar. He played his guitar in every state they passed through during the trip!
We spent a few hours hiking along the rim. All of us wore water packs because of the dry air and the heat.
My three girls with their cousin Justine.
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