His mercies are new every morning...

His Mercies are new every morning…

After 2 days of semi warming up in the KOA at West Yellowstone, we were ready to push on to Jackson,Wyoming, near the Tetons.

Unfortunately, we had rain again...this time all through the night which meant that packing up to move to the Tetons would be a bit challenging due to the mud, dirt etc. Finally we were packed up and ready to go. We chose to eat breakfast at McDonalds after we were packed up to make things easier and that was a bit of a fiasco as well. Most of the employees were not English speaking and many errors were made on orders before we placed ours so there were many disgruntled customers. It took a long time to get our food, but finally our bellies were full and we were on our way to the Tetons.

We drove through more beautiful country. Trees and tulips which bloom in April in NJ are just in full bloom now-it is almost as if spring is just happening for this part of the country! We had to go over the Teton pass, an intense mountain switchback . There was lots of snow again at the high altitude and I wondered if we’d be freezing again. It was beautiful and terrifying at the same time…you could have heard a pin drop as everyone knew not to make a sound so that Mark could concentrate on the road! We arrived mid afternoon at the KOA we will stayed until Tuesday morning…the setting was just beautiful. Behind us was the Snake River which is fast moving due to all the rains and melting snow…there were beautiful green hills dotted with yellow flowers…we saw a wide array of feathered friends. I love bird watching and feel like the Lord gave us many gifts on Sunday. We saw magpies, tanagers, and even a couple of hummingbirds darting around. It rained briefly but then we had another rainbow! It was warm enough to have a campfire and make s’mores while Jim and Karen had a date nite’ food shopping and dinner out. (Mark and I had a ‘date’ in West Yellowstone grocery shopping too ) On our first morning there, we awoke to beautiful blue sunny skies, the sound of the rushing river, chirping birds…ahhhh how kind He is to give us what we don’t deserve! He knows our weakness and does not tempt us beyond what we can bear.

On Monday we entered the Grand Teton National Park where we took 2 different hikes. As soon as we turned in towards the park we saw cars pulled over ansd sure enough there was a full grown moose with a huge set of antlers! Later in the day as we were heading home, that same moose was on the other side of the bridge and we were able to get a much better look (and pictures!) at him. The first hike at Phelps Lake was pretty (how could it not be when views of snow covered majesty come into view every so often?!) but we did not see any wildlife except for a woman carrying out 2 huge lake trout! We then decided to venture to Jenny Lake where we took a ferry out to a point where we could hike from. There was news that a bear had been sighted on the trail, in addition to yellow bellied marmots and a moose with her calf. The moose had reportedly charged an overzealous tourist earlier in the day because he/she had moved too close to the calf. Needless to say a few of us were a bit apprehensive as we climbed the trail. The Lord gifted us yet again and we saw that momma moose and calf….they were up high on a rocky ledge and we were across on another huge rock with the path between us. There were tons of people videotaping and snapping photos. Thankfully there was a gully between them and us! A few times it looked like the momma was thinking about coming down…that’s when Grace and I scurried further up the path! The trail was a bit more challenging with lots of mud due to melting snow. The whole hike up we could hear the sounds of mighty rushing waters.At one point we were slipping and sliding across the snow,slush and mud. It was well worth the effort as the view was amazing.

In the evening, the Lord gave us yet another gift. During a walk to the bathroom, I looked up and saw a sky I will never forget. Literally every inch of the black sky was covered in twinkling lights.I have never seen such a brilliant night sky. I think we could even see the Milky Way...we got the younger kids out of bed to see it and we were thrilled to see a shooting star. The kids couldn't believe what they were seeing. All I could say was,"Wow...oh wow!" So amazed and grateful for His many mercies to us!!

Last night we arrived in Fountain, Colorado near Colorado Springs after nearly 10 hours in the car. As we pulled into the KOA, we both looked at each other and Karen could barely squeak the words out as she was laughing so hard. "Have you ever camped in a parking lot before??" Yep...this setting is very different from our previous stays-We were lulled to sleep by the sounds of cars and trucks on the freeway and the train on the other side ...but I am happy to report this is the first time in over a week that I have not worn thermals and can don shorts once again :) We plan to be here 3 or 4 nights to see the sights. Will post pictures later.

Thanks for checking in.
So grateful for His tender mercies!
Kathi for the gang