Journey to Cali: Part Three

My longest day on the road was from Kansas City, MO to Laramie, WY. It was almost 12 hours of driving time but ended up being more than that after making stops, etc. I had heard lots of negative comments about driving through the state of Kansas but I found it to be quite enjoyable. It was probably the easiest part of my trip because it was flat in comparison to the rest of my trip. I guess I didn’t know what I was missing either since I had yet to get into the really beautiful landscape. Toward the end of Kansas, I saw two huge fields of sunflowers! Their heads were laden down with seeds.  It was a wonderful reminder of God’s love for us. Whenever I see sunflowers, I think of Psalm 57:10 that says:

“For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.”

These magnificent flowers grow so tall and their blooms are so big, I can’t help but be reminded of God’s love, grace, peace, and joy that stand over us – taller than we can even fathom (as high as the heavens!) and are bursting forth with the biggest most beautiful blooms. Unfortunately, I didn’t even get a drive by photo of these lovely reminders of God’s love. But I certainly took a mental note and received the message of God’s love for me gladly.

I learned to stop for gas often – and often means whenever it looked like a gas station existed at the upcoming exit. By the end of the trip I had grown accustomed to the exits with signs saying, “No Services Available this Exit.” I never knew when my next opportunity would come – so I seized the moment when I saw gas was available.

The Colorful State of Colorado didn’t look much different until I reached the outskirts of Denver. It was there I saw my first set of mountain ranges. It was breathtaking. In fact, I was so excited I’m pretty sure I squealed.

At one point toward the end of this long day of traveling I had a decision to make – a fork in the road so to speak. I debated staying on the well traveled interstate or taking highway 287 to Laramie - a more direct route but one I had no idea of what to expect. There’s a certain level of risk when going off of the interstate and entering a hwy that you know will be going through the mountains – and this at dusk. I decided to take my chances when I saw a sign saying 287 to Laramie. The risk quickly turned into a reward as it became evident that this was going to be a beautiful drive.  It was a good reminder of an important life lesson: rewards often follow risk taking. In fact, it’s been said the greater the risk, the greater the reward. I have a feeling I’m going to be learning a lot more about this principle this year!

By this time, I was pretty exhausted. Mostly my eyes were strained from driving so long. In addition I had just come through an amazing storm. A storm in the Midwest is completely different than storms in wide open spaces. I saw it coming miles away and it took a good half hour before I felt the effects of it. The first thing I saw from a distance was a magnificent lightening show. I watched the lightning bolts go from cloud to ground. It was incredible and frightening all at the same time. I was in awe of God as I watched the remarkable storm before me unfold.

For some reason – storms remind me of God’s strength and power. The wind was so strong I thought my bike was going to rip right off the back of my car so I decided to stop at Bennett, Colorado (appropriate don’t you think?) to make sure it was tied on securely.

Once I got on Highway 287, the wind got even stronger and I saw tumble weed fly across the road in front of me. The view was breathtaking though as I wove around the mountains in yet another storm – or perhaps it was the same band of storms I had just driven through. As soon as I entered Wyoming, I saw a sign that said, “Possible Strong Winds Ahead.” I had a great big laugh at this considering I had just fought the wind for at least 30 minutes!

Pretty soon the sun came out and it was raining simultaneously! As I looked to my right I saw the most brilliant double rainbow! So I did the smartest thing ever – I practiced drive by photography. J I actually don’t recommend it. Thankfully nothing bad happened in spite of my stupidity.  God spoke to me through the double rainbow and confirmed a Word of prophesy that had been given to me just the day before at IHOP. Check it out - do you see the rainbows in this photo? One of them ends at my bike seat and the other at my bike's handle bar?

Here's another photo I took while my car was stopped due to construction. I find it quite interesting that fireworks are at the end of this rainbow. :)

Even though I was tired from the long journey I noticed there was great beauty in a storm like that – and there was even more beauty afterwards. It made me think of the storms in my own life – and how God has brought me to a place of being able to look upon those storms and see the beauty in them. Some of those storms are over, and I’m experiencing the rainbow after the storm. There are some storms I’m still in the middle of – but I’m clinging to the promise of a rainbow soon to come and in the mean time I’m enjoying the beauty in the midst of the storm. I pray God gives you the grace to do the same in whatever storms you’re facing.

When I arrived at my friends, Joel and Laura Pontius, I  felt so loved and taken care of as Laura fed me some delicious elk stew and quinoa salad. Their house was so inviting and truly a place of rest. After dinner I promptly hit the hay glad for a lovely place to sleep and excited for the adventures my next day would hold in Laramie.