Day Four

I learned this morning that “leaving by 7AM” actually means “Be down and ready to stow your bags under the bus by 6:45.”  This was announced at some point but I missed it.  Not too surprising.  I miss a lot of things, actually more and more the older I get.  So I’m making a final sweep of our hotel room to check for possessions, load myself down with the two remaining suitcases, my backpack-slash-purse, and my computer bag, (Paul took his bags and left earlier to go eat breakfast) and I walked into the elevator feeling satisfied that I even had a few minutes to spare.  Good.  I can grab a cup of coffee for the road and still be out to the bus by 7:00. 

Well, I notice there is no one I know in the breakfast area so I look outside at the bus and see all the luggage compartments are closed and they seem to be ready to roll.  Well, I was brought up to believe that it would be better to have a hole open up beneath one and be swallowed alive than to be late.  So, appropriately horrified, I rush to the bus dragging my bags behind me.  Yes, indeed, they are all sitting there waiting on me.  No coffee for me this morning I guess.  This alone would be cause for a whole blog, dedicated to the emotional stress of me not getting my morning caffeine.  I quickly realize that making these people wait one second longer would be even worse than no caffeine.   Then I realize I still have my hotel keys in my pocket, so I run them in.  Passing the coffee pot I grab a cup and rush back to the bus.

“Where are your sisters?” A voice came from the back.  I looked where they had been sitting.  Empty.

“Are you kidding?!”  I couldn’t believe they were even later than me.  “You ARE kidding!  They’re hiding in the back.  Very funny!”

“No we aren’t.” Several people insisted.  “They haven’t come out yet.”

Just then my sister Barbara came rushing out the door, pulling her bag.  She looked as flustered as I felt when she saw everyone was ready to go.  She walked to her seat, then stopped and exclaimed, “Oh, I still have my keys!”  There was general laughter at that and one of the guys volunteered to run them in.  In less than a minute my sister Anne joined us and we were underway.  I filled them in on my new knowledge regarding the “fifteen minutes before departure time” rule.  We all agreed we won’t ever be the last ones on again.  It took me an hour to achieve a normal heart rate again.

Just under two hours later, during which we sang worship songs, led by Paul, and listened to a short sermon by Larry Lamp, we were parked beside the road again.  Investigation by Crist, our resident Amish mechanic whom we were fortunate to have along, showed a leak in a hose and a hole in a pipe, causing loss of fluid.  It was a time to test our mettle and we came through it well.  Five hours later we all knew each other a little better, we had done a little hiking, peed in the woods, taken our turns with traffic control, learned there are a lot of really nice motorists out there, made friends with a trooper, and watched Irene scrub the grease off Dave’s head, arms and legs. And squirrels were added to a few scavenger-hunt lists.

Tony and Lexi, a couple in their twenties, more or less, pulled up to see if they could help.  Tony opened his trunk and pulled out some tools to help the guys fix the bus.  Lexi talked to the ladies and soon discovered she is a relative to Carolyn’s neighbor in Ohio.  So photos were taken and exclamations made.  Those are some long odds, eh?!

After an hour or two of the guys trying to fix the problem with what lay at hand, three firefighters pulled up and ransacked their own truck.  They gave a container of anti-freeze and some other items unknown to me that might be helpful in the bus repairs.  A pick-up came by and took several of the unoccupied guys to fill a large ice-chest with water to refill the radiator.  And eventually a state trooper pulled up.  We couldn’t call for help because cell service was nonexistent.  We lost count of the people that stopped and offered assistance.  Several even volunteered to shuttle us to a café down the mountain.

Eventually it became clear the problem could not be fixed without a torch to do some soldering.  The trooper took Dave to a town “nearby” to get one.  “Nearby” means something entirely different in Wyoming than it does in Ohio.  Spirits remained high while we waited for their return.  The weather was perfect.  The jokes flew steadily.  The hikers hiked.  The singers sang.  Paul sat on a stool and played guitar.  Someone, trying to be funny, put a cup nearby for tips and he made five dollars.

By the time they got back clouds were rolling in and just as the last water was dumped in the radiator it started to rain in earnest.  We loaded up the bus, gave the trooper an enthusiastic hand for rescuing us and another hand to Crist for putting everything back together again. He drives a buggy back home but he sure knows what he's doing under the hood. And Dave, our fearless leader, told us all when we were once again sailing down the highway to let him know if we see a bus for sale.  More laughter and the fun commences.

Our scheduled chuck wagon meal with entertainment included had to be cancelled as soon as we were in an area with cell phone service.  We wouldn’t be reaching our evening destination until 9 PM.  A quick stop at a small town whose name I don’t remember and we grabbed McDonalds’ lunches to go.

The scenery was beautiful in its stark barrenness. Occasional washes, now dry, with scrubby trees lining the banks gave way to cultivated fields bordered by more rocky mountain ranges in the distance.  Groups of antelopes grazed, unconcerned with our passing or the horses and cows sharing their fields.  My popping ears indicated the ups and downs of our elevation; eventually we reached the continental divide and the pines increased, along with the green vegetation and meandering waterways.  The majestic Tetons appeared far off on the horizon, bringing out the cameras along with the oohs and ahhs.

The Glory of God revealed itself over and over to this little group today.  It takes much more faith to believe in evolutionary theory than in intelligent design. Such beauty is not coincidental.  Such beauty comes from a mind of brilliance far greater than ours. 

Our hotel was a welcome sight a little before 9PM.  Those beds look very inviting.