Day 10

Denver to Salt Lake City to Boise

“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.” Psalm 8:3-5

We said bye to Kari this morning, leaving a little after 7am. It was sad and weird to realize today is the first day we were not on our way to family. We were on our way away.

After bypassing morning rush-hour traffic heading into Denver, we stopped shortly for breakfast at Panera in Loveland, CO. I want to live in Loveland! Not just so I can say I live in Loveland. It was a gorgeous area surrounded by mountains, just north of the city. And there were hot air balloons. Sold. Wait....what is this trip for again?

You apparently cannot head straight west from Denver to Salt Lake, so we headed north toward Cheyenne and took a left. Flat and free room to roam interrupted by random rolls of hilly rock mounds followed us throughout SW Wyoming. We have family in Wyoming and have been going back and forth on whether we could take a several hour detour to visit. Months ago, on the itinerary. Once we were able to extend to six days in Nashville, be at the finish line for Ironman Louisville, and in Denver for Kari's bday, our time to meet the Ferry reservation dwindled. All day today (14 hours) and tomorrow (about 8.5 hours) are heavy driving days to get on the Ferry on Friday. We hate that we didn't get to make the extra trip!

I have peed at way too many of these.

The rock mounds gradually grew into the risen, rugged mountains in Utah. Our drive days have been blanketed by bright blue skies hugging puffs of cotton clouds. So blessed.

We navigated through downtown Salt Lake to have dinner at City Creek Center. It sounds super classy, but we easily chose Chickfila over Cheesecake Factory. It was slightly sentimental- we've heard we will be residing in the land of no nuggets. Anyways, Jessie was overly-excited to be out of the car / run around strangers / smell tons of smells. It was a quick trip to the beautiful outdoor center. 

The Creek Running through the Center

See ya later, Chick-fil-a.

But, you guys. The timing was impeccable. Divine, if you will. 

We sought signs to the state park that offered a beach and benches. The sun romanced the earth, flirting behind the clouds and dancing on the details of the Rockies that border beyond The Great Salt Lake. The sky made subtle, slow, aesthetic shapes like a woman unaware of her own reflection.

He made this for us. And He never tires of the beauty of His design. I imagine His childlike cheer in commanding the colors, "Do it again!" day after day. But, no matter the majesty of the sun hugging the curves of creation, God made us the Crown. You are His beautiful beloved, fashioned in harmony with the heavens.

Jessie demonstrated the liberation from cramped car living with the crazed elation of roaming the grounds, wallering (southern for rolling agressively around) in the grass, and wind sprints in wide open freedom. This face says it all:

Great break in Salt Lake before getting on the road again. Made it to our stop in Boise. Goodnight!