The Trip Home

Monday morning we packed up and headed back home.

 

 Going down......and up.... and down.... and up....  :)

Driving up one of the passes we had driven down on our way west, we realized that the part we had driven on was one tall, long, curving bridge!  Gulp!

Such beauty!

Towards the eastern end of Washington state it flattens out a lot and there are very few trees. There were a lot of these wind generators near the river...which were not moving.  We crossed the Columbia River Gorge again:

Wheat fields

Little 'tornadoes'.

In Spokane we stopped to visit friends we had met at the wedding.  It was a refreshing break from traveling. :)  Thank you so much!

This is an unusual mountain that looks very soft and velvety on one side.  It's Ana's favorite of all the mountains we saw. :)

We drove through the night, (so we missed a lot of the mountains in Montana), and in the morning we were still in Montana!  It's a LONG state! 

Amy drove for an hour or two so Dad could rest.  She likes driving. :)

Ana eating a wrap-up...

The tired but happy wrap-up maker at work on her 'kitchen counter'.  :)

Clouds over Minnesota fields!  We are almost home!

Lydia and Maria, the caretakers of our place.  :)

We are so thankful they were willing to house sit and do all the chores for us; they did an amazing job!

~Alyssa

The day after the wedding...

Sunday morning we went to Bradrick's farm for church.  We all sat out on the hay bales where the wedding was held the day before.  Pastor Voddie Baucham gave the sermon, which was from 1 John about salvation. 

Here are a few of my notes from the sermon: 

• We delight in obeying the One to whom we belong.  

• If someone says they have sinless perfection they show that they are not a Christian.

• A believer is one who is fighting sin and growing in grace.  Sanctification is a on-going struggle.

After sharing lunch together we all spent the afternoon visiting!  We girls enjoyed being part of a lively discussion with several other young people about many different things including the millennium, music and worship in church, courtship, and Calvinism/Arminianism.  It was refreshing to talk about important things together, and have fun while doing it.

This little guy was tired out!

Gabriel praying for our supper.  

They had a hot dog roast and then we made s'mores...yum!

The little boys loved the campfire!

Dad and Mr. Bradrick.

 Playing games

We enjoyed being able to spend another day with old and new friends.  I appreciate the way the Bradricks do weddings.  They always have something going on the day after the wedding so the guests have another thing to look forward to, and are able to really visit more.  It's especially nice for guests that come from a long distance...like us and many others there. :)

We were all thankful for their hospitality!

~Alyssa

The Pacific Ocean!

Saturday morning we drove from Aberdeen down to the beach near Westport. This was the first time we had been to the Pacific ocean and it was beautiful!!

Sisters by the sea!

We enjoyed searching for sand dollars and shells.

We stopped at the marina in Westport and watched the fishing boats.

Tugboat on Grays Harbor.

~Alyssa

Traveling to Washington state and a Dessert Social....

Last Wednesday evening we left on a trip out to Amy Ellen Bradrick and J.R.'s wedding in Washington state. We girls had never been west of Fargo North Dakota, so we were very much looking forward to seeing the Rocky Mountains!

We drove through most of ND in the dark, but as it got light we came up to the Badlands in the Thoedore Roosevelt National Forest...they were so beautiful!

When we got out of the van the scent of sagebrush filled the air.

Dad near the edge.

A semi transporting a wing for a wind turbine....it was really long!

Montana was one long state with lovely scenery.

Farm land.

Rocky ranch land.

We stopped at the Chamber of Commerce/visitor center in Billings. This was the only cowboy we saw on our entire trip! We drove up to the Rim Rock that surrounds the town and caught our first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains in the distance:

The 'Crazy Mountains' .
This was the first mountain range we came to and they are some of my favorites.

I'm not sure of the names of these mountains.

Coming down Bozeman pass we saw this train track way up the side of the mountain!
The town of Bozeman is in a huge valley up in the mountains surrounded by more mountains. This town is higher in elevation at 4810 ft than the highest mountain in Vermont which is 4393 ft. An interesting bit of trivia!

Mining in Butte.

The closing of the day.
We spent Thursday night in Coeur d'Alene Idaho.

~ Friday ~

At a rest stop in the eastern part of Washington state, which Dad said looked like a rolling grassy dessert.

Later in the morning we stopped at a scenic overlook in a very rocky area of the state along the Columbia River.

We didn't see any rattlesnakes, but we did see a few of these little lizards.

At the overlook. :)

Later on the terrain became very mountainous and rocky with lots of pine trees. I think I saw more pine trees on this trip than in the rest of my life put together!

Going down Snoqualmie Pass. This one was my favorite!

Some of the passes had a 6% grade and were quite curvy!

As we were driving around the city of Tacoma, during rush hour traffic, we saw this cute old car!

At 3:00 in the afternoon we arrived at our hotel in Aberdeen. It was a LONG trip but a very pretty one.

Dad in the hotel lobby.

Once we got the van unloaded we went for a walk. This is the view near the hotel which was on Gray's Harbor. There was also a train track that went right next to the hotel and wound through the town.

California poppies!

After supper we drove to the B&B in Montesano where the

Dessert Social and English Country Dance was held.

It was a lovely day, but got cold as the evening went on. (I am not used to wearing a sweater in July!)

Peter, one of Amy Ellen's brothers.

Emily Bradrick and Thomas.

Kristen Craig, one of Amy Ellen's sisters.

The Virginia Reel! This was the first time we had done English Country Dancing and it was so much fun! The neat thing about it is that it is an activity that almost all ages can do together!

Coming up next: pictures from our trip to the ocean and the wedding! :)
~Alyssa