Denny May 12 - Monday. Is This A Road Trip or a Bike Trip?
Today we drove 127 miles (in the CAR) moving equipment, back tracking to our start point for biking, and then forward again to get to the trailer when we were done. If you listened to our podcast talking about the Trek, you may remember we mention not having a driver and doing this ourselves is sometimes hard? On days like today I was wishing for the moments in 2008-09 where I could just walk to the trailer where Dad would have it ready when I got there.
By the time we got the trailer settled at Hawks Creek Rec Area, we were already tired from the long drive so we wolfed down leftover COLD chicken alfredo and hit the road. It was 1pm before we started biking and we learned quickly – it’s much nicer to ride in the morning before the wind gets bad and the temperatures go up.
We only biked about 1.5 hours. Kevin got the BHOD Award. We headed back to the trailer, took a nap, and then ate our third yummy freeze-dried meal from the Anderson’s – meat balls and gravy over rice. We heated everything up on our outdoor kitchen and listened to the breeze through the trees, the water lapping the shores of the lake less than 20 yards from the trailer, and even heard a huge fish jump when we sat down to eat. I wasn’t able to thoroughly enjoy my meal because I kept remembering reading about how Keturah Belknap in 1848 made sure she had white tablecloths to take on her trip to Oregon. I had thought about bringing my old picnic cloths but couldn’t find them, so… we were eating on a yucky metal park service picnic table. What would Keturah Belknap think of me!? wink wink
May 13 - Tuesday. Gratitude
Kevin put the lights on my bike this morning which I hope will make me more visible to motorists. The fluorescent lime green straps I purchased aren’t as easy to see as I had hoped. We drove 55 miles and biked about 25 today. I did 15. Kevin rode the last leg with a brutal headwind ending at the little “town” of Hawk Springs.
Today my word is Gratitude. As Kevin dropped me off at the top of the hill looking out over the beautiful Goshen Hole Valley, my heart was overcome with gratitude. Four years ago, I was faced with the possibility of losing my left leg. Today here I am – (thanks to God’s goodness and the prayers of many people) blessed with good health and the ability to bike 15 miles through this gorgeous valley.
Later this evening I came across this scripture. It so perfectly resonated with the feelings I had had this morning when I wanted to “render all the thanks and praise which my whole soul had power to possess, to that God who has …kept and preserved me that I may live and move and do according to my own will, and even supporting me from one moment to another….” Mosiah 2:20-21.