Hard Hearts Softened

Before we left on our trip my niece texted me (from her home in Southern California) and said she wanted her brother to join us for breakfast, no matter what her dad said. She hadn't seen him in many years and she missed him.

My brother-in-law Ken and his son do not get along, I think it's because they're so much alike. Their language is rough and their lifestyle is rough. None of them know the Lord. My nephew has made some bad choices in life but is really trying to turn his life around. I honestly believe he wants a relationship with his dad, has wanted it his whole life, but his dad hasn't wanted that. Even though they've both lived in the same small town for many years, the only time they've seen each other was the day my sister died. 

I texted my niece and told her I would pray that the Lord would soften her dads heart and allow her brother to join us. 

Two days later she said her dad told her it would be okay if he came. 🙏

I asked Ken to recommend a place to eat and he mentioned The Branch, a fairly new place to Walsenburg but it had really good food. I found out they had more than good food!

Chuck, Beth and I got to the restaurant the same time as my nephew, it had been maybe 15-20 years since I'd seen him. We got to talk a while before the others showed up and while we were talking I realized I recognized the song that was playing. A Brandon Lake concert was playing on the TV! He's a Christian recording artist! I began to look around the restaurant and there is art with scripture verses on the walls! 

Then the server came to get our drink order and as she turned to leave, the back of her shirt read Be Right Back, and had a cross on it. ✞ It not only applies to the server, but also Christ. He's gone to heaven to prepare a place for us and will come back to get us so we can live with Him forever. What a perfect place for us to eat together!

After breakfast I asked the server to take our picture.

Starting on the left and going down and around the table: Me, Beth, my nephew, Chuck, Ken, and my nieces boyfriend and my niece. Then my niece said she wanted to get more photos outside.

If you look closely, you can see my nephews arm around his dad. This is huge. My niece was so grateful to get these photos. She told me, "Who knows if I'll ever see them again?" 

 

Cousins

We all hugged goodbye and as we drove away I started to cry. It was so good to see them all again and I was so grateful to the Lord for bringing them together. I continue to pray that there would be reconciliation between my brother-in-law and his son. They're both alone in that town. And they need each other.  

We left Colorado and headed west, through Utah and into Nevada.

Utah had the most unusual landscape formations. Plus, we took I-80 which goes right through the Bonneville Salt Flats about 100 miles west of Salt Lake City. We didn't stop or anything but they were very interesting. Google says "It's a massive packed salt pan that covers 30,000 acres and is made mostly of table salt."

And the salt flats - 

We stayed overnight in Reno, then headed into Northern California. We had one more important stop before home.

The Middle of Nowhere

We left Crazy Horse in South Dakota and drove down into Denver. There were a lot of storms in that area, but none directly over us. We were very grateful! 

Got to Denver in the early evening and just spent that night relaxing in the hotel. This was a nice sized room, and the hotel had an indoor pool. We definitely took advantage of that!

Beth and I hadn't seen Chuck's sister in a few years. She had a major stroke 25 years ago, and another one two years ago. She's been in rehab ever since that last stroke and she's not sure she'll ever be able to go home again.

We'd bring her lunch every day and sit out in the lounge for a few hours talking and reminiscing. It was really good to see her again.

After a few days we continued south to the bustling metropolis of Walsenburg, Colorado. Population 3,000. The Aspen Acres fire was burning in that area of the state and we could see it as we drove.

We were getting alerts on our phones about evacuations. Thankfully the town of Walsenburg never needed to evacuate, neither did my brother-in-law. But we certainly kept an eye on the fire and the alerts.

 

On July 3rd, we checked into the motel, then headed out to Ken's. He and my sister Kathy bought 40 acres and were building a house when she suddenly and unexpectedly passed away.

We were out there in October of 2020, and it was the last time I ever saw her. These two pics are from that visit -  

Ken's in his 70's and lives in the 5th-wheel on the property but he keeps working on the house. And it's 22 miles from Walsenburg, in the middle of nowhere. Yep, this is the road to his house. 

Still going - 

There it is! He's done so much work on it since Kathy died.

We sat out on the porch to catch up and talk about life.

My niece and her boyfriend were there as well, staying a week to help her dad with the house. As we started back to the motel that afternoon the fire really picked up.

We went back out to the house on the 4th and right around dusk the wind really picked up so he didn't shoot off fireworks this year. We were okay with that, Beth and I were still festive! He barbecued some amazing steaks, and we had salad, and cookies for dessert.

Then we sat outside 'til it got dark, talking and watching the storms roll by in the distance.

My niece took this one - 

It was kind of cute, Beth had a little crush on my niece's boyfriend. Here she is teasing him, then getting embarrassed and hiding behind her phone. He was sweet, and they teased each other the entire time we were there. It was fun to watch them!

I know these posts are long, but there's so much I want to remember about this trip. If you've made it this far, thank you for reading! Just a couple more post I think. Well, maybe three. 😊

We Met Bruno on This Leg of the Trip

We left the 'New Orleans Hotel' and headed for the Black Hills. Out of Montana, skimmed through a corner of Wyoming, and went into South Dakota. Can I just say, the landscapes of this nation are breathtaking.

We spent the night in Blackhawk South Dakota, then headed to the mountains.

Someone recommended we take Needles Highway, a scenic road that goes through the mountains. Sometimes literally.

The mountains were beautiful. We stopped a few times so I could get out to take pictures, then we headed on to the Crazy Horse Monument.

We saw a short movie of Crazy Horse, who was a great Lakota warrior and fought for the Lakota and their land. After he died, Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear created the image and he asked Korczak Ziolkowski to sculpt it. When Korczak passed away, his wife kept the project going and now his kids and grandkids are overseeing the work. They want to preserve the great history of the Native Americans and their traditions.

We loved the museum, there was so much to see.

And we got to meet Bruno. Not sure we'd be very good friends though.

'The buffalo meant everything to traditional Native life - meat for food, hides for clothing, horns for utensils.'

Then we headed out to the observation deck.

This is what it will look like when it's finished.

'A cavalry soldier mockingly asked Crazy Horse, "Where are your lands now?" And he replied, "My lands are where my dead lie buried." The gesture points to those ancestral burial grounds.' 

Chuck suggested we go see this, I had no desire to visit. But now that I've been there I would highly recommend it. I would like to go back and see the areas we weren't able to get to on this visit. It's a remarkable place, honoring a remarkable people.

They had a restaurant there so we got a bite to eat before heading off to our next adventure.