My son Josh and I just returned this week from a wonderful time visiting a couple of our western national parks. We camped in a tent in Yellowstone for six nights, and marveled at steaming thermal springs and mud pots, conical and fountain geysers, torrential waterfalls and prismatic hot springs encircled by a breathtaking rainbow of thermophilic color. Amazing that such variety could lie within these forest walls!
And then there was the wildlife. We got up at 4:40 a.m. the third day of our wilderness adventure to do some wildlife watching. The previous morning’s thick fog had made viewing impossible, and just as dawn encroached on the darkness on our second attempt, it rained! Eventually the rain subsided, and the sun began to rise. We saw through binoculars elk feeding, red-tailed hawks, a bald eagle swooping down after prey, trumpeter swans and ducks gliding in the river, and a pelican cruising low over the water. We watched in wonder as a hundred buffalo and their calves made their way down to the river and swam across it.
One thing we didn’t see was a bear. We settled for another hike through the woods to a waterfall late that afternoon before retiring for the night.
The next morning we decided to make a day trip to Grand Teton National Park, just an hour south. We took a ferry across Jenny Lake, and hiked up into Cascade Canyon, awed by the rugged Tetons soaring before us against the clear blue sky. Park workers told us this was the most beautiful day they had seen in three months. (Smoke from western fires had obscured the mountains for much of the summer.) I prayed to see wildlife as we walked, thinking it would be nothing for God to send some critters our way. I pictured Him bringing the animals two by two to Noah!
We saw chipmunks and ground squirrels, and butterflies…but no bears. A few miles, in, though, we saw hikers in front of us stopped and backing away. Turned out there was a huge bull moose not 25 feet ahead on the trail! What a thrill! I joyously snapped pictures before we continued our hike and eventually turned to descend the mountain.
On the way down, I prayed out loud, “That was great! But where’s our BEAR, God?” As we neared the bottom, another group was gathered on the trail. “What do you see?” They pointed to a berry bush fifteen feet from where we stood, and we saw a bear concealed in the foliage. Not for long, though! To our delight, he came out in plain view and was eating berries to his—and my—heart’s content.
This reminded me of how good and kind our Father is, and that He loves to bless His children, even with inconsequential joys such as this. Psalm 50:11 attests that He knows every bird in the mountains and all the creatures of the field are His. In a sprawling park of 485 square miles, two of the most magnificent visited us, as God told me in one more little way, “I love you.”
What a wonderful experience, JB! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Precious JB! What a wonderful adventure for you and Josh to do together. Ginny and I have been to both places in times past, but never camping – we may have to fix that after seeing these pictures!