GWE - Day 19

Friday, June 26, 2009 (Day 19)

Reading this morning from John 8. Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." John 8:58 (NKJV) JESUS CHRIST is the Eternal, Omnipresent GOD. HE is always present, in the moment. HE desires to be present with us, present on a daily, a continuing basis. HE is not just for Sundays and Wednesdays – HE is for everyday, all day, for all of our lives.

I woke up to sprinkling rain this morning. The weather service predicts only a 30% chance of rain today. Radar indicates the rain is on the move out of the area – so we should be out of the drizzles soon. Our plan is to visit Yellowstone today. Kathy is intent on seeing bison. Yellowstone is a large park with many features we both desire to see. The next few days should be full.

Yellowstone is all that it is billed to be! This park just about has it all. We had not been in the park 30 minutes before we were greeted with the sight of a herd of elk grazing on the hillsides above us. The wildlife sightings just increased from there. Kathy was beside herself at the bison. She braved a chilly wind on more than one occasion to get videos of her most-favorite animal. At one time she was no more than 20 feet from one of these shaggy mammals! (No, she did not walk that close to one – she was in the Explorer and the bison was grazing at the roads edge.) We observed Bald Eagle nests, saw three coyotes (one was carrying a rodent in his mouth), countless bison and elk, numerous geese, ducks, and other birds, chipmunks, and squirrels. Thus far we have not seen a bear (black or grizzly) or a wolf. Hopefully we will have the privilege of sighting them before our stay here is up. It takes several days to see Yellowstone.

The geysers were phenomenal. I was standing by Jet Geyser when it erupted. It DID sound like a jet engine. Old Faithful was, well, faithful. There were numerous other steam vents, mud pots, fumaroles, and the like. The Mud Volcano was impressive as was the Dragons Mouth. To think that this entire park sits atop the caldera of a massive volcano is sobering.

Yellowstone is another testimony to the majestic creativity of our GOD.