Thoughts of a Sojourner

I have contemplated starting my blog back up after a long hiatus (Since 2020!) and I have decided that now is the time. What better time to start back than writing about Road Trip 2025 out West to visit Yellowstone, Glacier National Park and several other must see destinations. In addition to sharing over the next 7-10 days about my current adventure, I will also be sharing about just life in general from navigating the loss of my bride in February of this year, all things gardening, chicken raising, greenhouse use and of course a lot about things concerning faith, theology, and all things ministry. My goals in starting back writing this blog is to encourage others, cause all of us to stop from time to time and think about life, perhaps teach a little and most of all bring glory to God in the process. After the trip that I am currently taking, I will likely post my blog on Monday mornings. Now enough of this introduction, what about this trip??!!

Traveling to Big Sky Country (Montana, Wyoming, Idaho) has been on my bucket list for many years. Outside of my ministry as a pastor, my other passion is anything outdoors, nature, wildlife, conservation and experiencing those things up close and personal. My original plan was to fly to Idaho Falls and meet up with one of my best friends, but I decided that I wanted to cover the over 2000 mile trip by driving and get to see the broad landscape that we are blessed to have in our country. Over the last 22 hours 39 minutes and 1558 miles, I have drove through the beauty of middle and west Tennessee, Missouri from the Ozarks to Kansas City, the endless cornfields of Nebraska and finally the ever changing landscape of Wyoming. As I drove the final 690 miles of the trip to Rock Springs, WY today, I was amazed at the diversity of Nebraska and Wyoming as far as the geographical landscape. Nebraska and the endless fields of corn, soybeans and the many cattle operations that are intermingled along the way. The corn stretched as far as the eye could see to the horizon. As I drove past those vast fields, I was reminded how important our farm families are not only to sustaining our country’s food supply, but also helping us maintain our way of life. Many of those operations, just like those operations of friends of mine in North Alabama, represent, many times, generations that continue to operate in years of plenty and years of scarcity due to weather. As I moved westward along I-80, I entered Wyoming and the level of geographic diversity picked up. From the rolling hills of eastern Wyoming dotted with innumerable cattle, to the flats of central Wyoming with even more cattle, but also signs of oil and natural gas exploration. As I drove through the flats, I imagined the snow that falls in vast amounts and the drifts that blow across the beautiful plains. As I entered western Wyoming, I saw the mountains that started to spring up on the western horizon that even though they were partially shrouded in the residual smoke of wildfires, their majesty was not diminished. I also saw my first signs of wildlife that calls this area home when I observed a big herd of Pronghorn Antelope running in the open plain along the interstate. As I settle in for the night, after having been blessed to see these things, I am reminded that we truly are blessed that God has blessed us with such things from the farm family to the antelope galloping without a care in the world. I am reminded that God situated us as Americans, in this place with freedom granted by the Almighty to travel freely and enjoy all these things. Stay tuned for more! Tomorrow I enter Yellowstone and I simply cannot wait!