The early morning light filtered through the condensation clouded windows of our vehicle turned hotel room for the night. As I (Aysha) stirred awake, I noticed how once again it was way too hot under the covers of our little bed. No chance of freezing here. We were using too many quilts for that. Arrow awoke with his usual bright-eyed morning routine where he makes it his goal to kick all the covers off. He's so cute! David came to like a bear staggering out of hibernation . . . well, OK, he wasn't that bad, but he does like to stay all snuggie in his sleepy cocoon.We had found the perfect spot to pull over for the night - some little inconspicuous dead-end side street in the middle of Crescent City. In the soft light of the morning sun, I watched stray dogs pal around an undeveloped field nearby. The scene reminded me of India, but it could have just as well been Africa, Cambodia, Thailand, or
Romania . . . they all have packs of dogs wandering the streets. If you've ever seen this you'll notice that wandering dogs look very happy.
Once we got our bed converted back to a vehicle, we headed for Walmart where we tied up the bathrooms freshening up for the day.
Now we could get to the place we've all been anticipating (yes, I'm sure Arrow was anti
cipating too) . . . the Redwoods! Backtracking a bit, we drove north to the Jedediah Smith State Park. Our eyes practically popped out of our heads as we drove through a cathedral of red woods. "Ooooh" and "ahhhh" could be heard from our car as we ogled over these massive trees. I contemplated their ancient lifespans and wondered what stories they hold to tell.
We found a trail to hike for a time of prayer. The stillness caused me to think about lives that have gone on before me through out the ages. On one of the benches alongside the trail there was a quote I liked, "In quietness there is strength. Rest a while and know that you too are a part of God's world."
Another memorable quote came from David as we were driving past the nearby Smith River. David exclaimed, "Look how clear the water is! Can you imagine if it was a hot summer day . . . I could just go and take a dump in there!"
(He meant "jump").
As the day drew to a close, we arrived at our long awaited cabin. After three days on the road the idea of our own cabin with a bed and shower practically made me drool just thinking about it! We didn't skip a beat, we unloaded and got right to making ourselves a satisfying gourmet meal (somehow we manage to eat well, even on the road). We rigged up our double burner so we could simmer a whole chicken throughout the night (meat for the road) then we followed our dreams and took that shower!
