Rocky Mountain National Park, CO

This has been the most perfect way to end my trip before driving back home. On Wednesday morning, I left Kansas City and had a long drive ahead of me. And from what I've heard, there's not much excitement on the drive across Kansas either. I began my drive nice and early in the morning and it was a beautiful morning. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to explore much of Kansas City because I had such a long drive, but it sure was a beautiful morning there. I stopped for a good sausage Mcmuffin with egg at Mcdonalds and was so happy with my choice. I have been eating those from birth and I have always been pleased.

There definitely wasn't much on the drive across Kansas other than grass and corn and wheat, but I thought it was a bit pretty compared to my drives to Lubbock, TX for school. It was green on the drive with some hills so it wasn't too bad.

When I got to the state sign at Colorado, I met a man named Jim who was traveling on motorcycle from Ohio to California for a job and we ha a good talk for a few minutes. I think it is fun meeting all of these other travelers that I had no idea existed coming from the city.

I continued driving across Colorado which were still pretty flat until I started getting to the Denver area and started to see the front range of the Rockies. I made it up here to the YMCA of the Rockies where a lot of my good friends from this past summer work. This past summer working in Grand Teton National Park was my favorite summer ever and lots of that is because of the people I met there. We were able to hang out that night and tell stories and laugh and I kept a smile the entire night because of the people I was with.

On Thursday morning, I got some recommendations of hikes to go on. My friends would be working so I would be traveling solo, but I needed a little time to my own thoughts so it was great. My friends sent me on a hike to Twin Sisters Peak. It was great getting to go up there and the view, when the clouds would break was unbelievable. I brought my lunch up there and when I got to the summit I was able to eat with an older couple who made it up there. They had just turned 50 and were hiking 50 miles within the week so I thought that was a cool goal to have for them. It is amazing to see how dramatic the Rockies are compared to other parts of this country. It's such a diverse country filled with things for everyone.

When I got back down, I met up with my friends for dinner and they took me into the nearby town of Estes Park and we got to enjoy some good ice cream and taffy from that place.

We made it back to the park for a church service that the YMCA was putting on. It was the most perfect way to end my trip and the worship at the service was overpowering. Being at the service with my friends was such a special time for me and my trip and it was great because I felt that God was happy with the work that I've done on this trip.

We then went and had an awesome bonfire, with my friend Jason playing guitar. I remembered from this past summer how great his guitar playing was and how lovely his voice was so I was highly excited for this. It was so nice being out there with them. By the end of the night, Jason, Nathan, and I were the only ones left and we were able to have a very good talk and get a little closer and develop in God so it was very special for me.

Today I will be making it back home to Park City, UT and that will be the actual end to this journey. It has been a journey that words cannot describe. More to come on my thoughts and ideas and reflections of this pilgrimage when I finally do make it back home.

Make wise choices!

Ryan