Cartwrights Go West - July 5

I said the other day while out in the middle of Yellowstone National Park that sometimes we need to get far, far away from home to fully understand the vastness and beauty of God's creation. I was blessed to grow up on a farm in central Ohio, spent years living along the coastline of North Carolina, live now in the heart of Virginia, and all of them have their share of beautiful sights and sounds and smells. But when you travel several thousands of miles away from them all, you begin to understand that there are no limits to God's beauty. There is no end to the awe that comes with seeing that, through His handiwork, all of these sets of beauties have been perfectly connected. 

The last two days in Yellowstone have provided endless images that will live in all of our minds forever as a reminder of just that:

On July 4th, the freedoms of our country were celebrated everywhere. Each corner of our country has different things to be thankful for, but we share in that gratitude together.

We've never lived anywhere where the boys could study Bison poop. And since they're always up for learning about something new……

And believe me you, there has been no shortage of Bison.

And I've seen no risk of them violating the speed limits.

So much beauty carved out by powerful waters that cut through stone and then float their way through some of the most serene valley scenes imaginable. 

Sometimes the camera delivers magical surprises. Spent 20 minutes squinting up at the top of this cliff and admiring the girl in the middle, only to get home and look at the pictures and discover her friend on the right who was invisible to our naked eyes. 

How often do we consider the magic of a sunrise, a new one every day, appearing out of blackness in millions of unseen combinations around this planet. So grateful to take one in bright and early in Yellowstone National Park. 

Ian Cartwright, you're not the only one who has a love of swimming.

Good thing they spend time in the water, given how much they love rolling in the dry and dusty dirt.

Growing up on the farm I used to marvel at the swallows building packed mud nests on the beams inside the barns. Amazing to discover their relatives, the Cliff Swallows, in Yellowstone National Park.

Sometimes we let a little work - or hiking - scare us away from getting a glimpse of some of God's beauty. Grateful we tackled this climb up to Trout Lake in Yellowstone National Park. 

I love standing back and just listening and observing what these guys take in along a hike. Believe me, it's often VERY unrelated to anything I'm taking in. 

But so grateful for the bond adventures like this build in our boys. 

Speaking of bonds…..

There's no doubt mama has spent plenty of time on this trip passing on her love of photography. 

It is, after all, photography that is helping us capture the magic and memories of this adventure. We stopped when we saw a crowd looking high up on this cliff. The ranger told us there was a pair of mountain goats up top with their baby, but that the baby was asleep behind a tree. We could see the pair, but not the baby. That is until we got home and looked at this photo and discovered we did indeed get to see the baby. 

As always, the magic in all of my journeys is the company I get to keep in embracing them. I love my traveling companions!!