Craig in Craig

Monday and Tuesday are my usual days off. They also happen to correspond with Elisha's usual days off, so we usually end up hanging out together. Yesterday, Elisha said, "I want to go back to that craft store in Craig" (about 45 min west of Steamboat) "and get some more yarn." Craig has a super Walmart--a vast improvement on the pitiful half of a Walmart that Steamboat has--so I agreed to go along if we could include a stop there.

The drive was beautiful. Forty-five minutes through the snow-covered Rockies on a sunny day with some good music and good conversation. Elisha and I are often amused by the same things--for example, we both got a lot of enjoyment out of the fact that her car was named Craig and we were going to Craig.

We got some yarn, stocked up at super Walmart, and then Elisha decided to get her hair cut while we were there because places in Steamboat tend to be a bit pricey. I was sitting in the front reading a magazine when suddenly all the sunlight disappeared from the windows. I looked up to see a white cloud of snow blowing fiercely in front of the window. That was basically all I could see. When Elisha's hair was finished, things still hadn't let up. We got back in Craig and crawled along the street. We figured we would just drive very slowly and get back to Steamboat really late.

Once we got a few miles outside of town, though, conditions were pretty much impossible. We had to keep rolling down the windows to knock the ice off the windshield wipers. The only way we could tell where the road was was to follow the tail lights of the car in front of us. The genius driving that car, however, apparently decided that it was too bad to drive and stopped right in the middle of the highway. Good idea, Einstein. Let's sit here and get drifted under. Brilliant.
Elisha called her mom to ask her to pray, which launched a verbal torrent of "Do you have flares? Do you have emergency blankets? What about candles? This is exactly why I always tell you to plan ahead!" Not the most helpful thing at the moment. However, her mom did call their church's prayer chain, so that was appreciated. After that we decided the best option would be to turn around and go back to Craig for the night. This was no easy task as the genius in front of us still wouldn't budge and the cars behind us had consequently had to stop too, but Elisha maneuvered Craig around bit by bit, and we waited for another car to come by and followed its tail lights back into town.

At this point we made a second stop at the super Walmart for overnight necessities like toothbrushes and contact solution. We were just two of many who were stuck there. We heard that the highway was closed both directions and the hotels were jacking up their prices, so we headed back out to find an affordable place to stay for the night.

Coming into town, we had passed a place called the Bear Valley Inn. Their sign was shy a few letters and read: "Spacious Rooms and Affordable Rat s." Once again our similar sense of humor was evidenced as we both burst out laughing and proclaimed we had to stay with the Affordable Rats. And actually, it did end up being very affordable compared to the other prices we had heard from people in Walmart. It was not luxury by any means, but it was clean and didn't break the bank. so that was good enough for us.

We had dinner at the Village Inn, where Elisha had wanted to stay until I told her it was a restaurant, and then went back to our room. This morning was bright and sunny again, and we enjoyed a safe drive back, did a little shopping in town (where I got an awesome Western belt!) and came back to the ranch to cries of "You're alive!"

Looking back, I'm really glad things turned out the way they did. Elisha and I had a lot of fun and bonded on the trip, and I think we both needed a night away from the ranch. We are both introverts, and living and sleeping with five girls can be a strain. We kept remarking on how quiet the motel was and how comfortable our queen-sized beds were. Today while we were driving back, Elisha expressed that she misses church and being in the Word regularly, and we agreed to read Hosea together and discuss it. I am really excited about doing this. I most definitley need this kind of accountability (I miss tiny group!) or I end up doing one quiet time a week, on my first day off.

In other news, I've been thinking a lot since my last post. I was praying the other day, and the analogy that God hit on for me was that of a butterfly coming out of its cocoon. If you've ever seen those nature films, it doesn't just come out, it struggles and struggles, pulling against the sticky fibers and trying to figure out how to use its new legs and awkward, large wings. I feel like I'm in the struggling part right now, fighting the friction and the sticky cocoon, but I can feel God's sun warming and hardening my wings, and I know the next step is soaring through the sunny blue sky and landing on beautiful flowers, sipping their nectar. Not the most original analogy, but it really met me where I was. I still don't like struggling, and I don't think I'm finished yet, but it was encouraging to think about what comes next.

I talked to Dace the other day about staying for the summer. He said he would love to have me. He is still working on seeing who is coming back from previous seasons, and returners have priority, but I have precedence over any brand-new applicants, but I am "penciled in" for the summer. I'll be visiting home at the very least--I really miss people--but back in the summer, I will be back here, God willing. Honestly, if all you Midwesterners came out here, you wouldn't ever want to leave, either. I am so excited to see this place in the summer--I keep imagining its beauty--being able to sit and stargaze without getting frostbite, take walks by the river without wading through waist-deep snow or worrying about falling in tree wells and air pockets, hang out with the horses for more than ten minutes before your fingers feel like they're going to fall off--it will be good. And all of you will have to come visit me and see for yourselves!