snow babes by ellen

Today we woke up in a desert, drove through the desert, and played in the snow at dusk. That makes for a good day.
I spend most Sundays at church but today I had a different sort of "worship experience". We rounded one coner in particular and the winding road revealed a huge mountain running right into the road, covered in patchy snow shining bright against the dusky purple sky. We had just switched from listening to 2 Kings to some David Crowder and the words "come and listen to what He's done for you" introduced the slice of Sierra Nevada that we drove through to get to the park. I can't type anything that will make you feel what I felt today. I can tell you that I nearly cried at it all. I don't really want to get sappy in this blog - but I want to be genuine with you guys who care enough to read. I told Holly today that I want to bring everyone I know out here. One of my goals for the trip was to experience God through his creation. Well we can check that one off the list. Even if you're reading this and you don't believe all that God mumbo-jumbo, you have to believe me when I say that the scenes we drove by today were so stunningly beautiful that I couldn't quite handle it - I wanted to take it in and store it up to ponder later, but there's no wrapping my head around what was laid before us. I mean what do you do with it all - its easier just to turn away. I think its something like looking at the terrible beauty of the Lord. Its way too much. These yellow-green meadows, shining blue lakes, and snow-spotted mountains are so impressive and gorgeous that it makes me hurt - so imagine the glory and beauty of their Creator. I think I understand "fear of the Lord" in a different way after today. And I can only imagine what awaits me tomorrow as we explore Yosemite in daylight. We just drove through the entire park to get to our campsite. Right now I'm sitting in our tent with all our food stored in the bear-proof box nearby, listening to the rushing river just a few feet away. I haven't seen the river yet - we didn't arrive until well after dark - but it sure sounds wonderful. Tonight was an erie and private introduction to Yosemite. Headlight beams aren't the best illumination for the sights around here. I'm just thankful that the deer that we saw on the way in was finishing crossing the road when we rounded the bend.
One good anecdote: Holly and I pulled over to put our feet in the snow. We bounded over to the side of the road in sleeveless shirts, skirts, and bare feet. Perfect outfits for driving in hot weather. Well, we both fully expected the snow on the side of the road to be hard. And we both shreaked when our first leaps onto it left us knee deep in powdery cold! Oh, it was hilarious. And don't worry, we stayed in it long enough to take pictures.
Tomorrow we're getting up early to try to get another campsite in the valley and then we're spending the day exploring this place. I'll let you know how all that goes =]
~Ellen