Cody, Wyoming

We left ~~Yosemite~~ oops Yellowstone on Saturday at the Eastern Gate and drove to Cody, Wyoming to spend the night. We had breakfast at The Irma Hotel named after Buffalo Bill’s daughter Irma. From here we took the trolley tour to learn about the city of Cody.

Today (Sunday) after spending a couple hours at the Buffalo Bill museum we hit the road for Butte, Montana. We had a nice drive with lovely weather and are at our hotel for the night. Tomorrow we hit the road early to drive all the way home. I have so many photos and will have to decide which to share in the next week or more.

I haven’t visited any blogs since we didn’t have WiFi while in Yellowstone. Hope all is well in blogdom!

God Holds the Future in His Hands ~ Hymns

God Holds the Future in His Hands

Dread not the things that are ahead,
The burdens great, the sinking sands,
The thorns that o’er the path are spread,
God holds the future in His hands.

Refrain

God holds the future in His hands
And every heart He understands.
On Him depend,
He is your Friend,
He holds the future in His hands.

We know not what tomorrow hides,
Of sun or storm or good or ill;
We only know His dear hand guides,
And He will be our Father still.

Refrain

His hand created earth and sky,
The zephyrs and the storms that rage,
And years to come and years gone by
To Him are but an open page.

Refrain

Live close to Him and trust His love,
Assured that while on earth we roam,
Whate’er may come, He bends above
To guide His children safely home.

Refrain

Words by James Rowe, 1922.

Zephyrs are west winds in case you were wondering…

Postcard from Yellowstone

We spent two days in Yellowstone National Park without any WiFi. Now that we are in Cody, Wyoming with WiFi I wanted to share a postcard from the park. Yellowstone is an amazing complex area with such interesting topography. The photo above is of Gibbon Falls. We were amazed at God’s creation at every turn!

We haven’t seen any news for a few days and it’s kind of refreshing. Hope all is well in your corner of the world. Things are fine right now in Wyoming. Blessings.

Day #1 Roadtrip Postcards

We left home while it was still dark and headed east over the Cascade Mountain Range and then through Central and Eastern Washington on Interstate 90.

We entered Idaho at Post Falls with a quick stop at Cabela’s for some binoculars.

We then entered Montana just past Lookout Point. We were on empty at this point and hoped we’d find an exit that didn’t say “no services”. We made it to a small town with a couple pumps and added a few gallons before our stop in Missoula for a fill up at Costco and a stop for the night.

Missoula County Court House, Missoula, Montana.

We’ll hit the road early again tomorrow to reach Yellowstone National Park.

We are enjoying one of Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache mysteries on cd as we drive along. A very pleasant way to make the time fly on the road!

Some Sizzling News…

Click over to Mennonite Girls Can Cook to see my recipe for these delicious meatballs to make an Italian meatball sandwich with!

And check out some exciting news on a one act play, Mennonite Girls Can Cook, inspired by our blog and cookbooks premiering in September in Shipshewana, Indiana and Sugarcreek, Ohio.

eXceptional Views

On Father’s Day after brunch in downtown Seattle we headed to Kerry Park atop Queen Anne Hill to take in these eXcellent views.

It’s great to capture both the Space Needle and Mt. Rainier together on a clear day. Both are iconic symbols in Seattle and Washington State.

Mount Rainier, Mount Tacoma, or Mount Tahoma is the highest mountain of the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest, and the highest mountain in the state of Washington. It is a large active stratovolcano located 54 miles south-southeast of Seattle.

Ascending to 14,410 feet above sea level, Mount Rainier stands as an icon in the Washington landscape. An active volcano, Mount Rainier is the most glaciated peak in the contiguous U.S.A., spawning six major rivers.

And on a more personal note…hope she never blows her top and annihilates all of us Seattleites!

The Space Needle and Mt. Rainier are treasures in Washington State.

Speaking of personal here is my eXcellent and treasure of a husband and the father of our children enjoying the iconic views from Kerry Park on Father’s day!

Linking up with ABC Wednesday and Tuesday’s Treasures. Thank you Mrs. Nesbitt, Roger, ABC Team, and Tom at The Backroads Traveler for hosting these fine memes.

Dear and I are eXiting the familiar and heading to roads we’ve never traveled to enjoy one of our Nation’s treasures, Yellowstone National Park. I hope to share some postcards along the way but if you don’t hear from me it’s because wifi might not be available to us. Our wonderful basement dwellers will take care of the safety of our home and water our plants while we are away.

Happy summer everyone!

Father’s Day 2016

Our Western Washington kids planned brunch out for their dad in downtown Seattle at The Carlile Room, a Tom Douglas restaurant.

Dear chose the biscuits and gravy. Such a pretty presentation.

We all enjoyed our choices of Meaty breakfast, Eggs Benedict, Deep Fried French Toast and we were happy that Andrew went with the Hunter’s breakfast served on this silver platter…

Conversations revolved around new Traeger Grills and the grill related gifts the kids got their dad. We might or might not have solved many world problems, too. It’s always good to gather round a table filled with good food to enjoy some communication with each other.

It was a beautiful day in Seattle with blue skies and a few wispy clouds. We decided to head to Kerry Park on Queen Anne Hill and see what we could see.

The views were amazing and the crowds were out with the same idea we had!

Things are a bit busy today in Southern California for my Pop and other related dads so I called him yesterday to wish him a Happy Father’s Day. Good thing I did cuz I just got this text photo of my tired out Pop with my siblings enjoying the moment.

Hope your Sunday is going well and that you can get a little nap in. He woke up for this next one…

Happy Father’s Day Pop!

I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord ~ Hymn

I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord

I love Thy kingdom, Lord,
The house of Thine abode,
The church our blessed Redeemer saved
With His own precious blood.

I love Thy church, O God.
Her walls before Thee stand,
Dear as the apple of Thine eye,
And written on Thy hand.

If e’er to bless Thy sons
My voice or hands deny,
These hands let useful skills forsake,
This voice in silence die.

Should I with scoffers join
Her altars to abuse?
No! Better far my tongue were dumb,
My hand its skill should lose.

For her my tears shall fall
For her my prayers ascend,
To her my cares and toils be given
Till toils and cares shall end.

Beyond my highest joy
I prize her heavenly ways,
Her sweet communion, solemn vows,
Her hymns of love and praise.

Jesus, Thou friend divine,
Our Savior and our king,
Thy hand from every snare and foe
Shall great deliverance bring.

Sure as Thy truth shall last,
To Zion shall be given
The brightest glories earth can yield
And brighter bliss of Heaven.

Words: Timothy Dwight, Psalms of David, 1800.

This is believed to be the oldest hymn by an American still in common use.

ht: Cyberhymnal

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads who visit here!

St. Joseph Church – Leavenworth

I was attracted to the Russian onion dome steeple. We walked up to the church but there was no information for us to see. When I researched it I didn’t find much information until I came upon Susanne Wilson’s blog.

Suzanne Wilson has some great information on her blog “Churches on Sundays” about this church and it’s history. It is no longer used as a church but the owners of Pension Anna (a hotel) moved this abandoned church adjacent to their hotel and named it the Old Chapel Suite. I’m glad it has been preserved.

Linking up to InSPIREd Sunday hosted by Beth and Sally.

Epic Five on Friday

The Copa America Centenario USA 2016 is an International Soccer Tournament that is the oldest international continental football competition. 32 matches played throughout the USA June 3-26th with 16 teams from the Americas in 10 cities. Seattle is one of the 10 cities. This is the first time that the tournament is being hosted outside of South America.

Our son Josh, daughter in love Laura and ellen b. purchased tickets for the U.S.A. v. Ecuador quarterfinal game hosted by Seattle. I pulled out my USA gear to take to the game.

Here we are before the game started. Sunshine in Seattle!

Our own Clint Dempsey from the Seattle Sounders scored the first goal and was the Man of the Match.

All smiles at the end of the game after our 2-1 victory! On to the semi-finals where we will play Argentina or Venezuela depending on who comes out victorious when these two teams play each other on Saturday. If I had to guess I’d say we will be playing Argentina with the amazing Lionel Messi but there are always upsets in tournaments.

It was a beautiful night in Seattle and on the way back to our car we spotted a ferry rolling in on the Puget Sound. I only had my phone camera with me and it doesn’t capture how beautiful the night was. It was a historical night and a fun night for the 3 of us.

I’ve said this before and I realize many of you are not sport fans and especially not soccer fans but soccer is my favorite sport and thank you for indulging me as I share this part of my life occasionally.

I’m joining Amy’s Five on Friday and Susanne’s Friday’s Fave Five, thank you Amy and Susanne!

Here in the USA and in Canada we celebrate Father’s Day this Sunday. Our Western Washington kids are treating their dad with a brunch in Seattle on Sunday. I’ll be calling my dear old Pop who lives in California to wish him a happy father’s day. Do you have plans?

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Author Archives: Ellen

Cody, Wyoming

God Holds the Future in His Hands ~ Hymns

God Holds the Future in His Hands

Postcard from Yellowstone

Day #1 Roadtrip Postcards

Some Sizzling News…

eXceptional Views

Father’s Day 2016

I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord ~ Hymn

St. Joseph Church – Leavenworth

Epic Five on Friday