Seeking God

My Life through the Years (Part No. 9)

Age 25

In our last installment, we went over the Rocky Mountains and “The Great Divide.” It was called by this name since it “divides” the east from the west. In the north-west part of the “Big Sky” state of Montana (the fourth largest state in America), I came to Glacier National Park.

In many ways, I could wish that I had a partner at my side to see things, discuss things, and go places. But this wasn’t what God provided, thus I did what I could with what I had. I simply traveled alone. Or I had God along for conversation. Before leaving Montana, I wanted to see Glacier National Park, as I mentioned, in the north-west part of the state. I also think that the Park extends into Canada toward the north. I entered this very picturesque country and, as I remember, I was the only person there. Winter had begun even though the southern part of America still enjoyed fall weather.

I suppose that the park service didn’t want to be called at this time of the year and under these conditions, thus they didn’t encourage entrance and driving in the Park. I drove slowly and reached the great “Glacier Lake” inside the premises. It seemed that the lake was placid—so very quiet—although snow was falling. I was able to lift my heart to God and continued on. I had displayed such richness of beauty in the midst of this frigid place. Since I was alone, with cold weather and falling snow, I thought that it was the part of wisdom to drive back out and be on my way! I went back to the main route that was over the mountains.

I continued to the west, ever getting closer to the west coast. Finally, going through the state of Washington, I reached Seattle with its scenic views. This city had much history that could have enriched our life. Today, it is one of the most riotous cities in the States but I didn’t notice this chaos at the time. Or it may have been that it was more peaceful at this time. When I reached the western most portion, I headed north, through Everett, and to Vancouver, Canada. I had entered Canada—as you may remember—in the east where I entered Quebec. Sadly, I didn’t spend much time at this location in western Canada as I would have preferred, for I had many more miles to travel toward the south. Of course, I went through Tacoma and saw Mount Rainier toward the east. In fact, I traveled the main route toward the main portion of the park. This was such a beautiful and splendid work of the Creator! One can view the grandeur of Rainier from Seattle itself! It is often found as a scenic picture on calendars. I wanted to see what the mountain was like, thus I drove up the mountain and viewed such a grand site.

When I traveled south, I came to Oregon after going through another (smaller) Vancouver. Again I don’t recall that Portland was as violent with rioting as today, but it was a growing cosmopolitan city in that day. While there, I drove around and even hunted up the tiny “Christian” College in that city. We also find the Multnomah University and Multnomah Biblical Seminary which I believe have become quite liberal and not nearly as much “Christian” as before. You might recognize Multnomah as the publisher of various books that may be on your shelf.

Portland is at the north-western part of the state, thus I drove to the west, by design. The Pacific Ocean awaited my eager view. What a wondrous sight this was! The largest ocean body of the world could be seen at this location. You may know that “Pacific” actually means “peace” and at this time, the ocean was peaceful. Portions of this west coast can be less than peaceful. This little respite from my travels showed me that God is great and that He has created and is the Creator! This was demonstrated in His vast display of creation.

To the south of Portland, one comes to Salem and Eugene, but I couldn’t enter either of them for lack of time. There was also Grants Pass and Medford that I think I had visited some years before. Over the Cascade Mountains to the east, I came to the Columbia River that separates Oregon from Washington state. There was Columbia River Gorge to be seen and well as the famous Mount Hood National Forest to the south. (This often graces our calendars you may remember) This western section is more sparsely populated, thus I had to drive and drive until I finally entered Idaho from the west.

Idaho has always appealed to me for it was a mountainous state with some unique people, some of whom had “escaped” the big cities and wanted freedom. Soon after entering the state, I came to Boise, the capital, then I proceeded south past Twin Falls. Known as the “Potato” state, we know that it holds many other “riches” in many ways—such as vast forests.

To the south was Utah, of Mormon fame (known as “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints”). This state has over fifty percent Mormons (so I have read). We come to Bringham City (named after Bringham Young, the early leader of the Mormon Church). After Ogden, one comes to Salt Lake City, the state capital. This famous city has around 200,000 but the metropolitan area would be 1,222,000 people—thus it is not a small area at all. The Great Salt Lake lies to the west of the city but this is not a place to drink or even bathe. While I was there, I took a tour of the Temple area (the “temple” that the early Mormons made for their followers). Of course, I visited the so-called “Tabernacle” where their world-famous chorus or choir sings with much delight. Sadly, this is a heretical cult that is spreading not only in Utah but around the world. Not everything that looks good and sounds good is good!

South of Salt Lake City, I found Provo then continued south. It was now getting quite late and winter was approaching but I did want to see Colorado and the largest city, Denver. I drove and drove, over the mountains, but as I recall, snow was falling and the weather report said to beware of driving. Thus, instead of venturing further, I turned around and went back into Utah. Somewhere in the state, I finally had my first flat tire. I wasn’t sure what to do, but I decided to take the tire off and a kind person stopped and he put me into the back bed of his truck, along with the flat tire. In the closest town, I had the tire repaired and I think the same friendly person took me back to where he had picked me up. I wish I had received more information so I could thank him even today!

We’ve now come to the end of this installment but next time, by God’s grace, I’ll continue the travels. All along, I thanked God for His gracious hand.