June 21, 2010 | The First Day of Summer
Day 1 – 43: Defying Gravity
Day 2 – 3: Miracle Making
Day 3 – 46: Absolute Certainty
Day 4 – 28: Soul Mate
Day 5 – 48: Unity
I survived the storm but woke up at 6:30 AM and could not go back to sleep. I decided to get up and start my day. My card for the day was No. 48: Unity. As I drove out of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, I came upon a field of Prairie Dogs. They were busy running around, doing their thing, living their lives.
Prairie Dog offers the following wisdom:
- community,
- affection,
- touch,
- seeing beneath the surface.
After a hearty breakfast in Medora, I headed west on Interstate 94. Approximately 20 minutes later, I crossed over into Montana.
Approximately three hours later, I arrived in Billings, Montana, and drove around searching for a campground. However, all of the campgrounds in Billings were three times more expensive than what I had been paying. Since I had plenty of daylight left and wasn’t thrilled with Billings in the first place, I got back onto the interstate and headed west. I decided to stay at the first campground that felt right to me.
This drive along Interstate 90 was breathtaking. To my south was the northern foothills and snow-covered mountain peaks of Yellowstone National Park. My chariot kept tugging me toward Yellowstone, but I chose to continue west since I had been there twice before. I kept telling myself that I had other places to see. It wasn’t long before I began seeing signs for the “Spring Creek Campground & Trout Farm.” It was located just outside of Big Timber, Montana.
I exited the interstate and followed the signs to the campground, which brought me down Main Street, right through the downtown area of Big Timber.
Big Timber, Montana
I continued following the signs to the campground, leading me two miles outside town. As I approached the campsite, I saw this from the highway.
I drove down the long, dirt road…
taking in the incredible scenery along the way.
And then I came to the entrance of the campground. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It was beautiful. It was times like these that I wish my entire family were with me.
After checking into my campsite, I drove back into Big Timber for a bite to eat and to buy groceries. I returned to my campground to do a load of laundry and to work on my journal. I managed to take a couple of photos before the sunset.
This photograph reveals my campsite on the first day of summer 2010. The low for the night was expected to get down to 47 degrees.
Before I went to sleep, I lay in the back of my truck and stared up at the moon through my canopy’s back window. I took a few minutes to give thanks for my life.
I fell asleep sometime afterward.