Montana Morning

Photo Taken: 10-29-2023

On the first day of the Canada to Kansas traverse in the Mitsubishi experience, I arrived at my motel early.

Frustrated that I had pre-booked the hotel room with a few more hours of daylight left for driving and no refunds, I sucked it up and accepted my fate, and spent the following hours relaxed on the extra firm couch cushion.

The next morning, fueled by Jet boiled oatmeal and gas station coffee that burns up your insides, I forged onward into the dark 4°F Montana morning. My driving eyes were focused on the road before me, and I was caught in awe as the sky became illuminated by the nearest star (sun). To my left, east-facing mountains were soon to be enlightened, so I rushed to beat the light. I noticed in my rearview mirror the full moon about to set.

If I could get the right angle, everything would fall into place. Veering off track for a fleeting moment, rolling over humps of ice careful to stay on the road I arrived to the right place at just the right time. Setting up my camera, not thinking about the cold, I had made it to the perfect moment in time that everything fell into place.

The magnificence of powers far greater than I can fathom aligning to create this experience. Fingers increasingly throbbing, I realize nothing in God’s world happens by mistake. I was supposed to stop driving early the day prior to be in this moment.