This Blessed Plot, This Earth, This Realm: Hot springs Part 2 or How I Spent My Morning Completely Alone

My alarm went off at 7 am this morning and within 20 minutes I was back on the road with a cup of coffee aiming for Snively Gulch Hot springs, a mission to find my watch. My heart was hopeful as I drove along now familiar and also much more well-lit roads. The sun was rising in my rear-view mirror and the snow-covered Owyhee Mountains were in front of me. I drove through measly little Adrian again and then headed down Owyhee Lake Road. It was definitely much easier in the daytime and I laughed out loud when I saw a cow just hanging out by the side of the road. I never will make fun of cow signs again. I also discovered that the fenced in area was just a market place. Why there is such security, I have no idea, but it certainly was not a prison like we expected. I was also pleasantly surprised to look out my right window and see a bunch of deer on the hill. I also will never again laugh at deer signs. They were so beautiful and picturesque, quietly grazing up on the hill.

I parked my car in the same spot as we had the night before and carrying my coffee and a few other things, made my way down to the hot springs. SUCCESS!! Sitting on the ground, right where my bag had been the night before, was my beloved watch. A little dirty but working and ticking away and I immediately put it back on my wrist where it belonged. The weather and the surrounding scenery were gorgeous. I sat down on a big rock, looking at the river and the mountains, listening to the sounds of the birds and the rushing water and did my morning devotional. I didn't take the time to do it before I left and where I was sitting was just so beautiful that it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up.

I did my morning devotions which was about Trust and Thanksgiving- so fitting for my situation. I was trusting that my watch would still be there and I would find my way back out safely and I was certainly thankful that those prayers were answered. When I finished my devotion, I read Psalm 121: I lift my eyes up to the mountains, from where comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, maker of the heavens and the earth.

I sang some songs out loud since nobody was around to listen or judge and at one point, looked up to see an eagle fly by. I haven't seen one of those in the wild in years. It prompted me to read Isaiah 40: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.

It was so refreshing to be out there in God's beautiful creation, to see the wonderful things that He made. I prayed out loud, which I rarely do, and it, for the first time, brought me to tears. I certainly cry when others pray for me but I have never cried when I pray myself. There was just something this time about the words I was saying and where I was saying it and what it meant to me that brought me to tears. No better place to do that though.

I sang a few more songs, all with the theme of how beautiful God's creation in nature is and then finally had to leave. My fingers were numb at that point and my butt was certainly cold. Plus I REALLY had to pee (which I ended up doing in the bushes- again, no one was around and I had tissues in the car...) On the drive home, I spent a lot more time looking at the scenery around me, the valleys and the hills and the fields with snow and frost. It was absolutely breathtaking.