The Wedding

Sweet!!

Exhausted, but SO glad we had such an adventure!

The bride was beautiful, the groom weeping for joy. What sweetness to be witness to such a perfect event.

My dear friend's daughter is happily married, and it was an outdoor garden wedding----with weather to be grateful for. Not a breath of breeze blew a bouquet over, the air was cool and delightful. I am sure the photographs by the official photographer are perfect.

The train ride to and from Spokane, Washington was uneventful, as it should be. Yes, the train was delayed by track issues, freight trains with the right of way, and one passenger who seemed to think he was above the rules....but that's to be expected.

I can report that train travel is probably the least stressful type of travel I've experienced yet! You MUST give yourself a 24 hour cushion of time to your destination, however. The delays are simply part of the whole experience.

You meet an entirely different slice of the population! There were Amish farmers, hipsters, down-and-outers, friendly Harley Davidson types, and many, many elderly folk.

The staff was friendly, fun and helpful. Very personable.

It just isn't like flying, or like riding the trains in Europe. There is a hominess to it all, as if every traveler is in the adventure all together. Lots of talking, sharing, and meeting going on.

We sat in the "lounge" car, with its surround windows, during the stint through Glacier National Park.

Yes. Beautiful!

They even had a National Park Service volunteer riding the train and explaining to us what we were seeing! Craig Wilkie. He's a friendly fellow with plenty of knowledge to share. He pointed out pronghorns and told us about the wolverine population, his favorite!

In Shelby, MT we saw the pens of wild horses waiting for slaughter. A new friend on the train, Katherine, and I shared a few tears. Neither of us could believe that those gorgeous, healthy horses-----and numbers your heart would quake at----were destined for the packing house.

But they would have been doomed to starve.

I saw a young stallion skirt a small band of mares, right there in the holding pens. How little he knew---that he would be unable to take them back to those sage green hills where he grew up.

So much beauty on this earth. I can find comfort in my faith---as animals and environment suffer---but the human situation is so profoundly worse.





My friend was the premium hostess for our stay in Spokane------AS she mothered the bride! We all were treated to a new coffee----Dutch Brothers----and a new doughnut shop---"Dawn of the Donut"---a zombie themed place, and we spent a pleasant day at her friend's ranch. This rancher friend has a nice pool and 18 horses, of which four were Percherons, and two Belgians. Cherie was enchanted with those gentle giants!

Fun.

We're home again. Not yet rested, but tomorrow we should be in working order!

It's off to prepare for our own event. More to come.

The dogs were ecstatic to see us.