Captivating

My trip to South Dakota was amazing. Amazing isn't even an accurate word to describe it. I am still trying to figure out how to use words to explain what I feel about seeing such a beautiful place. And what I felt about leaving there. 

I knew that I would enjoy getting away and experiencing another place that is very different from what I'm used to. (It was so flat!) But something else happened there; something that I am still trying to define. Maybe I never will. It is a beautiful mystery. I left Eureka, South Dakota, changed, but I don't yet know exactly how or in what ways. But I know a transformation occurred. I am really looking forward to relishing the moments, and possibly figuring out the exciting thing(s) God was and is trying to show me.

I sat at our friends' kitchen bar in the mornings and stared out at miles of flat farm land, grain silos, semi trucks hauling on the highway, the sun in the sky that rises from the ground (no mountains!), and listened to the wind blow through the church making the steeple creak. It was so incredibly peaceful there. I got lost in the moment much of the time. Which I think is what I have missed since I have been home.

Our friends were so gracious to open their home to us, a beautifully remodeled church at the edge of town. We saw the "before" pictures of when they bought it and the 1 acre it sits on. It was unthinkable! Seeing all the work they did to restore it and get it into "living" shape was incredible. They also have two farm properties used for pheasant hunting (the picture above is one of their properties), a 'hunters house,' and a house they bought at an estate sale auction while we were there. And yesterday, they went to an auction in a nearby town, and bid on a restaurant up for sale, and WON! So they are quite invested in this tiny town. Maybe that is why I felt so at home there. They wined and dined us, showed us around, and definitely made our trip fun and worthwhile. I got to see a lot of very neat things that I would not have known were around there unless they showed us. One of those things was Lawrence Welk's birthplace! We didn't go inside the museum, but it was still neat to see.

-I learned that the capital of Pierre is not pronounced the way I always thought it was.... it is pronounced "Peer." We wrote down "Willamette" and "Coquille" and had the locals say them, it was funny to hear and watch. 

-I learned how to tell a female and male pheasant apart, and it's hard!

-I got to fly over some country that I have never flown over before, and talk to my grandpa about topographic maps on the plane, which was just plain awesome.

-I had my first (and last) alcoholic drink on an airplane when my grandma bought me a glass of wine. I do not recommend drinking at 36,000 feet, even the 187mL I had. Wow, talk about rush to the head. I don't know how people do it.

-I met a really nice guy there, who my family incessantly teased me about, and STILL is teasing me about :) And who is super neato, I must say.

-I went to an auction dinner to benefit the pheasant lands and fields (similar to Ducks Unlimited), and my grandpa bid on a cool walking stick that became the demise of us on the airplane (FYI: do NOT pack it into the carry on overhead, it quickly becomes a weapon when it falls!) 

-I got the maddest I have ever gotten when my grandpa's wheelchair was not ready at the terminal for 30 minutes, causing us to almost miss our connecting flight to Portland and making my grandma walk so fast she almost passed out due to her heart condition. 

-I got to shoot a gun for the very first time, and learned that I enjoy it... and would enjoy bird hunting. Portland Gun Club, here I come! I want to go back and visit every year and maybe take up hunting with our friends!

-I have to say that I missed all the trees that are here in Portland, in all their beautiful colors. I appreciated the flatness and bareness, but I sure missed these trees!

Most of all, I got to experience God in a whole different way. When you are out in the middle of thousands of grain acres, with nothing in sight, it sure makes you feel like a tiny dot in a vast ocean. And the people of this small town are so great. They don't gossip like I am used to in Powers. I'm sure it goes on, but from an outsider's perspective, I did not see it at all. They all know each other, support each other, look out for each other. I was in people's homes with our friends and without even knowing me, they offered me food, hunting gear, trips to their hunting fields, car rides, and anything I needed. I really truly got to know them and I miss them all just as much. I can't wait to see everyone and everything there again.

And I found a word to describe my trip. CAPTIVATING. It caught a hold of me, grabbed on, took my breath, and hasn't let go. I hope it never does.

My pictures of the trip are HERE and HERE.