On the 14th of May around 4:30 in the morning, we received a call from Uncle Will. Letting us know that his dear wife, Nova, passed away. She had been diagnosed with a rare form of Dementia. They had her in a nursing home and Uncle Will was cleaning and making the necessary changes so that he could care for her at home. Aunt Nova didn't want to live with this disease and put her family through it so she decided it was time to go home to God. She was a brilliant woman with a very sharp mind. I wish I would have gotten to know her more. I met her when I was younger but hadn't seen her for many years. It's a shame as a family that we don't see each other more, but this happens when you live thousands of miles away.
Mom wasn't sure if she was going to make it. I told her we have to go, no doubt about it. Uncle Will would need us. So we made arrangements and headed out on May 17th. We rented a Toyota Prius. We got great gas mileage and spent the time listening to books on tape. That made the time go by so much faster. Enjoyed it and I wasn't sure I would. Our first stop for the night was in Sheridan, WY. We stayed at a Holiday Inn (it was the closes hotel). It was ok and mom and I just crashed for the night. We drove through some beautiful country that next morning. We arrived in Minot, ND around 7pm and had a wonderful dinner with Uncle Will and Rick.
I was so glad that we made it up there to offer our support to them. Aunt Nova looked wonderful, they did such a wonderful job on her. It has been a long time since I have seen someone looks so peaceful, happy and natural at a viewing. Everyone did a wonderful job at the funeral with their talks and songs. Our thoughts and prayers will still be with you Uncle Will and Rick.
Uncle Will and his beautiful wife, Nova
some of the flowers at the funeral
We left Minot Thursday, May 21st to start our journey home. This time we decided to drive through Montana down through Yellowstone. I must say that Livingston, MT was the most beautiful place I have seen in a long time. It was a gorgeous drive! We stayed in Bozeman, MT that night and headed out that next morning for Yellowstone. Here is some of the things we saw in Yellowstone.
It has been almost 30 years since I have seen Yellowstone.
I was in AWE!
A few different animals we saw.
He was less then 20 yards from our car
how beautiful is this?
Old FaithfulSorry when I was filming this I didn't think about what it would do when I turned the camera. I just wanted to get the full height in it. It was also very sunny and I had a hard time seeing what I was filming. It was just as grand as I remembered as a child. I'm so happy that we waited the 90 mins to see it. The rest of the day's drive was gorgeous. As we headed out the south entrance we were in a lot of snow. The Tetons was amazing and it has been awhile since I had been in Jackson Hole. I just wish we didn't have to hurry back so I could have stayed a few days in Yellowstone and Jackson. It just makes me want to plan another trip. If you get some time head up to Yellowstone and take in all the glory it has to offer you.
