My cross country migration

It was with a heavy heart that I began my trek cross country to Madison early Friday morning. I am going to miss all my friends at BYU immensely. Hopefully we can stay in touch.

My first stop on my trek east was Denver. The drive there was uneventful and I made good time. As I crossed the state line between Wyoming and Colorado, I saw a silhouette of a Buffalo on the hill. Apparently someone beat Trevor to it!

I rolled into the driveway of a neighbor of the Wilkin's at 7 PM. After some initial awkwardness, Nate and Cami showed up! It was great to see them; seriously, they are two of my most favorite people in the world. I stayed the night at Nate's sister and the next morning got to attend a Kinder Soccer Game. I think that kinder soccer coaches are guaranteed spots in the celestial kingdom! It is like teaching the sunbeams but with kicking.

After being almost stymied in traffice, Nate, Cami and I made it to the Denver temple and saw John and Brittney get sealed. They were so happy. I was happy that the weather cooperated too; for a while, I thought that it might get rained out. I felt like I was imposing on Nate's family so I excused myself at convenient time and headed east on I-70. Fuel on dried mangoes, granola bars, and the occasional Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger, I made great time. I dodged a storm with golf ball sized hail in western Kansas (see photo).

I set up my tent in a rest area just west of Salina, KS and fell asleep. The next morning I attended the Salina Ward and was spiritually fed. The stake president gave a great talk on the Holy Ghost; it got me excited to deepen my understanding of the doctrine. I went to another rest area and had a low-key afternoon. Having nothing really to do, I went to bed at 7:30, again sleeping in my tent at a rest area.

Just after midnight, I awoke to the sound of thunder. I saw flashes of lightning off in the distance and I decided that I did not want to ride out a thunderstorm in my tent. I felt rested enough so I jumped in my car and drove east, right into the storm. I've never seen a larger storm, I must have been driving through it for 100 miles. The lightning was spectacular.

I stopped by and visit Nauvoo on my way through Illinois. I didn't have much time so I only saw a brief video on the temple and went through an endowment session. I was touched by the sacrifice of the early pioneers. What am I sacrificing for my faith?

A few unpaid tolls (only temporarily) and 300 miles later, I rolled into the parking lot of the Institute Building in Madison. The trek was over! And I didn't pay for lodging once! :)