Cathy sits on the wonderful bench outside the Headwaters. The plaque reads: “Give us these hills and those we love. We ask no other heaven. Given in memory of Gladys and Paul Hawley by their children and grandchildren. July 2012”.
Chelsea, Neal and the kids show a little of the stress encountered on the 500-mile trip to Dubois. This was our first meal together at the Cowboy Cafe.
We had already packed for evacuation, so altering a few items was all we needed to get out the door and on the road to Wyoming. Nonetheless, 500 miles is a long stretch for us these days and there were still lots of concerns about leaving our home behind because the fire is still a threat.
The driving chore was broken by several minor stops for coffee and food and by two major differences on this trip. As I think I’ve mentioned previously, Cathy took a refresher, diagnostic course in driving on the freeway to boost her confidence. Penrose Hospital has outfitted a new HUGE land barge of a Chrysler with a left-foot accelerator and passenger side instructor brakes. That alone must have been terribly intimidating, but Cath weathered all the tests and felt confident enough to relieve me for about an hour on the road up to Casper.
At the Casper airport we met Meredith and Richard, had a quick bite in Shoshoni, WY and then motored onto Dubois in time for a walk-through at the Headwaters Conference Center where the commemorative bench has been installed and where the big celebration will be held tomorrow. We hardly ever travel this route to Dubois, so at least the scenery was different. It was also nice to have these two particular passengers with us. We stopped in Riverton for flowers and a case of beer for the troops. There was NO wiggle room in the back seat!