Sabbath

DAY THIRTY-SIX: Well, we got into Alpine at about 11:00pm last night. We would have made it earlier but we got about 30 miles north of Rock Springs and realized we had forgotten to get gas in Rock Springs - the last populated place.  We were on a stretch of road that was pretty empty of human habitation - who knew if there would be an open gas station before we ran out of gas? So we turned around and went back to Rock Springs. Bummer, but better than finding ourselves beside the road, out of gas, and the nearest AAA service 150 miles away. It added an hour to the trip. It was ok. We  listened a while to a Teaching Company CD on The History of Jazz. That was pretty interesting. We were also getting NPR, so we heard all of Prairie Home Companion, which was a re-run of a show from the year 2000 in Pasadena, CA - where Ellen lived in the early 1950's. So that was interesting. Later in the eve we hooked up the computer to the sound system and listened to music from my vast iTunes library in Shuffle mode. That's always fun. Everything from Adieu Ces Bons Vins De Lannoys (medieval French chanson sung by Asteria) to the Faure Requiem (by the Blanche Moyse Chorale) to You Can't Hurry God (by the Amidons) to Alaj mi je veceras po volji (a Balkan song by Emerald Stream), etc. On the road down the canyon from Hoback to Alpine, a deer unexpectedly crossed in front of the car, testing both Ellen's reflexes and the new Subaru's brakes. Both passed with flying colors and both we and the deer escaped unscathed! It was good to get back to Paul's and to fall into bed!

Today we got up and went to Star Valley United Church. The pastor, Steve Crittenden, had just announced that he would be moving to a new church, in Twin Falls, ID, in September. Since he is the only pastor Star Valley United Church has ever known, the congregation is sort of in shock. But he has been there a decade and the new pastorate will give him new opportunities. His sermon today was based on the passage from Ecclesiastes, "All is vanity." It was a good sermon, but he did not attempt to relate it to his decision to move!

There's been some talk about going to the Teton County Fair today, but I personally would be happy just to "veg out."