Custer

We have to back track a little as we left out one of our all-time favorite places: Custer State Park, SD (about 8 hours east of Yellowstone).  This is the most spectacular State Park with lush, majestic valleys filled with bison and plenty of other wildlife. We saw several beautiful herds of bison, up close and from a distance.  What a site! Kudos to the terrific rangers and volunteers who keep this incredible creation so pristine!  We were fortunate enough to secure a campsite among some large shady trees (yay!) for the night without a reservation.  Let me tell you,there is no underestimating the pleasure in finding clean, odor-free bathrooms and showers.

Strange as it may sound, kindling and firewood can be hard to find "naturally" in most campgrounds.  There are several reasons for this, one being that the brush is constantly cleared out by staff to reduce the risk of forest fires. Therefore, we are frequently purchasing both.  As we were preparing dinner together we asked the kids for ideas on how to help out at Custer.  They tossed around several ideas and settled on collecting kindling for the campsite next door, no small task. We were told people were due to arrive anytime and they thought it would be a welcome surprise to have a fire pit well stocked. As the evening passed and rain clouds threatened the kids covered the kindling, adding a note stating "this kindling provided by Parks with a Purpose".

Knowing we cannot make large donations or a great impact everywhere we travel, we continue to look for small opportunities  to show and share God's love.  Of course, God asks us to do this always. We are learning to be more mindful of this. Our eyes and ears are becoming more keen to the needs of those around us. We won't share these all with you, however know that we are praying and ask for your prayers in our mission to reflect His goodness.