(written on the 13th from notes taken previously)
The drive from my parking spot into Casper proper was a little more adventurous than usual. There was a section of the freeway that was closed, and then a major road was also closed for a parade (a late 4th of July parade maybe? 🤔), but Google didn’t know the extent of the closure, so I kept having to change my route over to the recycling place.
Gratefully, it wasn’t a huge deal, but I was running short on time, so I didn’t get gas after dropping off my recycling: I just headed straight for the temple, making it into the endowment session with a few minutes to spare. 🙏
Despite the rough night and the massive lack of sleep from being up until something like 3:30 in the morning, I had a beautiful time in the temple. 🙏🤍🙏
There was a lady there, a different one than usual, who just absolutely glowed. I love to see that. Her husband glowed a little bit as well, but she just… radiated light.
I mentioned that to the husband in the locker room afterward, thanking them for coming and bringing a beautiful light with them. 😊
I stopped off at Walmart to grab some supplies for the week, chatting with Cory a bit as I shopped and then, remembering that I purchased a Sam’s Club membership for 75% off, decided to stop off at the Sam’s Club gas station.
It took me a little while to figure out how to get logged into the app and use the QR scanner to scan the code on the fuel pump, but eventually, I figured it out, scanned the code, and because my card is already on file with Walmart, I didn’t have to do anything other than scan the code, and the pump unlocked, filled my van up just fine, and charged my card.
Technology. 🙃
I did forget to go in and the amazingly cheap lunches that they sell, as Heather said, cheapest lunch around, a whole meal for like $2.25. 😎
Oh well, next time!
Wanting to get everything squared away for the trench, I went looking for French drain pipe, hoping to find an eight slot, only to realize that what I thought they sold locally was a special order item. 😕
Disappointed, I started heading out, but as I was driving past Menards, I thought about buying plastic sheeting to cover the trench with, so it wouldn’t turn into a bog that would take days to dry out, so I turned around, headed into Menards, found some sheeting (after a long look for it), bought it, and headed home–without using my phone to do genealogy. 🙃
Back at the ranch, Heather, Hans, and I spent maybe an hour? Setting up the plastic sheeting in the hopes that it could keep the trench dry, but my hopes were rather thoroughly dashed come… 10:30? When the rain came pouring down, and I found myself out there in the rain, checking pipe, checking drainage, and realizing that pretty much all the water was going under the plastic except what fell directly on it. 😕
And a huge puddle had formed.
So I spent a good little while trying to get as much water as I could onto the plastic and a good little while digging trenches between puddles and from the big puddle into the main trench.
Flashbacks of Arkansas.
Heather came back out as I was in the process of working on everything, and she brought me a towel to dry off with (I was out there until after the rain stopped, but I was in bare feet, because it was a big, muddy mess, so I had a lot to rinse off and dry off.
I tried to keep the trench dry. I failed miserably, but I tried.
Oh well. God knew it was going to happen, and if it needed to be any different, it would have been. That doesn’t mean I don’t prepare better for next time, though.
Oh, I forgot to mention it earlier in the night after getting back, having the genealogy bug a little bit, I messaged the mom of a friend of mine who, if I’m remembering correctly, last year asked me if I could help figure out some genealogical challenges, because it might be meaningful to my friend to know where he came from, so I sent a message to reconnect with her about that.
Anyway, another day in the books.
Lift the world.
Bring it on.
~ stephen
Lift the World 