I was unplugged for the weekend.  As part of the celebration of our 55th wedding anniversary, Paul and I decided to follow part of the journey we made as newlyweds on our honeymoon.  We traveled up the backroads of Northern Minnesota and made our way to Superior, WI.  We were in search of autumn color, but it took us quite a while to find it.  Our neck of the woods has been blessed with steady summer rains, resulting in a plethora of green and late blooming crops.

Green is a beautiful color too.  The variances of the shades and the subtle tinges of mauve, gold and chartreuse undergrowth, covered most of our drive.   It was much the same the year we got married.  We lived in Wisconsin at the time and we had to go even further north to find the brilliant reds, rusts and golds.  There were rainstorms on our wedding day.  Some refer to that as a good omen for a happy marriage.  We didn’t need any of that. We were so in love and ready to start our lives together.

On our little road trip, we came across a country bar & grill and by that time were getting hungry.  Paul donned his cowboy hat, I grabbed my walking stick and we entered the Moose Junction Bar & Grill, wondering just what we might encounter.  A friendly young crowd had gathered.  Some were out for the same reason we were – in search of autumn beauty.  Some were in from the fields in their overalls and ready for a cold drink.  The burgers were scrumptious and the root beer was amazing.

As we sat there with this menagerie of different types of people gathering for refreshment, I began to realize there is so much to experience in the every day time of living.  The people we encounter, the conversations we experience, the jokes shared and the lack of political discussion, were all great contributors to a lovely day.

One of the guys in overalls asked Paul if he was that fellow on the TV show, “Mountain Men,” named Jack.  Since we don’t watch the show, we weren’t sure who he was talking about, but Paul said “no, that he was known as Mountain Paul.”  I can attest to the fact that Paul is probably more of a mountain man than Jack, but the fellow persisted in calling him, Mountain Man, Jack for the rest of our time there.

On our way back home, we again took back roads to avoid the frantic highway drive.   The colors we were searching were just beginning to peak in Northern Minnesota, so we have a few weeks to experience them here.  Autumn is one of our favorite times of year and one of the reasons we remain in this part of the country.  We know winter is right around the corner, but God has given us so much beauty in each one of the seasons here.

It was also nice to step away from reality for a short time.  The noise of the world is becoming so deadening, we owe it to ourselves to enjoy the glory of God’s creation instead – much more often than we do.