Storm Drive...

Earlier today there was a beautiful rainstorm moving through town. I say it was beautiful because the clouds where thick, the rain was hard, and the sky was the most beautiful mixture of blues, greens, browns, oranges, and blacks. So we decided to go for a drive, just get out of the stuffy house. We headed out of Troy, towards Deary, then on through to Helmer, and on still to Bovil. On our way back (just past Bovil) Joe turned onto a small dirt road and said he had a suprise for me. We seemed to go back further and further, through extremely thick forest! Then it opened up to the most beautiful two lakes. He said they were called the "blue lagoons". The kids were sleeping so we stepped outside (the rain had stopped) and once outside, we witnessed what has to be one of the most beautiful views on the planet. Joe summed it up quite nicely "if anyone ever questioned a higher power, they haven't seen this". I didnt have my camera with me, although I dont think a picture would have done it justice. To start off, the green fields and pine trees were so green it looked as though they had been brushed with a light green highlighter. It almost looked fake, like out of a fantasy movie! And the sunlight shining down seemed to shine on everything with a delicate ray, bringing life to everything it touched. Then we looked to the sky, we had made it to the storm front, to the east was beautiful crystal clear blue sky. To the north and south was the richest blue (almost aquamarine) sky you'd ever seen. It carried directly over us to a dark black/blue color. But to the west was the most beautiful array of clouds. They were light brown and looked as though someone had taken the time to hand paint giant pillows of perfectly smooth block shaped clouds. I dont really know how to explain the shape, I have never seen clouds like this before - they beat out the sky in Montgomery Alabama in 2000 when 5 tornado's surrounded the city we were in. It was beautiful. Joe and I just stood there looking all around in awe. There was even the remains of a vibrant rainbow to the north. BEAUTIFUL. And the lakes, they were this deep bright green color, stirred up from the rain, they just seemed to come alive. I wish everyone could have been there to see this. Then on the way home, not that this view wasnt enough already, we came across a wide variety of animals. We say several herds of deer (mulies and white tails), a little bunny rabbit, an otter (which I thought was so neat, I made Joe stop the car and watch it swim across the lake), a blue heron, an owl, a hawk, and a herd of 53 elk. What an amazing drive! Sometimes its hard to believe there could ever be somewhere more beautiful than this little town we call home.