God With Us: We Meet Again

 

“Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.” 

~ Albert Einstein ~

We’ve had some pretty insane moments of “coincidence” on the road so far. Getting first-hand experience of just how vast this country is has actually made our world a little smaller. The “six degrees of separation” theory seems much more like 2 or 3 degrees now, the longer we’re around and the more people we meet. (Everyone knows somebody who knows somebody, right?!) It has caused me to ponder an array of “what are the chances” scenarios, and I still can’t wrap my head around the sheer impossibility of the following 4 events occurring ALL within our first 3 months of full-timing. 

The first was during our long, fast-paced haul through northern Oregon towards Washington State. I had booked 3 nights at the KOA in Cascade Falls, knowing that it would be nice to have a checkpoint and a place to rest between southern Idaho and our stopping point in the Seattle area (without having to worry about finding the next dump station or boondocking location). We arrived in the afternoon on a Thursday and made a last-minute decision to check out nearby Multnomah Falls that evening. What we thought would just be a quick waterfall viewing turned out to be a long, steep trail to the top of the Falls. Justin turned back early with the middle two kids (who wouldn’t have made it to the top on their own), but Taren and I were determined to make it to the top (toting Ellia in the hiking backpack). About 80% of the way to the top, I glanced up toward the next switchback and did a double-take; I recognized the two girls that I had nannied almost two decades ago posing for pictures with each other! Neither of them even lived in Oregon anymore- they both just happened to be visiting their parents, who were at the bottom of the Falls catching up with Justin. We caught back up with them again on our way down and talked about how they ended up there that evening, though their preferred time to visit is in the morning and they don’t often make the 30-mile drive out from Portland. It was a crazy “chance” happening, that we were there on the same random Thursday evening within a 2-hour window of time!

The next deja vu moment took place in Island Park, Idaho on our way back to the Lippert Getaway location from our day spent in Yellowstone. We made a quick stop at a gas station, where Justin recognized a truck and trailer combo that we had seen back in Montana. They pulled off before we were finished at the store, but Justin was sure they were going to the nearby forest area to stop for the night since it was later in the day. Sure enough, we saw them again en route back to the park and did a drive by to say hi. Indeed it was our friends - 4-year old Lily and her parents - that we had been parked next to outside of Glacier National Park about a week and a half earlier and 400 miles ago. They had parked to scout out a good camp spot for the night before heading out the next day. If we hadn’t pulled into the gas station just as they were leaving, we probably wouldn’t have seen them since they were off the road a ways. It came down to a crucial few minutes of time, but we were happy to come across RVing friends again - our first full-timer “we meet again” experience!!

The next occurrence happened as we were heading out after a quick overnight stop at the Grand Teton View area in Wyoming. Justin did a little maneuvering to get the rig turned around and waved to the people chatting outside their RVs. A gentleman piped up as we were driving away saying, “Hey, is your name Justin? Were you in Puyallup a few weeks ago?” As it turns out, he had recognized our license plate from being parked next to us at the Puyallup Fairgrounds more than a month earlier and around 900 miles away!! Again, WHAT?! How did we end up in the same place on the same day, and he just happened to be outside at the right time and paying attention to the truck license plate… Mind-blowing!!

Finally, (yes, again), after a full day of hiking and sight-seeing in Zion National Park, we hopped off the the shuttle bus at the Information Center and made our way through the buildings toward the parking lot. I glanced toward the restrooms and thought I recognized (from behind) the distinctive beard of a friend we had met at the Getaway. It confirmed to me who it was when I saw his wife walk up, but as I left to catch up to Justin to let him know, I lost sight of them in the crowd. I felt a little bummed that we didn’t get the chance to say hi, but we had to get back. As we drove over the bridge toward the exit, who did we happen to pass by but our friends!! It was Jer-Bear (the one we had renamed) and his wife walking their dog!! Guys!! We met them a month earlier at a place more than 600 miles away! That was the only day we spent in Zion, and it is not a small park. The fact that we were in the same vicinity at the same time is unbelievably unlikely. 

The odds of just one of these meetings taking place is slim; two is most certainly miraculous. But four times in less than a 3-month period?! Woah!! If that doesn’t stir your Jesus juices, I don’t know what would!!