Billings Montana Temple

Temple #82

Billings, Montana 

10/21/17

     Montana was wonderful! After good ol’ Canada we went to Montana to Ivy's aunt Patti’s cabin in Thompson falls. We stayed there for a night and enjoyed the beautiful scenery there. It's peaceful, quiet and scenic. 

     We then decided to go to a temple on our way home and we somehow decided to go to Billings since none of us had been there. It was on the other side of the state but that didn't stop us and we began driving. There were six of us in a truck but it was a little cramped so Ivy's mom and aunt, Vera and Patti, crawled into the truck bed that had a shell on it and set up a mattress so they could lay down and relax while we drove. It was quite hilarious but definitely more comfortable. 

     We drove to Billings and we could see the temple from miles away. It sits on the foot of a hill that looks over all of Billings and so it's visible from the entire area. 

     We got there and did sealings, mostly because Grandma Ivy couldn't sit and stand in a session too easily. It was neat to do sealings though with Ivy's parents, her aunt, and her grandma. Three generations of women, which is wonderful. 

     The sealers were incredibly nice and even moved the furniture around so Grandma Ivy could sit in a chair while she did sealings. It was a wonderful experience and we loved it. We love being reminded of our marriage covenants we made years before. We also love how we are helping to seal families together so those who have passed on can be with their families and loved ones forever in the next life. It's a comforting thought to have while doing sealings, even if your knees begin to hurt or you begin to fall asleep. 

     After we did sealings we went to the Celestial room, as we try to do in every temple. It was a large room with a grand, semi-circular wall of stained glass windows that looked west. The sun was shining through the glass and it radiates brilliant light throughout the room. It was a beautiful Celestial room. 

     Afterwards Ivy and I got our photo and then we left. It was a beautiful temple, a temple which we thought we wouldn't do because it really wasn't by anything, but it was worth it driving all that way and we were so happy to have gone to it. 

     We then stayed in a little town just North of Yellowstone National Park. The next day we drove through Yellowstone and enjoyed the views and scenery. It was my first time and it was exciting! It was a cold day, but we saw most of what we wanted to. We also only had to wait two minutes for Old Faithful, and, well, it wasn't quite as exciting as I imagined but it was a must see in Yellowstone. 

     We took the scenic road home through Yellowstone and Teton National Parks, where between the two we finally saw a grizzly bear, a first time for Vera!

     It had been a wonderful trip to where we visited nine National Parks between Canada and America, gone to four temples, three of them for the first time, drove a couple thousand miles, saw lots of wildlife, and made some great memories with family. 

     We love traveling with friends and family, especially when we go to the temples and we'll continue to do it until we reach our goal of going to all the temples of the world because we love the temples!