Prayers in the 'hood

Before my friends headed home we backtracked to LaHood, near where the mouth of the Boulder River meets the Jefferson.  When Lewis & Clark camped here in early August 1805, they found a bountiful place and had very successful hunting: elk, big horn sheep, deer, antelope.  thirty five years later, the Catholic Priest Father De Smet responded to the request of some Salish people who traveled all the way to St Louis asking for the "black robes" to come teach them. He came and celebrated mass with the Salish people in this spot before he established the mission.  A special place with a special history. 

A hotel was built here in 1928 for tourists on a new highway through the Jefferson River Canyon.  During the 1930's, land was donated for a Civilian Conservation Corps camp.  The hotel burned down in 2001 and the restaurant wasn't open yet (only serving dinner), so we weren't able to experience that same welcoming bounty that others had. Still it feels like a special place, with a history of fruitfulness, serving others and generosity. We offered our prayers for God to bless and restore the bounty that this land has had for those who explored here in the past.