Monday, December 9

We waited until daylight before leaving the truck stop due to the scattering of snow on Sunday night, and were barely on the road when we began seeing signs of a rainbow.

I had never seen a rainbow that encircled the sun. (As you can see, Cerwin quickly ran the windshield wipers to give me a clean window.)

This is not a camera effect, this is what the rainbow looked like.

Since the roads were a bit snowy and icy, and we thought we may get into some other bad weather before getting home, the rainbow seemed like an assurance from God that He will be with us on this trip.

There were signs of the rainbow for the next few miles.

Since the temperature was close to zero, we think the rainbow was from a snow flurry. It certainly wasn’t from rain. Is that called a snow bow?

I decided to ask “Google”.

Can there be a rainbow when snow is falling?

Yes…and unlike a rainbow…the sun doesn’t have to be behind you and the rain in front of you. The geometry is different. Light snow or falling ice crystals and sunlight are needed…both in front of you. The exact effect depends upon the type of crystal and it’s orientation as it falls. There are many amazing types of displays. Look at some of the types of ice crystal halos on this website www.atoptics.co.uk

http://atoptics.co.uk/halo/parhelia.htm

So the circle effect I photographed earlier is called a halo (or sundog) and not a rainbow. Interesting.

We were traveling through a winter wonderland.

Oops! This is a reminder that the road is still a bit icy.

Because I took this picture very quickly, I did not notice until I posted this picture that there is a man in the car. 🙁 I thought it had probably happened during the night.)

Enjoy the wintery scenery from Hudson to Madison.

We thought this was the result of wind, but there is a snowplow in that blur of snow.

Because I had taken lots of pictures on the trip to Hudson, I spent the late morning and early afternoon reading and just enjoying the scenery.

We entered Indiana about 4:30 p.m.

We stopped near Howe, Indiana, for the night.

To those who read my Facebook, this is where Cerwin noticed a slight water leak (steam) coming from under the hood of the truck. It was the heater hose. The leak was close to where it was attached to the block, so he decided to turn the engine off and let it cool down while we ate supper.

He thought maybe he could repair it with duct tape or by cutting away the hole which was at the end of the hose, but the hose was too short for cutting and too old and brittle for any kind of repair, so he called a repairman who said he would be there in about an hour and a half – and he was true to his timing.

We were glad to be in a rest stop as the temperature was just above zero. I crawled in my sleeping bag and fell asleep while Cerwin waited for the repairman in the nearby restaurant.

So – after a new hose and a few gallons of antifreeze, the truck was ready to start – and we were warm again.

It was a good day, and God had truly been with us.