The View from Heather...God at Work

Roger does most of our blogging, which works for me! However, I'll add a little here.

For months before we left, I prayed, "Is this Your will, Lord? Or are we getting too old for this? Is it time to quit these odysseys?" I left with an assurance it was a "go". However, 3 different scheduling plans of mine didn't work out. Through a most unusual situation, another stop opened - a person we've only met once invited us to come stay with her. It "just happened" to be one of the schedule gaps we had. This is how this happened: while visiting my step mom Helen in March we noticed an unopened letter on her table. Since she no longer was reading, we opened it and decided we needed to let this friend know Helen wasn't able to communicate. Through several "chance happenings" we made contact with the friend who invited us to visit. She lives in the precise town we are traveling through and had extra time since our original plans didn't work out!! That is the story of one of our "rearranged plans". Dad used to say, "Write you plans with a pencil and give God the eraser."

To load, we carried 30-40 heavy loads into the R.V. to get ready to leave. It isn't just all season clothes & shoes - it's food, music, gifts, and many other small things that make our trips what they are. We loaded over 4 days - in between rain!

As we drove out of WA, about 1/2 hour of severe wind gusts kept me super alert. Gusts are different from wind - they come from all directions with a vengeance.

Since we made such good time on our first day, we had time to go through a museum the second day. After spending several hours there, I went to purchase post cards which I like to send to my "kid" friends. When I went to pay, the owner/host said, "It's on the house!" 

We spent the night at Loves, knowing the next day would be an easy driving day. Roger stopped for a Wendy's treat. When he went to pay, the owner said, "It's covered!"

An hour later I was driving when the R.V. transmission gave out!! We coasted to the highway edge. Neither Roger's nor my phone had any service. We were in desolate territory. (Think - near 4 Corners.) However, I was able to text our friends 100 miles away. Through many complex communications, we learned they had a friend who could tow our R.V; another could fix it (we're still waiting on that); another missionary pastor friend who came from 7 miles away to encourage us while we waited for a tow; & our friends had an empty air bnb. So we are now stranded in Kirtland, NM. We pray it will only be a day or 2. Miracles do still happen!

The tow truck driver let us ride back with him, saving our friends 200 mile round trip. He wasn't a believer, so we were able to point him in the right direction. No accidents in Heaven!! Hallelujah!! 

Day 3. Through Utah on to NM

We left Love's Travel Plaza this morning after great night's sleep. This store has 88 free parking slots for overnight travelers.

It was another day of seeing God's beautiful creation as we rode along...

and then things changed quickly after we stopped for fuel in Monticello, UT. Roger heard an unusual sound coming from the engine compartment. The transmission fluid seemed a little low so he added some. The sound didn't diminish but we continued on our journey anyway. Less than 10 miles down the road the transmission began to drop out of "Drive". We were able pull over to a safe place to make some phone calls. We were in the proverbial "middle of nowhere" and Roger's phone had no network connection and Heather's could only text. She reached out to our friends in NM that were expecting us later in the day. She moved heaven and earth find us a tow truck and arrange for a transmission shop that can repair large vehicles. Here are the images...

We got to ride in the giant tow truck for nearly 100 miles to Hutch's Transmission Repair Shop in Aztec, NM.

Day 2 on the road

We left Burley, Idaho, this morning and continued South on I-84.  The weather has been good, but fairly windy. More beautiful cloud formations today. Absolutely beautiful hills and mountains. I grabbed some pics out the window as Heather drove. We also stopped several times to stretch and take some more pics.

We enjoyed lunch at an In-an-Out burger store near Salt Lake. We both had their "animal" version.

In the afternoon we stopped in a Utah town name "Helper" and visited their local museum. The town has a rich history in coal mining and railroads.

A minor child above from the 1920's. So sad to see.

We are parked for the night at a Loves Travel stop in green River, Utah. Had enough time to start and finish a 500 piece puzzle before bed.

Spring 2026 annual trip

We drove away from home this morning in rain. Today has been a mix of sun, clouds and rain. I must say there were some beautiful cloud formations with the snowy mountains and green-covered hills providing the setting.

Heather has arranged a route that takes us through NM, AZ, TX, AR, TN, IN, MI, MO and SD. We decided to not go as far as the East coast on this trip.

We plan some long driving days in order to reach our first stop in Farmington, New Mexico, a distance of about 1,250 miles. We don't drive faster than 70mph (unless passing slow pokes). BTW, the speed on I-84 in Idaho is 80mph!

We take turns driving so we can keep the RV moving, with quick lunch breaks and driver swaps in highway rest stops. As a result, we didn't have time to get pictures to share.

However, I did take one picture while fueling up the RV.  The gas prices in Mountain Home, ID sure beat what we pay in King County, Washington.

We are parked for the night in a Walmart lot in Burley, ID. We drove more than 600 miles today. That's about half way to visiting our friends in NM.

In the Rear View Mirror

 

Our R.V. problems changed a lot of things. On the "negative" side:

1. We weren't able to visit our friends in NM

On the "positive" side:

1. We made new friends of the family that took us in for 2 nights, Greg, Robin & Gregory.  Roger met Greg at the dealership. We had a private room in their basement and they fed us royally! Gregory said we were the first ones to spend a night at their house (we assume Greg has extended his gracious offer of accommodations more than once!).

2. We were able to discuss how to have assurance that one is saved.

3. We met the wife of another Christian couple, Rose & Ron, who picked us up and took us to her church for Wednesday night prayer service. Then she delivered us to Greg's home.

4. At the church service, 79 year old twins Janice and Faye Rostvit gave testimony of their most recent trip overseas. They travel for the Lord all over the world, singing in over 100 languages! It was a joy to meet them and get one of their books, which I, Heather, have been reading. Amazing stories of God's provision, intervention and protection.

 5. We learned of Rose through a friend Teresa in WA who read about our dilemma on Facebook. Teresa asked if we'd like to make contact with her friend in Colorado Springs, which we did! Rose and Ron also offered us overnight accommodations. 

6. We knew Teresa from attending the same church many years ago. She randomly visited our church once just before we left on our trip - not knowing that was where we were attending - and we renewed our acquaintance. Otherwise, she wouldn't have thought of following our posts!

7. Teresa "just happened" to have good friends in Colorado Springs... 

8. We saw the body of Christ at work, helping us on our way. God is Wonderful!! & it's exciting to walk with Him. 

Home Again - by the grace of God!

We arrived home on Monday, Sept. 8, and immediately started unloading the RV, which is big task!

We stopped at two churches on Sunday the 7th. In the morning we attended services at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Twin Falls, ID. Great preaching on the establishment of the family (and why it's in such a mess now-a-days), and the Sunday School hour teaching on recognizing God's institutions was super!

We attended the evening service at Berean Baptist Church in Pendleton, OR. The sermon and the music was incredibly uplifting. We were just inches from Heaven! lol

They even let us park overnight in their lot, which was an answer to prayer! I, Heather, was driving Friday night. We do not like driving after dark, but there didn't seem to be another way. The road was narrow because of construction, and the exits were not well marked and quite steep and narrow to access. Twice I had to make quick moves to get to them. So, for Saturday night, I really didn't want any more dark-driving! God answered my prayer!

These are both "independent fundamentalist" so we know they will sing hymns, which is our favorite music for worship. The preaching in both churches was excellent, Biblical teaching. 

Crossing the Snake River is always breath-taking. The bridges are SO high!! This is the river that daredevil Evel Knievel jumped.

We had several close encounters with various other vehicles and thank God for safety. We don't take it for granted. Thanks for praying for us! 

Back on the Road

Thanks to everyone's prayers, we are once again traveling. The R.V. spent 3 full days at the dealership. It was the only place we could find that would work on it. The disadvantage was that they only use Ford parts - and the one they needed hadn't been available for 16 years (they only stock parts 10 years back). Unfortunately, they didn't really want to tell us that. They just kept ordering parts that didn't work.

Finally, in desperation, Roger told them (on Wednesday and on Thursday) to get the part from NAPA. When they did, it fit just fine. However, much time passed while we waited and waited. The uncertainty was not fun!!

Everyone was very kind and gracious - maybe not super efficient! The mechanic Roger met the first day, Greg, almost immediately invited us to stay with him overnight if we needed a place. We did and we did. His family took us in - for 2 nights. Also, his influence (he's one of the more respected and knowledgeable workers) help expedite our R.V. getting fixed.

God worked it all together! May He be praised. 

The oil seal that encircles this shaft was the culprit.