On The Road Again ? - Oh, Oh, Oh, NO!

We got off to a good start - a little ahead of time! Traffic was o.k.; weather was great; R.V. was running good. We gassed up in Ellensburg and made it to McDonalds in Moses Lake in time for Heather to Zoom with granddaughter Scarlett for her German lesson. Roger was driving. 

As we neared Sprague Lake there was a violent explosion and the R.V. rocked. A rear tire had exploded. Roger knew immediately what had happened. The temperature was high 90's and the highway HOT. We were able to limp 3 miles to a rest area. It took 4.5 hours and many calls, including some scammers, for us to get someone to come switch tires (we had a spare). The entire process was very confused and almost did Roger in!! Once the help came (a man who could good American speak English), it took only 20 minutes to change tires.

The explosion did damage to the R.V. which had to get fixed. He knew of the place that someone had recommended to Roger, so we carefully drove there. The owner told us to park and spend the night in the R.V., which we did. The temperature went from HOT to pleasant. First thing the next morning, they started work on the R.V. 

It took 3 1/2 hours, but they did a very good and complete job - and gave us special rates! Roger checked the work!! However, this all cost us 24 hours and $3,000. But we got all new tires!

 We're spending the night in Butte. God is good!!

Oh! Heather got some real good deals on American made crayons and school supplies for the Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.

Back home now.

 We left our friends in Priest River on last Monday morning. 

Our next stop was in Yakima, WA, were we spent the afternoon with a retired missionary couple. The wife is a second cousin to Heather. 

We parked for the night in the parking lot where the CEF state office is located.

The next morning we visited the retired CEF Washington director and his wife and later stopped by the CEF office to load up on Tel A Story cards for our upcoming Summer events.

We enjoyed our trip home on I-90. Being on the road for two months gets tiring.

Our final stop, as always, was the Indian John Hill RV dump station.

Home, sweet home!! 

Continuing Homeward

Our next overnight stop was still being confirmed as we left Laurel, MT, heading west on I-90.

We stopped at several cities along the way so Roger could visit gun stores. He can only look, but not buy, because of stricter laws in our home State.

Friday night we again parked at a Love's near Missoula, MT (actually in Wye, MT).

We took time that evening to assemble a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle. Actually, it was only 499 pieces. As is common with thrift store puzzles, they are often missing a piece or two. If you look closely you will find where the missing piece was supposed to be! (right side above the yellow flower)

We took some time the next morning to shop before heading north and crossing into Idaho.

We arrived in Priest River, ID late Saturday afternoon. Our friends, the Smiths, live in a very rural community in the hills.

We attended their church on Sunday morning. They are part of a wonderful church family and homeschooling group.

Billings and Laurel, MT

Heather did her usual Operation Christmas Child (aka OCC) shopping in tax-free MT. So, that means shopping at two Walmarts, a Dollar Tree and a resale store. Preparing and sending shoeboxes with Samaritan's Purse is a serious "hobby/ministry" for her.

We planned a visit to the huge Scheels store before leaving Billings. Heather taught her Zoom Good News Club from the RV using the store's strong wifi signal in the parking lot. After that we rode their in-store Ferris wheel and enjoyed watching their huge aquarium and wildlife dioramas.

Thursday night we parked at a brand new Love's Plaza in Laurel, MT. We certainly were not prepared to see police cars, two fire trucks and an ambulance show up after dark. Apparently some sort of gas leak triggered the emergency response. The staff were evacuated, and the store and station shut down while the fire department searched for the problem. 

The station was reopened a while later and the rest of the night was totally peaceful. We have not learned any more about the gas leak. The morning staff in the store knew nothing about the night's emergency!

Visit to our Sturgis Family

Memorial Day: Checked out of the hotel in Rapid City and did our laundry at a nearby laundromat.

Shopped at a thrift shop in town where everything was at 50% discount.

We arrived Monday afternoon in Sturgis. Had an evening meal with son Josh and his family. Son Alan and his family also dropped by join us in the meal.

Tuesday morning we went with our granddaughter to the Black Hills Railroad 1880 train ride.

This engine is one of only a few still using steam engine power.

Rapid City, SD for the weekend.

We left Warrenton on Wednesday morning and drove through the day. In the evening we found a church with a Wednesday evening service, the Crossroads Church in Council Bluffs, Iowa. I  saw this sign in their coffee bar.

Christ
Offers
Forgiveness
For
Everyone
Everywhere 

Thursday travel day. We stopped in Mitchell, SD, so Heather could teach her Zoom Good News Club using the open wifi from Tractor Supply.

We parked for the night at a Love's Travel Stop in Kimball, SD. I would love to see this gas price in our home state of WA.

Friday travel day. Heading west, we stopped at Wall Drug, in Wall, SD. We often stop there on our I-90 travels and eat a Buffalo burger or other menu item. Lots of old west memorabilia to see here and overpriced trinkets to buy.

We arrived at our favorite RV campground in Rapid City Friday afternoon, but only stayed there one night.

Unfortunately their pool  was out of commission so we moved to the Grand Gateway hotel which has a great indoor pool with a slide. 

Our son Alan and his family joined us at the pool Saturday afternoon. The kids really like this pool.

There are other distraction in the "pool room"

We attended a church on Sunday morning that we had never attended in our years of visits to the area. Christ Church has a traditional Sunday School and worship service. They sing hymns accompanied by piano and organ. They even have a choir! 

Wow! We totally forgot to keep up the blog!

We left the CEF Warrenton campus this past Wednesday morning with our next major stops in Rapid City and Sturgis, SD. Well, we are now in an RV park in Rapid City planning to visit our two sons and their families.

Let me fill you in our our past week, though.

Last Thursday and Friday was spent supporting the staff conference. All staff are required to attend! Volunteers take care of housekeeping and food services. Roger spent most of the week maintaining bathrooms and floors. Heather spent of her time in food service.

On Saturday afternoon we drove to Columbia, MO to attend the Sunday morning service at Calvary Heritage Baptist Church. When we are at home in Washington, we watch this church's morning service on YouTube. We make it our Sunday evening service.

On Monday and Tuesday we serviced a bunch of guest rooms in the Lodge. That meant stripping and laundering all the bedding and towels. Heather did a lot of folding towels and Roger vacuumed rooms and hallways.

During our spare time we worked on a "community" jigsaw puzzle.

Before driving away we grabbed a few images of