Week 5 of our travels - Spring 2017

Friday morning we stopped in Murdo, SD at the pioneer car and tractor museum. Dodging the rain drops, we saw about ½ of it all – a very large place! And the original or close to it - motor home!

Then we went on to the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site Visitor Center. We were hoping for a tour of one of the decommissioned missiles, but it was by appointment only. There was a lot of information to read – very interesting! BTW, there are still hundreds of active missile silos in that region of the country.

From there we took a detour through the Badlands, ending up in Wall (remember Wall Drugs?). God has truly created a beautiful world – even in its fallen state. Where's Waldo?

At Wall Drugs, Heather was able to mail her last post cards – hope the recipients appreciate the famous cancel stamp!

We parked at Alan’s – on a hill overlooking Rapid City and the Dinosaur Park. It was a cold first night, but the sun came out and the wind warmed up. Saturday and Monday we spent running errands with Galina. She doesn’t drive, so appreciated a “driver”. Heather sat in the back between 2 of the cutest kids you ever hope to meet!!!!!!!!

We were able to buy them a kitchen table with 6 chairs, a bookcase, dishes, and several other items we thought they should have! Housewarming gifts. (Everyone has their priorities!! But Galina was grateful.) It was a surprise for Alan, who got home Sunday night after winning 3rd place in some sort of Motocross race. Hip-Hip-Hurray.

Sunday we enjoyed the same church we visited a month ago on our way east. A missionary spoke in the evening – very compelling speaker.

Monday afternoon we left for home and drove as far as Sheridan, WY. The views are truly breathtaking. On Tuesday we stopped at the Pictograph Cave State Park – cave drawings that mostly have disappeared!

Later in the day we made an unexpected stop at the Mission Ranch – a nice place to take a break, even though we took it because the R.V. was acting up! Spent the night in Butte, MT.

Because of vapor locking/overheating, we decided to start our Wednesday at 4 a.m. It was a beautiful morning and the sun rose at 5 a.m. We had no R.V. issues all day, so put on more miles than planned. Even the mountains were no challenge!!

We stopped in Spokane to visit the Hutton Settlement Children’s Home. Next time, we’ll prearrange so we can get a tour.

The winds across WA were the worst we have had yet. At one point, we were tossed ½ way into the next lane. But God graciously kept us safe and no traffic was around.

Driving on, we neared Ellensburg, WA, late afternoon. By Googling, we found a church that had a Wednesday evening prayer time and attended. If we’d looked sooner, we could have had dinner, too! They have a potluck every Wednesday.

Well, their piano player wasn’t in attendance, so Heather filled in. It was a double blessing to be able to help them out while enjoying the Christian fellowship of the committed. Besides the piano, 2 played guitar. We parked in the food store parking lot and had a great night’s sleep.

Thursday by noon we were home. But, what a difficult day! The R.V. decided not to run properly, so for the last 10 miles, while Heather was driving on I-5 and I-405, it was coughing, backfiring and sputtering. We were glad for 30 mph! Roger took over at the exit. He wasn’t sure it would run all the way home. We parked in the Goodwill lot at the base of our hill, going 5 mph at this point and nursing it along. From our Tuesday experience, we were quite sure cooling the gas would let us drive again. So we sat at the bottom of the hill for about ½ hour. While there, Roger was able to help a young girl having a problem fitting her purchases into her car! Turns out she was a Christian!

The R.V. cooled off and we zipped up our last hill to home! Home never looked so good!! God brought us back and we are grateful.