Grandkids, Tours and Home

We arrived in Rapid City where 2 of our youngest grandkids live. They love the R.V. - 3 yo Wyatt calls it "DaRV"! There is one drawer reserved for games and they remember that. Zoey, at 6, is good at Jenga and likes to play games. We sing songs together and I can tell her short Bible stories.

One day we visited Storybook Land - a fun place for kids. We all rode the train - well, Mom didn't fit!!

Our son Alan and Galina live there; now son Joshua is moving there. So we have 2 kids in the same place again!

The trip home was relaxed - we had no time constraints. In SD we toured Wonderland Cave - a refreshing thing to do in hot weather!

Also drove by Devil's Tower. Montana's a great place to shop - no tax!! We spent the night at Walmart, one of our favorite places.

We stopped at the Cataldo Mission – the oldest building in ID.

The evening before arriving at home we purchased about 70 pounds of tomatoes. So, as soon as we arrived home – about noon – Heather started canning! Good to be home and grateful for the Lord’s presence with us. He’s a great God!! May we soon see Him face to face.

IA to SD - & Laura Ingalls Wilder

We crossed into IA on Thursday and spent the night in the local Walmart parking lot with several other “rigs”. It was our last chance to shop at Aldi’s – a favorite store we don’t have out west.

Friday found us at Laura Ingalls Wilder’s dad’s homestead in DeSmet, SD. The weather was perfect and there were few people there, so we got special attention! We got a covered wagon ride behind 2 horses, both called “Jack”! 

Then we made a jump rope and a corn cob doll! If you haven’t read the Little House on the Prairie book series, I highly recommend it!

Toward evening we pulled in beside a defunct bowling alley – and just in time. Parked close to the building, we were spared much of the sudden, violent windstorm that came up. Before we could close the window, we got a dust covering over everything near the window. The R.V. rocked in the wind. Roger was outside cleaning the windshield. He said the dust hurt and he had to hang on to not get blown off the ladder! It was certainly the worst dust storm we’ve been in. After some lightning and a little rain it all passed.

The next morning we set out with a low, dark cloud covering. The windmills were almost completely covered by the clouds. But eventually the clouds lifted and lightened, and the sun shone again. However, the intense heat has left – we are so relieved! We even covered up at night!

Friends

Friends!

The Epleys have been friends for many decades. They worked in Japan all those years plus – actually, Flossie was an m.k. from there! In June they retired to Ft. Wayne, IN. We were able and glad to stop by and help with some small move-in type jobs. Flossie’s brother Tim took us to his church on Sunday which was a big blessing to us! Russ and Flossie have moved into a new housing area and they are praying for a Japanese neighbor – after all, Japan has been their life!

We spent the night at Leisure Lake, IL – a fancy campground, which you can see from the pictures!

From there we visited a former boss of Roger’s in Harvard, IL. They hadn’t seen each other for almost 25 years! It was good to get updated.

Wednesday evening we were in Galena, IL. A small AOG church in Galena, nestled in the cornfields, met for prayer meeting. Our joining them doubled the attendance. About ½ hour later, 2 more came in. Getting to meet more of our family which God has given us is a glorious foretaste of Heaven! The church has a spot out back for R.V.s and offered it to us. You can see the park-like setting we enjoyed!