From ID to WA via Roger's 55th reunion

We headed to Meridian the next day to visit with Cukurs. It was good to get caught up on their lives! Joy fixed a delicious meal for us. That night we parked in their church parking lot.

On Friday we drove almost to the Columbia River, spending the night in OR.

Roger's 55th high school reunion was Saturday. It was a lovely day and we had 2 hours outside visiting. Then on to the dinner inside - the food was super; the "entertainment" (reminiscing) was good, too. That night we stayed in the Apple Tree parking lot.

Sunday we attended the church Roger once went to - however the building has been purchased by another group and the service was unique, to say the least! Then it was on home, arriving at 6 p.m.

Weather & overnight

On our way to ID, we were hit with a major wind/rain/hail storm. After fighting the elements for a time, we pulled over with the trucks to wait it out.

We were able to find a small church with a Wednesday night service. Unfortunately, they hadn't updated their information, so we were 1/2 hour late! We missed the potluck, too!! There was good fellowship, and we got some leftovers from the potluck! We spent the night in their parking lot.

The heat continued until night fall. Then we had to get up and add a blanket - it was cold!

NW AZ to UT - Zion and Bryce Canyon NP

We left our friend Darrell and headed to the NW corner of AZ. Zion National Park, where we were headed was straight north of his place, but the Grand Canyon was in our way. We could skirt it on the east side or west side. Since we covered part of the east side already, we opted for the west side.

On our way, we pulled into a spot to get some pictures of the Joshua trees. A Tesla was stuck there - the Chinese driver ignored all the warnings and ended up losing! Even his phone couldn't be charged from his battery. He walked over to us and asked if we could charge his phone to 20% or so. Roger had the correct cable because he had picked one up in off the ground at a recent fuel stop. We had a Chinese Gospel of John along, which he willing took. We consider this a Divine encounter.

The road was not very good! So far, AZ has had the worst roads of our entire trip. We crossed into NV and traveled the outskirts of Las Vegas. From there we crossed back into AZ for a brief time. However, the landscape was incredible. Towering rocks hugged the road and decorated the roadsides. It was truly a great experience. We arrived in UT, where we spent a night at Walmart.

The next day we drove to Zion National Park. Pictures are totally insufficient.

To get from there to Bryce Canyon National Park, we had to drive through 2 arches and 1 tunnel. The tunnel was only wide enough for us, so traffic was held up at both ends while we drove down the middle of the road for 1.1 miles! Again, pictures do the views an injustice.

⁰

We both climbed to the highest point with only 1 stop on the way!

Phoenix Area

On our way to Roger's cousin Sue and her husband Barry, we stopped at a Burger King. They have a great museum set up with information on the (Navajo) Code Talkers. We learned a lot! It was a missionary kid who first suggested they use the Navajo people; the first 29 who were selected as a test group all passed (if even just 1 had failed, they would not have used them); the Navajos had to create new words for war terms; the battle of Iwo Jima involved them - some on land and some on the ship offshore; because they spoke the code, it was much faster to transmit messages; they blended in because they are very similar to Japanese. Outside was a display of their hogans, etc. The Navajo language is related to the Mongolian and Maori tribes. Lots of new information - showing the greatness of God and the way nations are related.

We stopped at a McDonald's, mostly to cool off!! Although AZ has yet to reach 100 degrees, it's been miserably hot!!

From there we went to Sue's. It's always good to reconnect with Christian family members. We enjoyed the evening together - she cooked a great meal, too!

Sunday morning we headed off to a church near our friend, Darrell. The folks were friendly, and we really liked hearing the organist and pianist. But once again we were saddened to realize that the pastor was leading a traditional Baptist church toward reformed theology.  Heather's dad warned of this just before he died - he saw it coming.

The afternoon and evening were spent with Darrell. He is doing well, considering he's recently widowed.

Mesa Verde National Park, CO

On our way to AZ, we stopped at Mesa Verde National Park. A 31' R.V. is not the best way to navigate this park, so we couldn't go in too far. But we did tour the museum and found it very interesting. We'd love to return in a car to do the entire loop, which takes about 6 hours.

On the Reservation in AZ

Tomorrow morning we leave Teec Nos Pos, AZ, after visiting with our missionary friends at the Immanuel Mission. The ministry focus is on the Navajo people.

There is beauty in the barrenness in this whole area. Red-dirt roads that shake your bones even at very slow speeds, sometimes driving over what look like enormous rocks. It took almost 1 hour to drive 8 miles because we didn't want the R.V. to totally fall apart!! The worst roads we have ever driven.

Mesas rise above the terrain in every direction.

Our missionary family has 7 sons. We greatly enjoyed our time with them. The boys had fun showing battles between scorpions and fire ants. The scorpions won!

                                           

                                 Note: The Scorpions glow blue under black light.

 "Rez Baby" Andy takes naps like a papoose. 

We're praying for no rain tonight, as that might strand us here. The washes fill up quickly - 8 feet and deeper - and can't be navigated with an R.V.!

On to AZ

It's always hard to move away from Silver Dollar City and the marvelous Southern Gospel Picnic. The music is so refreshing to our souls. But, wanting to cover a lot of miles, we left early.

We love the fuel prices in "red states". Our final fuel-up was in Ozark, MO. It's the first time we found ourselves next to a tractor at a gas station.

We traveled almost got all the way through Kansas, hugging the southern border - over 500 miles. There is no interstate highway where we are going! The weather was bearable, the roads were good, the traffic was light - what more could we ask for? Garden City, KS, Walmart hosted us for the night.

Tuesday morning we entered Colorado. Half of the day was pleasant, fairly straight road driving. Then we got into the mountains. Roger drove both passes - and it wasn't too hard. The R.V. made it up, although very slowly! One pass was over 9,000 and the other over 10,000 feet!

On the way we've seen some interesting things - 

-a man in a 4 wheeler, waiting at a stop light. He got out of the cart and pushed the cross button so he'd get a green light to cross on the pedestrian path.

-a sign reminding people that there is no snow plowing between 7 pm and 5 am

-a 4 wheeler driven by a kid on the road in town (small town!)

Chimney Rock Monument was on our way, so we stopped by to check it out. There's another Chimney Rock out east that we also visited a long time ago...

Another night at Walmart (Durango, CO). Durango boasts a train ride that we checked out, but it's all day and quite pricey. We decided we could pass on that one. 

Now we're off to Teec Nos Pos and our friends, the Bieleckis!

The weather has cooled so much we put another blanket on last night. Heather wore a sweater in the morning. However, the sun is up and hot - shining on the hills all around us as we stop for breakfast and devotions.

Silver Dollar City

The day started out hot, which has been the story of this trip! However, once we got to SDC, walking among the trees was cooler; also, they had sprinklers all over. Because of the extreme heat advisory we tried to stay with the indoor concert venues, but we did go to some covered outdoor concerts.

The final concert was moved from the amphitheater to the air conditioned Opera House. It was crowded, but everyone got in. The Inspirations were highly energetic! And their piano player was amazingly fast!!

We bought 5 day ticket passes, something new for us. It was the cheapest way to go, which we like!

After the last concert, we got back to the R.V. in time for Roger to go for a quick swim. Then I zoomed with Patty - we are reading the Bible together on Thursdays.

Missouri

We didn't get an early start because we got word from Mary that she wouldn't be home until almost 2. Roger wanted to visit a company that he has done business with, so we put the address in the GPS and took off. All went well for about 100 miles. Then, the GPS led us onto a gravel road. This was suspicious, but we pursued. The road narrowed, became one lane with grass growing in the middle. Then we had to "ford" a small stream that had left a good sized pool. I gunned the R.V. - Roger told me not to get stuck, so I didn't!! We finally arrived back in civilization - not sure what happened to that company we were attempting to find.

Had lunch with Scot and Mary. Scot's sister and her daughter have moved into their 1 bedroom apartment! We ate lunch outside in the shade - there was a slight wind (yes, it was HOT, but we can't tolerate the strong smell smell inside).  

Then we drove to Silver Dollar City, arriving after dark. Parking the R.V. was tricky in the dark, but now we are set and hooked up. Ready for 4 great days of true worship music.

Thank you, Lord, for safety and Your continual care and presence.

Southward

Tuesday morning we headed south toward Kansas City, MO. Friends were expecting us for an evening meal. We made a few stops, but it was too hot to do anything besides drive and shop in Walmart!! Over 105 degrees!!

The evening meal was tasty and refreshing. The house had a/c, so that was wonderful! Afterwards we played a new game "Generosity". Heather won!! We are getting ready for bed now, but the temperature is still over 80. Last night it didn't cool down until toward morning.

One thing about this trip - the roads seem much better. We really haven't had bad, rough roads. Traffic has also been light. Gas is about $1.50/gallon less than in WA. And we love shopping at one of our favorite stores - Aldi!

Rapid City and Onward East

Josh and Scarlett played several games with us - that was a good time! We often miss Josh on our short visits here.

Thursday we moved on to Rapid City. After Zooming with the Good News Kids, our kids brought the grandkids over for a swim. The pool is most enticing in this unusually hot weather. We were, however, pleasantly surprised at how cool our R.V.'s a/c kept the coach.

One year old Odin really liked the R.V. It was "his size". He walked along the sides, attempting to open every door (they are too tight!!). Then he went to the bedroom and peeked around the corner to see if anyone was watching! Wyatt and Heather went to the playground together. Zoey, Scarlett and Heather played their favorite game of  "States".

We walked the park, played in the playground and mostly, hung around the pool! For some strange reason, it was not crowded at all. Since the temperature was pushing 100, maybe most people stayed inside!!

Saturday evening we all went to the fair. There were rides the kids enjoyed. Heather got to do bumper cars with Wyatt. He was too short to go alone, so she pushed the pedal while he steered.

Sunday we visited a different church just down the street from where we were parked. They have AWANA and a Christian elementary school. In the afternoon, Roger went shooting with Josh and Alan. The rest of us hung around the pool!!

Monday morning we pulled out for Sioux Falls, SD. It was a very hot day, but the R.V. does have good a/c when we're driving. Breaks were taken in Walmarts. Even though we'd been to the corn palace in Mitchell before, we stopped in again. Sitting in the cool was super refreshing. We met a couple there from TX, who turned out to be a brother and sister in Christ! 

We spent the night in Sam's Club's parking lot.

On to SD

Arriving in Butte, MT, we took the time for Roger to tour the the mine museum. It was something we’d planned for a long time, that now finally happened! It was cool down there, but very damp, he said. He learned a lot about hard rock mining - methods, types of ore, etc.

Because MT has no tax, we like to shop there - and we did! Knowing we wouldn’t have electricity that night, we decided to plan to arrive in Billings at dark. We were a little off, with road construction & all, so ended up driving about 1 hour in the dark. It’s something we try hard to avoid and just confirmed that we don’t like driving after dark!! But the lights of some towns were beautiful.

One of the Walmart stores in Billings, MT, is RV friendly, so we parked there for the night. We did have to move to another area because some very loud, rowdy teens were determined to give us no rest. That is the first time we have had to deal with that!

We arrived in Sturgis, SD, mid-afternoon. While it’s very hot here, we have been comfortable driving and visiting in our son’s a/c house. And nights have been most pleasant.

Back on the Road -- August/September 2023

We got off on time - a big accomplishment! Even remembered to close the garage door, as our neighbor watched (he let us know another time we hadn't!). Several neighbors were out, waving. Our first stop is always in Cle Elum - not only do they have cheap gas, they have a bakery the R.V. knows to stop at!

The next stop was Walmart, Post Falls, ID. I handed a clerk a tract and told her, "Jesus loves you." She responded, "I know. 2 people here tell me that a lot and they are praying for me." Very encouraging to know not all followers of Christ are "undercover agents"!! Let your light shine - you will get lots of surprises.

We were grateful to find a spot at 50,000 Silver Dollars, Haugan, MT. They have lots of electric outlets for any R.V.ers who want to use them. Since it was so hot, (98 degrees), we were glad to run a/c. Our generator doesn't work, so we do without electricity unless we are plugged in somewhere. That also gave us enough light to put a 500 piece puzzle together.

The night cooled so much we had to get up and put another blanket on! Now the sun is up and it's supposed to be hot again. The a/c in the cab works great. Time to hit the road!