All set to serve at OM Ships in Florence, SC

On the way to Florence, SC we traveled Interstate 40,  which was heavily damaged during the recent Hurricane Helene. Traffic was cut back to one lane in each direction for many miles. Seeing the damage first hand was quite a sight. Entire lanes of I-40 eastbound were washed away. The reconstruction effort is massive.

We arrived on Tuesday and parked the RV in our regular spot with all the plumbing and electrical connections we need to stay here for a week.

Our work is primarily sorting wholesale pallets of books by ISBN numbers so they can be re-sold. This generates income for the ships and also provides inventory for the ships to sell around the world.

Here's a link to a youtube video one of the volunteers shot showing the work going on inside the warehouse.

The work has us unpacking huge pallets of books and is hard on the back, arms and feet. The individual books heavy aren't heavy, but the reaching, bending and lifting leaves us worn out after a day's work.

On Wednesday night we attended a Bible study and prayer meeting here on campus.

We see some pretty sunsets here. The ground is actually level but the tree line gets taller.

Weekend in Cookeville, TN

Leaving our friends in Collierville, TN we headed toward our visit with Jim and Nancy in Cookeville, TN. Nancy is a second cousin to Roger.

We stopped along the way to tour the Casey Jones Museum. He gave his life at the engine to save the passengers. His last words were to his brakeman, "Jump, Sims, jump." He did and lived to tell the story. (A train ahead had not pulled completely off the running track. The signals were all green. He couldn't see far ahead - it was dark and there was a corner just before impact.) Casey's was the only death.

We arrived in Cookeville Saturday afternoon but spent an hour trying to get the RV leveled on their sloped driveway.

We enjoyed attending Church with them on Sunday morning. Both the Sunday School and the sermon were very inspiring. In Sunday School we covered our "position" as sheep - and the "shepherd's" responsibility in I Peter 5. The sermon was centered on Matthew 28:19 - GO. While many Christians know the Great Commission, they don't practice it daily.

Another travel day---Friday

 

We left our friend Marsha in Arkansas this morning and headed to Collierville, TN. The roads were great compared to a few days ago.

We stopped at a Love's Travel Stop to dump our sewage tanks. Our last tank dump was a week ago in Rapid City.

We  took on 60 gallons of gas at another Love's before stopping at our Collierville friends Steve and Joye.

Since 2016 we have traveled about 150,000 miles in our two motorhomes. We always look for the best prices on fuel. Love's and Pilot/Flying J stations are usually the choice.

Visits in Texas and Arkansas

Wednesday we drove through North Texas to visit our daughter Mary and her husband Scot in the town of Hamilton, TX. We arrived just before they got back from a doctor appointment. Heather had a ham and sweet potato lunch ready to share with them.

On the way to Hamilton we stopped to do our laundry in Stephenville, TX

The laundromat is located next to the local museum, which was closed but the buildings looked interesting.

Wednesday night we parked in a Love's fuel station.  Thursday we headed out to visit our friend of over 50 years, Marsha, in Arkadelphia, AR. It rained quite a bit along the way, but cleared up nicely.

Each time we visit Marsha Roger fixes things around her house. This time he worked on replacing a broken window in a door. He also took time for some trigger finger exercise at her steel range.

 

Traveling on Easter Monday and Tuesday

Monday and Tuesday were traveling days. We left the RV park in Rapid City, SD, and drove about 11 hours to Jetmore, KS, where we parked  for the night between the big trucks at a gas station. The route took us through Western Nebraska and Eastern Colorado. The roads in NE were at times rough and bouncy, but the roads in CO were even worse for driving an RV. Our RV coach is built on a Ford truck chassis so it rides pretty hard on bumpy pavement. The trip through Kansas was much more enjoyable as the roads were good. Tuesday evening we arrived in Mineral Wells, TX, and parked at a Walmart for the night.

Besides rough roads, the winds were fierce. We heard this is one of or the windiest year! At one point Heather was driving on a flat area of the country. Suddenly, without any warning, a violent wind gust pushed her into the oncoming lane on a 2 lane highway. Any oncoming traffic would have been a head-on collision. We really appreciate and don't take for granted any prayers you offer for us. (She looked in her rear view mirror and saw the semi following had the same thing happen - forced immediately into the oncoming lane.) Generally traffic has been light - a real blessing.

We found it interesting driving through "cattle country" much of the day. We saw large herds of cows grazing. We saw cows crowded into feed lots and the accompanying smell. We noticed signs advertising abattoirs, the cow's last stop before the butcher and your plate.

After another long day of driving, we are now about two hours from visiting our daughter and son-in-law, Mary and Scot on Wednesday. He's having another diabetes surgery on his foot.

Good Friday in Rapid City RV Park

 We are "stranded" in our RV without a car, so every day our son and his family come to visit. The RV park is almost empty so it also feels a little isolated. We're in the yellow dot.

We stay in this park whenever we're RV'ing through here. It has great views of the surrounding area. The place is run very well by the family owners.

Our sons Alan and Josh brought their families for a visit today. We enjoyed their company.

 In the evening we had a campfire and toasted s'mores.

Roger spent time outdoors with Wyatt and Odie.

Thursday snow storm!

#1. It has been sunny 🌞 and warm here until today! Wow! Temps dropped overnight and the snow started before noon. Yesterday it was 77° and blue sky. Today it's 33°, and windy outside. I'm glad we are plugged into electricity for our space heater and also have a full propane tank for our forced-air furnace. I don't think the snow will accumulate.

#2. The RV park had its septic tanks pumped this morning. It took three truck loads (3,000 gal.) to empty the tanks. This may only be of interest to those who have or have had septic systems.

#3. Roger taught 1-yo Harry how to take a selfie...

#4. Today is also CEF King's Zoom Club Thursday, which Heather will be teaching later today.

Parked in Rapid City RV Park

 We arrived here yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon and got the RV all hooked up. Our son Alan's family came for a visit and came over again this evening.

Heather prepares an evening meal for everyone each day we're here. The RV gets a little crowded, but it works out.

It's fun to see how the grandkids have grown each time we visit.

The Rapid City RV Park offers beautiful views overlooking the city.

Parked in Sturgis, SD

 Yesterday, the14th, was a travel day. After a restful night we woke up to a beautiful sunrise.

Leaving Billings, we headed to SD to visit our sons and their families. It's not a long distance, but we had strong winds, which always adds to the fun of riding in giant "sail".

We stopped in Hardin, MT, for fuel ((@$2.95/gal.!), and parked for lunch at the Big Horn County Historical  Museum.

I went for a walk this morning and had to wait to cross the track for an oncoming train. I considered making a run for it but thought twice.

Palm Sunday in Billings

We parked at the Billings, MT, Walmart last night, a regular stopover for us on these trips. We can both shop and overnight park.

We attended Grace Baptist Church, Billings, in the morning and stayed for their potluck dinner afterwards. Great food and fellowship.

Heather teaches her Zoom Good News Club on Sunday afternoons. The pastor arranged for her to use a private room in the Church to have the benefit of good wifi. 

We stayed for their evening service. The teaching in both services was focused on the sacrifice the Lord Jesus was about to make on the cross to pay the price for our sin.

GBC is a friendly, missions-oriented Church and Pastor John McKinney is a very good Bible teacher/preacher.

We are parked here for the night.

Days 4 and 5 in Montana

 It's Saturday evening as I write this. We are parked for the night in Billings, MT. 

Yesterday and today have had us mostly traveling through Montana. We love shopping in this no sales tax State. Heather shops for Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts.

Last night we did a jigsaw puzzle.

This evening we played Skip-Bo.

Tomorrow morning we will attend a local church here in Billings.

Day 3 of our journey

We are near Wolf Creek, MT, staying on a cattle ranch until tomorrow. We just finished a guided tour of the "maternity ward" where momma cows are waiting to deliver. It takes a lot of human intervention due to the very cold weather here in calving season.

We also toured a neighboring barn where the owner stores lots of old equipment. It is very old and very large inside.

Our host drove us by some painted rocks on the road (more like a path) to where his wife was working with the cows. It's about a 20 minute ride over some pretty rough terrain.

 

We have been enjoying the fellowship with friends and the beauty of God's creation, but we leave here Friday morning and continue our journey East.

Day 2...A Travel Day

We left our friend's place in Ephrata, WA this morning, but last night we enjoyed a great meal and a hymnbook sing with them. Such great fellowship with old friends!

The roads through Idaho and Montana had light traffic and the weather was perfect for driving.

We turned off I-90 at Rt. 200 and headed over Roger's Pass.

We arrived this evening at the ranch where our friends live in Wolf Creek, Montana. They live on a huge cattle ranch and are winding up "calving season". Tomorrow we hope to visit the "calving cabin" where the wife and her mother spent several months this spring. Pregnant cows sometimes need help in birthing.

The Lodge at the 2-bar-W ranch