Spring 2018 RV Trip 1st few days

We left home on Thursday, the 5^th and drove all day. We got off to a great start in the morning – but later in the day an open McD’s coffee cup tipped and baptized Miss Winnie!  We recovered from that, and despite rain the entire first day, got over the passes without much trouble (just took it slow – no choice!). The cool air has solved the overheating issues! We pulled into Haugen, MT, for a free R.V. slot with electricity. The snow had been getting deeper alongside the road, and 4’ banks are common. Our son Alan called, wondering if we knew they were expecting 10” of snow the next day in SD! We enjoyed our night’s sleep and woke up to a dusting of snow.

Spent the second night in a Billings, MT, Walmart parking lot. Peaceful night – woke up to snow! And after our first night in Rapid City, SD, we again woke up to snow. Haven’t had such a wintry trip before, but Miss Winnie is doing great.

The snow comes and melts…we’ve had clear roads almost the entire way. Lots of “watch for ice” signs, which we have been doing, but haven’t seen any. Guess it’s a good thing, since it doesn’t say what to do if we see any!  We have enjoyed seeing the snowy mountain landscape as we drive along I-90 this time of year.

We were thrilled that on Sunday Alan and his family went to went to church with us!

On Monday Roger drove Alan to and from his "sedation" dental appointment and Heather drove Galina and the grand kids to their medical appointments. It was great to be able to help them in this way. In the afternoon Heather drove Galina and the kids to McD's playland for some extra fun before we leave in the morning.

Actually, our visit here has been the best ever – we’re so grateful!

Summer R.V. Trip 2017 - Week 4

In South Dakota we planned to visit a cousin we hadn’t seen in many years. However, Miss Winnie had her own mind – we got stuck 90 miles from cousin Ida’s place, with the R.V. not going anywhere. We were in a small town, but as God has always provided, there was a shop that could work on it the next day. We had the fuel pump replaced – something we’ve been wondering about for quite awhile. Tim and Ida went out of their way (literally!) to host us wanderers. We had a good visit and by driving to 11 p.m. the next day, made up the lost time.

In North Dakota, we stopped in DeSmet - Laura Ingall Wilder's home - they have a full program of events, but we didn't have time to stay - another time!

On Friday we crossed into Canada and visited 2 uncles and 1 aunt. Then we parked in a campground in the town where I attended ½ a year of grade 6!! A cousin came by and took us to her new place. 

Saturday we dropped by Millar College of the Bible where a cousin’s son has started attending. His folks are both gone, so we wanted to drop by. Brought him a lemon pie, since that’s what we always found at their house in South Dakota when we visited! He seems to be doing well – one day in!!

From there we went to Christina’s place. The girls have sure grown! It was very exciting and a direct answer to prayer to watch Rod and Jessica get baptized. The church had a potluck right after church, so we stayed.

Next came Shaunavon – another aunt and a cousin – and then Climax – 2 more cousins. Great to see everyone again. Strong Christian connections.

Passing through Idaho, we decided to stop in Wallace – a town we’ve often driven through. We had no idea – went on a silver mine tour via a trolley tour – worth every penny!!

We hit traffic in Coeur d’Alene, so here we are at McDonald’s – waiting for traffic to thin out!

Summer 2017 R.V. Trip - Week 3B

On our way north, I had this marvelous idea to try and find some ancient relatives’ tombstones (I saw them about 20 years ago, but wanted to go back.) We found a very old cemetery on the side of a steep hill in a town of several hundred population. While I was out looking, Roger attempted to turn the R.V. around. The steep, narrow road and the low hanging branches gave him few options. Plus, Miss Winnie wasn’t happy! She was overheating. As it turned out, Roger got stuck on the hillside and the R.V. wasn’t going anywhere. This is not really funny, but it did strike me as such! From experience we know that an hour cool down period is about all it takes for Miss Winnie to be raring to go again. So, we sat at a very awkward angle and played our Sunday Scrabble game. And, sure enough, with the cool down, he was able to get us back on the road (without too much trouble!!). We have towing on our insurance, but couldn’t imagine being towed out of a cemetery!! I laugh as I write this…Never a dull moment.

We visited George Washington Carver's birth place, as well as Harry Truman's. Also saw his farm where he learned to "sort things out" while he plowed.

Another place we saw was the location of the first Walmart. The sign still says "5 & 10", but it's not true!!

We’re looking forward to seeing some relatives we haven’t seen in a long time. The weather has been perfect; very little wind; traffic low; and good roads. We are blessed.

Summer 2017 R.V. Trip - Week 3A

We always love coming to Silver Dollar City –SDC. It’s very encouraging to listen to music about Heaven and Jesus and His blood. Hiking the “trails” in the Ozarks (in the park), snacking at many different food venues, getting our free samples of peanut brittle and salt water taffy, meeting people from all over, etc. All part of SDC. And, I got to see not one, but 2 cardinals!! 9 days of as close to Heaven as you can get this side…

I posted some pictures and notes on Facebook on my page.