Idaho to Utah

Heh Fellow travelers,
We left the Ward's home, full of a delicious breakfast, and followed Brian over to MAF (Missionary Aviation Fellowship) headquarters, where he works. MAF just moved to Nampa a few years ago, from Redlands, CA. It was just too expensive there for poor missionaries to live. The facilities are on the grounds of the Nampa, ID, airport, and are fabulous. Many built by volunteers like SOWERS (Seniors On Wheels Ever Ready Servants - for you RV buffs looking for something useful to do), who first built a little RV park for them to stay in, then build some buildings like these dorms for new recruits.

One of the awesome exhibits they have at MAF, is this salvaged frame from Nate Saints little yellow Piper Cub. (if you click on the picture to enlarge, you will see a picture of it on the sand bar in the Amazon River, in Equador)

It was recovered from the site of the massacre of 5 missionaries in 1959, including Jim Elliot. If you saw the recent movie "End of The Spear", you are familiar with the incident. Nate Saint was with MAF.

Some of the more recent work that many may know of, was in response to the tsunami in the Indian Ocean. The pictures to the left are from work they were doing in Sumatra, following the tsunami, to establish communications for many disaster groups, and to fly in supplies.

Brian's group is the non-flying side of MAF. He's involved in Distance Learning Technologies. For instance, they were one of the first groups into Russia after the fall of the Iron Curtain, to provide Russian pastors with much needed resources, such as Bibles, and literature. They had had none for years. They did that by digitizing resources, and sending them on CD's and DVD's. Can you imagine the joy? They're continuing similar work today. (note the Russian hat to the left??)


I tried to get them to let me take their new STOL turbo jet, the Kodiac, out for a spin, but as you can see, they were installing some special avionics, and getting it ready for the field.

So, I had to settle for one of their Cessna 208's that they use for training. Now I'd need some training, since despite having private, twin engine, and instrument ratings, I haven't flown in 20 years.....so, I had to only sit in the pilots seat and dream of those days of pushing the throttle to the wall and soaring like a bird.

Speaking of soaring like a bird, we made it to Provo, Utah today, and I'm not sure any birds fly that high, but we enjoyed an unbelievable variety of terrain again today, but our favorite is to the left,

here in Provo, Utah.

Tomorrow, we head to South East Utah, the desert country, where we hope to camp for a few days, do some hiking, and some RESTING.

We're ready!

"The heart of every problem is the problem of the heart, and ONLY God's Spirit and God's Word can change and control the heart" Wiersbe

Oregon to Idaho

Hi Fellow Traveler's,


We left the Reservation without any problems this AM, headed to Idaho. I'm probably the only one who thought this, but I thought most of Washington, Oregon and Idaho were mountainous, green places. And parts are, but from what we've seen so far, most are semi-arid plains with large outcroppings of mountains spaced fairly far apart. Now, this is along the roads we are traveling, but I'm getting to understand more, the effects of the Cascade Mountains in retaining most of the moisture on the Pacific coast. Most of the landscape we saw was barren scrub brush hills, and this:

Great fertile plains, all irrigated, covering miles and miles of country. There's a lot of open country out here! Being from the East, it's hard to imagine. I understand here in Idaho, besides the potato, that the number one crop is seeds. Apparently, because it is so arid, and everything is irrigated by the root, it's possible to grow seeds without the damage of molds, etc., that accompanies plants that are irrigated from the sky. Never knew that!

We got to Nampa, Idaho to visit with good friends, the Brian Ward family, who are stationed here with Missionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF). Brian and Christy, and 5 kiddos, have been here for a couple of years now, developing long distance learning aids for Christian training, in developing country's, in particular. It's been great catching up, and in particular seeing what a great job they are doing raising these kids. It was wonderful to share a meal with them, and share our hearts together.

Well, another day. Discovered I''ve got some kind of exhaust leak on my water heater that smells up the trailer when it's running. Just fine except when we make hot water (OK Jan, no more showers til we get home April 12th! OK, OK!!! I'll come up with a solution, you don't have to catch a plane in Boise!!!). We've got a temporary solution, no big problem, the trip will continue....... Good night!

"The heart of every problem is the problem of the heart, and ONLY God's Spirit and God's Word can change and control the heart" Wiersbe

Washington to Oregon

Heh fellow cyber journey(er's),

This AM we couldn't find another Cookie's Grill, so we ate oatmeal and toast in our new kitchen. Yummmm, but not as Yummmm as Cookie's!! Had a great time worshipping with Rick and Melissa at Plain Community
Church (the only church in Plain - it's a Plain small place). We said our teary goodbye's (hope to see them in the East in the fall), and off we went.

Now tell me that's not one good looking family. I only know one other that's cuter!

Driving out of Plain, we headed for a little Bavarian town along Washington 2, that I'm sure is a great tourist spot, called Leavenworth (no, no prison there). Rt2 runs along the Wenatachee River and the whole 14 miles looked much like this:

In the summer, Rick runs inflatable kayaks down this river with lots of kids. They love to have kids that are "at risk" (troubled kids, families), and put them through hiking, back packing, ropes courses, and river stuff in the summer, and skiing, snow mobiling, etc in the winter.
Not too shabby of a drive, eh?? Leavenworth was just lovely with Swiss Chalet type stores, and shops, narrow streets (I didn't want to take HokieEscape down them), and quite a few shoppers for this time of year. Of course, there's lot of Alpine skiing around, so I guess they're there for that too. Here's a shot back toward the mountains in Leavenworth:

Nice eh?

Letting down out of the mountains, going South, we headed toward Yakima. Very soon we were in a desert area, and it got flatter and flatter. Big wine country for the next 40 miles or so (lots of irrigation), then desert again with nothing much too look at except sage brushy hills. Beautiful in it's own right. Washington sure has a wide variety of terrain.

Just into Oregon, we stopped at a campground called Wildhorse RV Park in Pendleton. Didn't know it, but it's on an Indian Reservation, and shares property with a Casino!!!!! Nice place, as a matter of fact, it's "outstanding in it's field" (ie. there's not a tree around). Here's the view toward the Idaho mountains, where we head tomorrow:

Off to the sack, Good night, and sleep tight (no bed bugs in an Escape!!!)

"The heart of every problem is the problem of the heart, and ONLY God's Spirit and God's Word can change and control the heart" Wiersbe

First day out

Heh Everyone,

Well, the first day out has been exciting. We stayed last night at Cottonwoods RV Park in Chilliwack, so to not get too far from the roost if there was any problems, but alas, none that we could tell. I didn't have to unhook and hook up again since the nice lady gave me a pull through. We were so tired last night, we really appreciated that!

This AM, there were a lot of low clouds, so no pictures of Chilliwack. We were really surprised at how flat Washington and southern BC are, between towering monstrosities of mountains! Crossing the border wasn't too much of a hassle. Tammy, at Escape Trailer's had us set up with the right papers, and it went well. The border guy asked me, "Don't they sell trucks and camper's in Virginia?" To which I went into my Escape sales pitch. So, if any sales come from a border officer, Tammy, he's mine : - )Well into Washington, we ran into what the Pacific NW is most noted for ....RAIN! And it continued (I hate to drive in the rain) until be got to Steven's Pass on Rt 2, where we ran into this:

Now, for the Northerner's that are following, you're asking, "well what?" But for us Southern boys and girls, to be driving along a road where the wall of snow made by the snow plow is above the roof of your car, is just a little unusual!!!!! 8" of snow for us is a BIG snow, so who knows how much this is??

We passed by one place where there must have been some drifting, and I know it was 3 times the height of our truck! And, still snowing! This picture in no way begins the capture the majesty and beauty of the area since the clouds cover most of the mountains, but you can see, the hills are a little higher than in Virginia:

We were on our way to visit with Rick and Melissa D'Atre (and 5 kids) who live in Plains, WA, and are missionaries with Youth Dynamics. What a thrill to see where they minister in the wilds of Washington, and to have dinner with the whole crew. Great family!

When we set up the 5.0 tonight, it's on a hill, and the front jacks are fully extended, yet the trailer is a little low in the front, where our heads are ... so we'll see what its like to sleep with lots of blood in our brains : - ) I'm learning!!!!!!

"The heart of every problem is the problem of the heart, and ONLY God's Spirit and God's Word can change and control the heart" Wiersbe

HokieEscape Escapes

Well, it took all day, but HokieEscape escaped the fenced prison she had been sitting in on Atwell Rd, Chilliwack, and soared across Canada 1, to a nice camp ground within a couple of miles. So far, it's GREAT! Having fun already. Tomorrow we begin the great journey across the US! That's my Jan, getting ready to roll. The next picture is the standard one Tammy takes of all us Escaper's leaving the fold:

Then here's the one everone has breathlessly waited for, who wondered which of the 18 feet was Rease's, and what in the world does the Escape Guru really look like (an Escape forum joke)??? Well feast your eyes on the gorgeous couple, who were without a doubt the second cutest couple in Chilliwack!Just refer to picture no 2 for the cutest!!!!
Can't tell you how pleased we are, the trailer meets all our expectations! It's been a long day, off to bed!

"The heart of every problem is the problem of the heart, and ONLY God's Spirit and God's Word can change and control the heart" Wiersbe

Adventures in Seattle

Heh Co-Adventurer's,

Well after many travails in even getting to Seattle (forgotten passports, only 3 hrs sleep for me the night before, and the long flight), we got to our hotel Wednesday at about 12:30. Had a great lunch/dinner at our hotel, then did everything possible to keep awake, but finally succumbed at 5:30 PST (8:30 EST)! We awoke at 4! Boy, were we beat puppies!!! But, we were refreshed this AM. Great quiet/worship time together, then off to Denny's for a good breakfast, and we were READY. Bob Brice our Nissan guy here, picked us up, and gave us a great tour of the big city. There's lots of water, so for a big city, it's our kind of town. And those mountains, nice. So, where do you go to see those big mountains in Seattle, to the top of the Space Needle:

Wow, that was some trip! 41 seconds to the top! And what a view! Mt Ranier to the South, Mt Hood to the North, the Cascade Mts to the East, and the Olympic Mts to the West, some show.

Had a great meal in the circling restaurant, turns 360 degrees in an hour. Breath taking! Here's a pic of the 3 of us enjoying the moment:

The most beautiful view of course is to my immediate left, but when I could steal my eyes away to look beyond Jan's brown eyes, Seattle whirled slowly beneath us.

After lunch, we headed a little East, to Eastside Nissan and met our new little buddy, our new Frontier. Just what the Dr ordered! We love it and are looking forward to the rest of our trip with HokieEscape hooked up to the back!

We traveled an hour or so North to Mt. Vernon and are bedded down, looking forward to tomorrow, to see our HokieEscape, and get on with the show!

Blessings,
Dan and Jan

"The heart of every problem is the problem of the heart, and ONLY God's Spirit and God's Word can change and control the heart" Wiersbe

last trial

heh all,
This is the last trial before we leave Tuesday afternoon for Richmond. Wed AM @ 6:10, we board a jet plane for Seattle. Still no truck, but are trusting it will work out.Took a picture of Jan's new juicer, which she just LOVES!!! She hasn't asked to take it with us YET, but.....

Well, that seemed to have worked pretty seamlessly.

Ready to go now!

Dan and Jan

"The heart of every problem is the problem of the heart, and ONLY God's Spirit and God's Word can change and control the heart" Wiersbe

2 grand kids

Hello everyone,






Continuing practice on blogspot, to get the whole thing in hand before the trip (only 2 more weeks before blastoff). The whole thing of getting pictures on the computer, getting them resized, then onto the blog has to become 2nd nature, and it sure isn't now!!!!






But, I had a great practice arena with these two grandboys this last Saturday. We were at Seth's basketball game and caught these two little guys. Check this picture to the right

Look at those two faces! What are you doing Poppy? Well, they figured it out, check this out:

Well, they are a couple of sweet boys, and they were having fun! And so were we!
Til next "practice"
Dad & Poppy

"The heart of every problem is the problem of the heart, and ONLY God's Spirit and God's Word can change and control the heart" Wiersbe