Swimming Time!

Day 5

There’s something nice about “RVing” without a schedule. As we were driving through Arizona today my mom found something that looked cool on the map, so we went there! Sabino Canyon, Arizona. A beautiful canyon full of cacti as far as the eye could see. We took a narrated bus tour through the canyon; it was beautiful with all the interesting rocks, trees, and large cacti, but the best part? A swimming hole! The calm crisp waters gently flowed through the canyon, collecting into a perfect pool, decorated with a small waterfall! You know what that means? Swimming time!!!

Since we had already spent nights dry camping, at RV parks, and at Wal-Mart, we tried something new again tonight. We spent the night with a bunch of huge semi-trucks at a rest stop. Not the quietest place in the world, but it worked.

 

 

(written by Kelley :)

Movie Night!

We just finished up movie night in the RV tonight, a free 30 minute documovie on YouTube! Check it out and let us know what you think:
http://www.noahthemovie.com/

Emergency!

 

 Day 4
Well, since we dry camped last night, we weren’t able to hook up the RV and empty out the sewage. It wasn’t until we started driving that we noticed it. I don’t know if some seal was coming lose or what the problem was, but an odor began rising from the RV, and to put it bluntly, it wasn’t pretty. An emergency stop ensued.

As the stench started getting to us, by the favor of God, an RV park appeared on the road right alongside us. They told us we could empty our sewage there for $5 dollars. My dad said $50 would have been cheap at that point. As the sewage was emptying, we explored the RV park and saw our first huge Arizona cacti. We had some fun taking pictures with them. J Not that long after, we hopped in our RV and continued on our journey, smelling like primroses once again.   





Help, I'm stuck in a...
...cactus?
 

Catch me!

 

Friends :)

Visiting people we know has always been one of the best parts about trips for us. Today we were able to visit our friends (and John Denos’ family- parents, brother and nephew) John and Pat, Larry, and Dillon Denos. We got to eat at the deli Dillon works at, and after we all ate (and had the deli’s famous free ice cream!!!) we all came back to the RV, where we were treated to some wonderful guitar playing by Larry. That night we stayed at a resort for older retirees. We didn’t fit the criteria, but they let us in anyway.

 

(written by Kelley :)

No No Signs!

Day 3

Grand Canyon here we come! You know, one of the (more minute) things that helped my dad want to leave LA was all the “No” signs. No parking, No bike riding, No this, No that, No, No, No!  Standing next to the sign welcoming us to the Grand Canyon west was a “No Firearms” sign. It had around 35 bullet holes in it. Enough said.

Over the Edge

The Grand Canyon was absolutely spectacular. It helped us get a little better picture of how small we are and how big God is.  We were able to walk out on the skywalk. Standing on a clear glass walk way suspended over the depth of the Grand Canyon was something else! And to know that this huge beautiful canyon is just a little piece of God’s handiwork? Absolutely incredible.

God gave us quite a few divine appointments today, so please pray from these people! From the 17 year old, Corey, collecting our bus tickets who was filled with questions about Christianity and received a Bible, to the young man, Will, serving food at the cafeteria who stood completely captivated when he heard the good news of the Gospel, along with his fellow employees who encircled the conversation, one lady full of tears, to the Muslim couple who enjoyed discussing Jesus.  Lynda has assimilated well to this new culture, as you can see in the picture of her witnessing Arizona style to Aaron! Praise God! J

We decided to try out some place new to spend the night. We had already tried dry camping and an RV park, tonight it was time to stay at the campground at Walmart- also known as the parking lot. It was amazing how many RVs and trailers were parked there for the night!

 

The Sky Walk!



walking out on the sky walk!

New found friends

Mugged...

...by a Donkey!

Day 2

We drove into Oatman Arizona, an old Wild West ghost town with wild burros running around everywhere.  Pretty cool, huh?  We even witnessed a shootout in the middle of the town by two outlaws (don’t worry, they warned all the Californians they were using blanks).  This town was a lot of fun- it’s not every day that you’re enjoying ice cream in an ice cream shop when a donkey sticks his fuzzy little head in the window and starts to beg!  But be warned- not all the donkeys were cute and innocent! Lynda was walking through the town when a donkey grabbed hold of the bag she was carrying, ripped it apart, spilled the contents on the ground (which happened to be food), and ate everything all up.




Stand Back!

We stayed at a real RV park that night.  Everything was going well until my dad hooked up the sewer line for the first time and exclaimed, “Stand back!” That’s when my mom got scared. You don’t even want to know what happened after that…

…Just kidding, everything went clean as a whistle.

Learning to Dry Camp

(the hard way)

Day 1

Adios LA, hello Arizona!  We had already crossed the Arizona border and were following the directions of our GPS to our first RV camp.  After hours of driving, in complete darkness, our GPS finally announced the words we were waiting for: “Arriving at destination.”  There was just one problem- we were in the middle of nowhere.  I mean really, nowhere.  Maybe it would’ve been a good idea to update the GPS like it advised? But that’s one of the joys of an RV, you get to pull off to the side of the road and sleep.  Now we know what dry camping is!

 

On the Road

Well, with the help of God, we did it. Sold the house, got a second hand RV, and hit the road! It’s pretty exciting, you should try it sometime! It’s a great adventure, but there are definitely a lot of things to get used to. Like how to sleep in a 26 inch wide bed. Or learning how to cook, wash dishes, bake cookies, and use the facilities while driving. (Boiling eggs in a full pot of water while driving through curves and bumps takes some skill, just ask Michelle!) Learning the art of positioning everything in the RV so the toaster oven won’t keep falling on the floor, and so that the books and glasses won’t keep avalanching every time you open the cupboards, can also be a challenge. We may be new at this whole RV thing, but we’re learning every day.

Duct Tape anyone???

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

6 

in all your ways submit to him,

and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

And don't forget to bring duct tape!

Honey!

Thank you God for the honey and the California Bees!

God is Good!

Thanks be to God for our last batch of eggs! Thank you Chiquita, Marmalade, Chicken Little and last but not least Kung Pao!

Here we come U.S.A!!

And we are off!!