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April 23 – 30, 2020 Back to Colorful Colorado and amazing friendships!

We learned that Colorado was “opening up” somewhat from the COVID-19 regulations. We said goodbye to Arizona – we’ll be back to visit the Saguaro National Park and many other places when the opportunity comes up. We’re looking forward to familiar home-turf and seeing our many friends and family, with or without masks & hugs! Its been 8 months since we launched our RV life adventure… no regrets – we love it!

On our way through Tucson into Phoenix we stopped for a one-nighter at Matt and Jayle’s house. It was fun to catch up on family news, see the girls, Abby and Lizzie – and of course the puppies!

We traveled Route 66! This gas station brought a flood of memories; the old gas pump and an A&W with authentic draft root bear! We noticed the price of regular gas was dropping (2.14 here). We saw gas as low as 1.43 in some places! As we traveled through New Mexico we enjoyed the wide open landscapes with big sky views!

In Colorado safe and sound! Oh what a blessings we have received! Our friend Jesse from Penrose, CO has a place that he built to include RV hook-ups! We are “camped” a few miles east of Canon City and can enjoy the beautiful views of mountains and sunsets in the western skies!

Our first weekend, we were delighted to attend our home church again and see a lot of our friends – through our car windows! This is quite the novelty, having church in the parking lot because of COVID-19 regulations (no more than 10 people can congregate and must maintain a 6 foot “social distance”). We estimated that there were over 100 attending – honking and waving at each other before and after service. It was so good to hear Pastor David preach again! He got excited when people would honk instead of saying “Amen”! What a fun and refreshing morning gathering together and being encouraged with God’s Word!

After church we helped Jesse and Barbara host a birthday party cookout for Mat. We tried to hold to the “rule of 10” and social distancing (don’t tell about what you see here -LOL!) We roasted corn on the cob and grilled Elk, Bison, and Beef burgers – so good! We had such an amazing day hanging out with our long time friends – it was one of those days that will be a memory for a long time!

Jesse and Barbara have mules and donkeys! We watched how they care for them every day and how the animals loved the interaction (and their feeding times!). Lorree wanted to ride so Barbara prepared Milton for Lorree. It was a great time, and beautiful to watch during the sunset that evening.

Ye-Haw!

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March 27 – April 22, 2020 SOWER Project #4: Phoenix Christian Preparatory School

A “Safe-Harbor” – exactly what we prayed for!

With all the closures and orders to self quarantine and isolate in place because of the COVID-19 virus, we prayed about where to go for the month of April. We needed a safe place but also wanted to volunteer somewhere. After communicating with the SOWER Office, they shared that there was one place available nearby in Arizona. A school in downtown Phoenix, AZ was willing to provide a “safe Harbor” to any SOWERS that needed it. We were humbled and overjoyed at the opportunity given to us! Thank you Lord for another unexpected adventure!!

We were delighted to learn that there would be three other couples to serve with! These couples (Wes & Carolyn Strausser, Mil & Linda Sutter, and Jerry & Carol Chesser) had already been serving at the school for several months and had decided to shelter-in-place during this time of uncertainty. Jerry & Carol were the GL’s and were a great leadership couple for all of us. As you can see we were camped right on the H.S Track! We met together in the “Arizona Room” for our welcome and introductory meeting, church services, and many meals!

Lets get to work! The school was closed to all students as ‘Stay-at-Home” orders were enacted throughout the entire nation because of the COVID-19 situation. This was a great time for the school to paint several classrooms while they were empty. The ladies painted 3 different classrooms – changing a lot of bright walls to something more mellow!

There were a couple of modular buildings that needed repair and paint to bring them up to the standard the school has set for it’s campus property. We were able to repair, caulk, paint, and seal up the outside of these buildings. We had sunny days – but not too hot. We enjoyed the chance to soak in some vitamin D and build relationships during our work.

It was Easter Week while we were there. We had a very special time together for Good Friday. Wes and Carolyn smoked a beef brisket on their pellet grill/oven – it was melt in your mouth tender, SO good! We all brought food to share, and we enjoyed a fantastic meal together. Later we all gathered to watch a Chris Tomlin Concert on Jerry & Carols outdoor “theater”. As we contemplated the death of our Lord for our sins, we were able to praise and worship together as we looked forward to the glorious resurrection to come! A very full and joyful weekend!

And here comes the “Easter Bunny”! We were all surprised to find goodies at our door in the morning! We had a great resurrection service with Jerry preaching and all of us singing and sharing. Then we enjoyed another fantastic meal together – smoked ham and all the fix’ns – this group knows how to cook! We decided this was going to be a “10 lb Project” (gaining ten pounds :).

More work! The two modular buildings that we refurbished on the outside, also needed to be gutted on the inside to get them ready for future classrooms. Our last week was spent taking everything out down to the studs. We worked hard to get all the carpet up… whew!

The Ladies finalized the painting on the modulars outside, sewed labels, sorted and organized school supplies, and helped prepare parts for the making of face masks that the school was producing for the health care workers in the city. Lots of other “odds and ends” jobs were accomplished by our team. It’s good to have a purpose in our travels that can help others and honor God!

We looked forward to our regular Sunday morning breakfasts, having church services together, and moon lit nights, our stay at PCPS was wonderful! We became a “family” encouraging each other and praying for each other.

This was an amazing month for us as we thrived through the COVID-19 scare. We never felt isolated (though we were) or quarantined (though we were) as we lived life together with these wonderful people! Memories will last a life time!

As we said our goodbyes one by one, the school leadership came to pray with us for safe journeys and strong health. It will be great to meet up and work with these SOWER friends again someday!

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March 19 – 26, 2020 Cochise, AZ – at Alan and Karen’s Chapel Ranch!

Where should we/could we go to “Shelter-in-place”?

We contacted Alan and Karen Johnson (cousin) to see if we could come and spend some time with them in Cochise, AZ. We had planned a visit, but now we needed a place to stay for a while! They said “of course, come on over!” Check out their website www.chapelranch.org

It was a beautiful drive from Texas through New Mexico to Arizona. BIG SKY COUNTRY! The Buttercups were in full bloom with the backdrop of the blue sky and the mountains we were blessed with a lot of “eye candy”!

We passed the “worlds largest” road runner as we traveled through New Mexico (Las Cruces). The one at Fort Stockton (2nd largest) was 22 feet long, this one, made out of recycled junk, measures over 20 feet tall and 40 feet long! Impressive

We made it to Chapel Ranch, AZ! This is a beautiful setting! Alan and Karen have purchased 40 acres at the base of the Cochise Stronghold (mountains in the background). The stronghold is a National Park with camping grounds and many hiking trails. It was great to see what they have been creating and learn their heart to provide a place of spiritual retreat for others!

So many roses! Karen has a real gift for propagating roses! She has taken cuttings from a few rose bushes and has planted a huge rose garden with 1,500 plus roses! When these are all mature and blooming can you imagine the beauty and the fragrance that will be here in the desert? There are walking paths, benches, and an orchard sitting in front of these spectacular peaks!

Since we offered to help work in someway – Alan introduced us to this … a “Hula Hoe”! It slices through the dirt just below the surface and cuts the roots of weeds – either pulling or pushing the blade.

We became professional ho-ers in a matter of hours! After several days, we completed the entire rose garden before we left Alan and Karen’s place!

Alan is working to put in a large Koi pond with rocks. plants, and streams just off the front deck of the house. He’s got all the pumps, filters, and the plumbing completed and is real close to laying the rubber liner. We definitely want to return to see this and the rose garden!

Alan took us out to where they have a vision for a future Chapel building. The setting here will be amazing! Check out how Ginger is helping by tearing down the yucca. She really was vicious with these plants – they don’t have a chance!

The face of Jesus

One day while sitting on the front porch, Alan asked if we “could see it?” After looking around, he pointed out the “face of Jesus” in the mountain rocks looking over the ranch. We did see it! The unique thing about it is that it is only visible certain times of the day with everything “just right”. The face is made up of shadows, boulders, outcroppings of trees, and sunshine. Very Cool!

We know that God will use this place to minister to so many souls. We said good-bye, but we plan on being back to help another day. Thanks Alan and Karen for sharing your ranch with us, giving us a safe place to be during these crazy days, and for sharing your vision to encourage others in God’s Kingdom! We leave refreshed and spiritually encouraged!

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March 12 – 18, 2020 PLANS CHANGED! We’re going to El Paso, TX and then……??

South Llano River State Park, TX was our next stopover for one night. The weather was warm and we had visions of floating and wading in the river to cool off and relax! (This was advertised on their web page). But when we checked in, they told us that all river activities had to end daily at 3:00 pm due to the effort to encourage wild turkey roosting on their nature preserve…we had arrived at 2:30 pm. Pretty disappointed about that. We did enjoy another nature hike, they had bird blinds set up so you could hide and record different birds coming and going – pretty cool.

EXIT AHEAD!

We had to change our planned route for COVID 19 Regulations!

EXIT AHEAD! News about the Corona virus had been circulating since early February, but not a lot of attention was given to it – at first! Now we learned that the April Juice Plus LIve Conference in Phoenix, AZ had been canceled! We also learned that ALL of our reserved campsites in New Mexico and Arizona had been canceled and money refunded. We scrambled to make a new route – so far Texas was still open – but we needed a place to “shelter-in-place”, but where? This was another opportunity to trust God and watch how He would direct and provide for our every need! His “exit” plans always work out for good – we’ve earned this truth over and over throughout our lives. God IS good!

We stayed at Fort Stockton, TX for a couple of nights. This allowed Lorree to work at ROH on Monday. We got to experience the worlds 2nd largest Road Runner in downtown Fort Stockton! There were lots of yucca plants along the highway – finally got to get a picture close up for comparison of the size! We never had these in La Junta, CO!

EL PASO, TX!

Lorree helped out driving across Texas – sooooo many miles to travel! We travel with all of our “gadgets” turned on; Garmin GPS, Google Maps, rear view camera behind the trailer, nothing’s going to surprise us (ha! ha!) Lorree tried to eat that semi!

We were able to make reservations at the Mission RV Park in El Paso, TX. Very nice park (even though we were just located just off the interstate and parked on a gravel “parking lot”). We enjoyed using their swimming pool and hot tub a couple of times! We were thankful for a place to stay for a few nights – we learned that other campgrounds were closing and telling people to leave ASAP. RV’ers are scrambling all over the nation to find a place to hunker down. Never imagined we would be faced with this when we started our new lifestyle!

We sure eat good when we get to settle down for a few days! The camp store sold ice cream – so we HAD to try the famous Blue Bell Ice Cream – YUM!

El Paso sits right on the boarder of Mexico. We drove by a section of the boarder wall that President Trump is building. Pretty impressive – not an eye-sore. We could actually see through it – but it would be pretty hard to climb over!

We went on a day trip to the mountings right outside of El Paso. We ended up at Franklin Mtn State Park. The new rules allowed for day visits and hiking, but no overnight camping (?…go figure!) We never saw any of the famous blue bell blooms (too early – usually in April they say), but we saw lots of the yellow Buttercups and Indian Paintbrush plants. Beautiful landscapes!

Aztec Caves Trail – looked like a nice moderate hike – we set out on a new adventure!

This hike about did us in – except that we were wise to stop, rest, and take our time! We were at about 5,300 ft elevation. It was about a mile to the caves with an elevation change of about 600 ft. We realized that although we thought we were “in shape” we needed more work on that! It was a bit treacherous coming down because of the steep path and the loose rocks, so glad we have walking sticks! We had a great day!

On the way home, we drove along side the boarder wall and came across this mile-long line of semi’s. They were going into Mexico – we don’t know if this is an everyday occurrence or a slow down of border crossing because of COVID 19.

Getting some Vitamin D and ultra violet light to keep the virus far away! The warm sunshine felt so good!

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March, April, May, 2020 YIKES! COVID-19, Our brother Gary, and changes to our lives.

Shelter-in-place! Isolate! Self-Quarantine! Social Distancing! “Safer-at-Home”

Along with the rest of the world we entered into the mysterious and “fearful” world of COVID-19. As we watched the news and wondered how this would affect our travel plans….we started seeing signs and hearing reports of “Self Quarantine”, “Isolate”, “Stay-at-Home”. All travel is being discouraged, Campgrounds are closing, so we had to regroup and make changes for the weeks ahead. See the following blogs for how we “rolled-with-the-virus”. God opened up new adventures for us that was not on our radar. New people, new places, and a new way to trust in His love and protection!

These are just some of the Headlines that we are reading. The whole world is reacting to this “deadly virus” in unimaginable ways.

Every day…no, every hour the landscape of recommendations, rules, and orders are changing our lives along with everyone else. Social distancing and face masks are now the norm at every truck stop. Rest areas are closed/barricaded, restaurants are closed to dine-in (take-out only), and all State Parks and National Parks throughout the US are closed.

All groups are limited to 10 or less people, so all churches and any other gathering places for any reason are in effect “closed”.

Adding a face to COVID-19, Gary was diagnosed with the Coronavirus. Hundreds of people praying!!

We received word in late March that my brother Gary tested positive for the virus and was placed on a ventilator. He was sedated and partially paralized to keep him from dropping his O2 levels trying to protect his other organs. Things looked very grim. His wife Wanda was not allowed to enter the hospital or see Him for a month. All we could do was pray and trust God with Gary’s life.

Hundreds of people were praying as the word spread about Gary. Then we received this pic …and the announcement of a miracle! Gary was alert, off the ventilator, and Wanda was able to be with Gary again! We were overjoyed and full of thanksgiving and praise to the Lord for His mercy and love for Gary and the family!

Gary still has a long road of recovery. During his down tile with the ventilator he developed a serious and deep bed-sore wound. After operations, a special “sand bed”, and lots of tender loving care, he is making progress. The next steps will be weeks (months?) of re-hab before heading home to continue to recover. We are continuing to pray daily for God to completely heal him and give him strength for the days ahead!

Changes made to our daily life.

Shopping is probably the biggest change for most people. All small business are orderd “closed” so all shopping is on-line or at the big-box stores. The economy has tanked – unemployment is higher that anytime is US history. Shelves of “essential” products are empty (e.g. toilet paper!?!). We are shopping once a week – get there, check off our list, and get back “home”. We only were our masks when required – so far twice. We are not living in fear but we do practice social distancing, washing often and using hand sanitizer. The most comforting thing for us is that God led us to increase our immunity by practicing good heath habits and eating nutritious fruits and vegetables. Taking Juice Plus! daily has given us the benefit of a strong supported healthy immune system. We continue to thrive and enjoy life even during this pandemic.

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March 8 – 11, 2020 San Antonio, TX!!

Our first KOA! Very nice, lots of comfort items (store, pool, activities, meals, etc). It was fairly crowded so we pretty much stayed at “our place’. This was a great home base to see and experience San Antonio. We even rode the metro bus to and from our camp site so we didn’t have to drive and try to find parking – score!

We took the “hop-On-Hop-Off” Bus tour through San Antonio. There was so much construction and building renovations going on that it was a bit disappointing – plus the tour driver was hard to hear – ugh! But we enjoyed getting a lay of the land and where the important sites were.

We really enjoyed the River Walk! We walked for a few miles, and then rode the river tour boat. Lots of interesting facts about San Antonio and the history of the buildings and river!

We found a great place to eat right along the river, so good! (Of course the birds loved the leftovers 🙂

And then we visited remains of the chapel at the Alamo. It was good to learn the history of the Alamo while on site. It always carries a deeper appreciation of what took place. The letter that was penned asking for help was an eye opener for us, and re-learning that the final battle was lost. Hence the motto, “Remember the Alamo!”

We met up with Rick and Sharon Carlton from our home church in Canon City! this was their old stopping grounds. They took us out to eat at a local Cat fish and onion rings restaurant – boy was it tasty! It’s always fun to meet up with friends while traveling – making memories! We said goodbye to San Antonio – there’s more to see and do next time!

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March 4 – 7, 2020 From Alabama to Texas!

Clarkco State Park, MS

We hit the raod again, our next destination is San Antonio, TX! Our first stop was an overnighter in Mississippi at Clarko State Park. Nice park – but it rained and rained and rained! glad we only were staying one night!

We were dry and warm inside. It was interesting to look outside and see a guy walking his dog – even the dog had a raincoat !!

Tickfaw State Park, LA

Our next stop was Tickfaw State Park in Louisiana. Tickfaw is an Indian name meaning “Rest Among the Pines.”  The State Park was just north of New Orleans. We didn’t have time to get into town – maybe next trip! This was a neat nature preserve that we hiked and learned about some of the local wildlife.

On the nature trail we did see one of these “Sirens”, they look like an eel!

It was a great hike (SO QUIET!) Didn’t see a lot of wild life, but some very interesting cypress trees, flowers, and green vines.

Kliebert & Sons Gator Tours!

Then we went to a local Alligator Tour place. This was all inland – no swamps or bayous – but all in all a very good tour of a variety of captive animals with a great guide that shared many interesting facts. (We did not see any Gator Wrestling – but we’ve heard they do that here!?)

We did not hold the Boa – yikes!

We made it to Texas!

We crossed the mighty Mississippi River, we are always so amazed at the size of these rivers (compared to what we have in Colorado). Then…..I (Dennis) pulled into a Welcome Center/Rest Stop. I didn’t see the sign that said “Warning! No RV’s!” and turned onto a crazy bit of road that ran under the freeway! There was a sign ahead that warned the height limit was 12′ – and no turn around. (See that yellow marked upper cement corner in the picture, it cleared only about 10′). Fortunately we are at 11′ and were able to weave through – whew! But it was a bit unnerving to go under those freeways in order to make a u turn and return the same way. We were both clinching our teeth – yikes!! Close call!

We’re officially in Texas, enjoying our stop over at the first Buc-ee’s that we see! Oh that brisket sandwich… YUM!

We stayed one night at Boomtown USA RV park – right alongside the interstate (see that car in the background whizzing by?) – convenient, but pretty noisy! Next stop – San Antonio!

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February 27 – March 3, 2020 From Florida to Anniston, AL

Old Pavilion RV Park, Perry , FL

After our SOWERS Rally and work projects we had a month to travel and explore more of the country. Our first stop was an effort to camp on the beach. Well we did -sort of. It was a nice spot that catered to fishermen. The tide was very interesting as it came in during the day and out at night – quite a movement of water!

Our spot was right on the edge of the water/beach. We immediately were reminded of Christ as we looked out and saw a hand made cross with John 3:16 written on it. Everywhere we go God reminds us that He is with us!

Essentially we relaxed! After two months of working and the tension of getting our truck fixed – we were blessed to have some down time. We didn’t do much but we commented that we enjoyed not having a schedule for a few days. Some rest for our souls!

White Oak Creek Park, COE, Eufaula, AL

This was a great overnight camp spot on our way to Anniston. This was spot No. 1 – It looked a bit unlevel – but we were able to level the trailer with no problem.

It was peaceful and quiet by the lake – very few other campers nearby. Lots of grassy area by the lake.

Looking at the trees nearby, we noticed this ivy growing up the truck of the tree. Pretty and delicate – so uniform!

Anniston, AL We get to see our kiddos!

We’ve arrived! It was good to spend time with family again – we even remembered how to park our trailer 🙂

We had fun playg g

We had fun playing games with Emily & Jessica.

After a trip to the chiropractor for both of us, we enjoyed a field trip to the Museum of Natural History – very interesting and great exhibits!

These girls have a lot of energy and play so well together. We saw grat improvement in their front/back flips!

Love these girls – Tate & Kimberly as well! So glad we were able to spend a few days with them before heading West!

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February 24 – 26, 2020 Florida SOWER Reunion, Groveland, FL

We registered for our first SOWER Reunion / Rally in Groveland, FL. We had no idea what a SOWER Reunion was like and looked forward to learning and meeting new friends! This Camp was very welcoming to SOWERS – they even named their RV area the “SOWERS RV PARK”! The Spring Reunions in Florida are often held here – they have a great facility to house a lot of SOWERS! We had a beautiful spot!

First for us to meet the neighboprs – their truck got stuck in the soft sand so we used our 4-wheel-drive to pull them out. Made new friends with Jim & Valerie Hornaday within hours 🙂

We walked the camp and became familiar with the layout of the camp. Also learned the structure of the reunion. We learned that several of our frineds from previous SOWER project will be here – how fun!!

The entire group met together in the Chapel for our meetings, devotions, and programs. we were able to reconnect with other couples and meet new SOWERS that were scheduled to work with us in Colorado!

We had a great variety of special speakers( ), musicians (The Puffers), and group meetings led by President Gary Conrad and his wife Stephanie. We even had a talent show where various SOWERS performed – we joined in and sang with an impromptu “quartet” – so much fun!

The Whole Group from all over the United States. If we are in Florida again during February , we will surely do this again!! We will try to look for other SOWER gatherings as we travel throughout the country!

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January 31 – February 23, 2020 SOWER Project #3 – LAKE PLACID, Florida

We moved to Lake Placid Camp & Conference Center (LPC3) with the help of Roy Tanner from Camp Horizon. It was about 3 hours south of Eustis, FL – we saw lots of orange groves along the way. Lake Placid was built by Mr Dewey (of the Dewy Decimal System) after the city in New York by the same name. They wanted a summer home so they purchased some land in Florida; built a city, his mansions to live in and entertain his guests. It is know for its many murals on the buildings through out town.

We camped alongside two ROAMER couples. ROAMERS are volunteer workers out of the Nazarene church. The other six SOWER couples were nearby, (Dave & Mollie Bontrager, Mike & Joan Busch, Jim & Pat Kloosterman, Duane & Nancy Motley, David & Susan Dodgson, Terry & Donna Mascho) Duane & Nancy were our GL’s (Group Leaders) – we loved making new friends with these wonderful people! It was very interesting to have so many volunteers in one place, there were 16 ROAMER couples along with us – 44 people all working together for the Lord! So much fun!

The beautiful campus was about 20 acres with lots of buildings and activity centers for the guests. They host approximately 30,000 people each year with a very strong Christian influence – the Gospel is shared unashamedly! Very impressive!

We enjoyed some very beautiful sunrises ans sunsets over Lake Placid while at the camp!

…OH, and did we work! There were multiple projects going on at the same time. We sometimes worked as a SOWER Team, and sometimes mixed it up with the ROAMERS.

Thie first project for Lorree was to put a gloss sealer down on this new floor. The camp had three days to get the finish construction done before the catering crew showed up to prepare for the banquet on the weekend.

It was a major fund raiser for The Jesus Film- it was a great success!

The guys got to work on the beach cabins. The exterior walls had a lot of termite damage and dry rot. We had to remove the exterior siding, make repairs and replace with cement hardboard. We worked on three cabins like this. Hard but fun work!

More work projects! We worked together with the ROAMERS on painting the Grace Place. This is a large building with dormitories and two large meeting rooms. This is where we met every morning for daily devotions.

So fun to work together – we were able to get a lots of projects checked off!

We also enjoyed some great times of fellowship with our team. This was our valentines dinner – celebrated at a the Jacaranda Hotel in Avon, FL. Built in the 1920s, this historic hotel is renowned for playing host to many Hollywood and sports stars in its heyday!

We even managed to rest! What a great experience working with this SOWER Group. Looking forward to our paths meeting again somewhere!