California - Here we come!!!

All good things must come to an end, and this trip was no different. We have had the time of our lives, but with work, school, and all of life's responsibilities, we reluctantly aimed our motor home towards California. We stopped at Saguaro National Park in Arizona to look at the Cactus unique to this are of the world. We spent the night in Phoenix, and then relaxed for a couple of days in Palm Desert - this was a much needed break before getting back into the full swing of things.


This was truly an adventure! We saw many sights, and experienced many new things as a family. We praise God for his grace, mercy and the protection of our family. We want to thank you for travelling along with us - we hope you enjoyed it. We also hope that we might inspire some of you to go and visit some of the places that we did. We do live in the greatest country on the planet! There is sooo much to see, and our fellow Americans are so friendly. We are planning our next trip as we speak....


May God bless you, and we look forward to seeing you soon!


Eric, Nancy and the kids

Journey to the center of the Earth and Desert Sledding

As we made our way West, there were a couple of places that intrigued us and we had to explore them on the way home. Carlsbad Caverns and the White Sands Monument - both in New Mexico.

Carlsbad Caverns is a National Park in Southern New Mexico. 700-800 feet below the Earth's surface are giant caverns that go on for what seems like forever. We took an elevator down to the floor of the caverns and walked the 1.5 mile trail inside the cavern. We all agreed that it was a bit creepy to be this far below the surface, but awesome at the same time! The formations and designs were so amazing and different! There were so many tunnels and paths, but the one that we all agreed was the most impressive was the Big Room. This "room" was 3,800 feet long and 600 feet wide, and filled with stalactites and stalagmites of all shapes and sizes! After exploring this side of the cavern, we decided to hike down the Natural Entrance, which leads to another area of this underworld creation. Now we must tell you that there was a tremendous wind storm as we drove up to the park, but we never thought that the wind would have an impact on our visit to the caverns - well... we were wrong! As we neared the bottom of this entrance - we were about 600 feet below the surface - the lights suddenly went out and it was pitch black! Yikes!!! A few moments later, the emergency lights clicked on, but they were very dim. We had a quick family meeting and decided to hike out of the cavern instead of taking the elevator out. And I am glad that we did! When we finally got back to the Visitor's Center, they had no power - the wind had knocked out the power and they had some trouble with the generator system. We asked about those who took the elevator, and how this effects them. "Oh, the elevator stops when the power goes out" was their answer. The elevator shaft is cut out of rock and there is no way out. That's just not right! I am so glad that we decided to "hoof it" out of there. The wind was terrible all day, but we braved it so we could get closer to our destination for the following day - White Sands National Monument.

White Sands is a most interesting place - it looks like snow in the middle of the desert! It is actually a fine gypsum sand that is formed in the area, and is not found in any other area. The "dunes" area encompasses 275 square miles! That's huge! And the stillness of the air was amazing. It was so quiet out there. So we took our sleds out to the desert - doesn't that sound strange - and cruised down the dunes. We had a blast! We laughed and hollered as we tumbled down these giant sand hills.

Make a Difference Concert-Texas

Nancy and I surprised the kids and bought tickets for the Make a Difference concert in Wichita Falls, Texas. We purchased the tickets several weeks ago, and we had to really finesse and massage our travel schedule to fit it in, but we did, and we were so glad it worked out! The venue included Michael W. Smith, Third Day, Toby Mac and Max Lucado. The concert benefited the kids of World Vision. The concert was simply amazing! Each of these Christian artists had a great story to tell, and their passion for these kids was contagious. Max Lucado spoke, challenging all who were there, and his message was simple - Matthew 25:40-45 - taking care of those who can't take care of themselves. We need to remember that it really is not about us, but about Him and all of His children. It was a great reminder to our family, and it gave us a lot to talk about as we moved towards home....

Family in Texas

We enjoyed a visit to Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Bob's house. They have a great lake house in the East Texas country - the Piney Woods - with hills and trees! The kids had fun fishing off their dock and shooting a BB gun at pop cans. It was so fun for us to get caught up on what was happening in each other's lives!



We spend the following evening with Eric's cousin, Dan, and his family. They took us to a Texas High School football game. As you probably know, High School football is huge in Texas! Their son, Preston, is in the band and is the Drum Line leader. Just before half time, they announced that we needed to clear the field because of possible lightening. Everyone left the stadium and once we were in the parking lot they made another announcement that we all needed to evacuate the stadium and head home. They were expecting a huge lightening storm! Our kids were excited to see a lightening storm, and they thought it was so cool to be evacuated from a stadium!


Please join us in praying for Dan's wife, Andra, who is battling breast cancer.

Galveston and San Antonio, Texas

One of our goals for the trip was to visit Canada, swim in the Atlantic Ocean and play in the gulf of Mexico. So, after we left our friends in Houston, we made the short drive to Galveston and spent some time swimming in the Gulf of Mexico. The water was super warm and the kids loved it! We were reminded of the recent hurricanes by the many vacant and torn up buildings....

REMEMBER THE ALAMO!

We visited The Alamo in San Antonio. As you may remember, the Alamo was the site of a short battle in which 200 brave men battled Santa Anna's 2400 soldiers. Though the battle seemed insignificant, it was the battle that prompted Sam Houston and his army to successfully destroy Santa Anna's and his men. The phrase "remember the Alamo!" came from Sam Houston, as he reminded his troops what Santa Anna had done there.... This phrase emboldened Houston's men to fight Santa Anna with everything they had! The defeat of Santa Anna was the beginning of Texas's independence and freedom.... As an interesting side note, Davy Crockett was one of the men that fought at the Alamo, and most historians believe he died at that battle.

Phil Collins, the famous singer, is a huge Alamo history buff. He owns a shop in San Antonio that houses a large diorama which explains how the battle took place. Like the diorama in Gettysburg, it gives one a sense of how the battle was fought, how the troops attack, a timeline on when the events occur. What makes this particular model so special is that Phil Collins narrates the 20 minute audio presentation of the diorama.

We wrapped up the day by walking around the famous River Walk.

The Great Smoky National Park and the battle of Vicksburg

Since fall was upon us, we were on a quest to see the phenomenon of the fall colors. We drove through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and we were not disappointed! Though the leaves had not turned completely, we were able to get a good sampling of all the different colors. At the park, we took a long hike next to a stream, saw beautiful views and climbed on a huge petrified rock formation. We thought the kids needed to hear some country music so we took them to a fun variety show called "Country Tonight". They played old and new country songs, and also did a nice tribute to gospel music. What can we say... we are a little bit country!!!

On our way to Texas we went through Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana. We visited the Civil War battle field at Vicksburg, Mississippi. There were many great things to see. The few that we found particularly interesting were some great remaining earth works (large mounds of earth built for protection), several large cannons, and a network of tunnels to help move the Union soldiers closer to Confederate lines. The battle at Vicksburg was one of the longest in the Civil War, lasting 47 days. There were a few attempts by the Union to overtake the Southern Army, and unsuccessfully, but most of the time was spent in a "stand off". The Union soldiers had cut off the supply line to the Confederates, and wanted to "smoke the out". The battle ended in a surrender of the Confederates. They were so sick and hungry, they could not fight. The Union Army's plan worked well.....

The highlight of the visit was the ironclad gun boat - the USS Cairo. This boat was struck by underwater mines in 1862, sinking in less than twelve minutes, with no loss of life. Because of the silt and sludge in the Yazoo River, the boat and her contents were preserved for over 100 years. The Cairo was raised in 1964 and later restored. Some of the artifacts that were recovered looked almost brand new including leather shoes, a thermometer, tools, and a large bell that had an air bubble trapped in it when they raised it over 40 years ago!

We hope that everyone is doing well. God bless!!

Visiting our friends....

As we moved West, we had the chance to spend time with some friends that we use to go to church with - The Miller, Merritts and the Kases. It was so fun to get caught up with these families!! We enjoyed the fellowship and fun we had with them. It was so nice to see the kids get along so well after so many years. We were so blessed that they opened their homes for us, and stopped what they were doing to spend time with our family. The smiles and hugs from familiar faces were so appreciated after a few months on the road. We hope that these precious families know how meaningful it was for us to be able to reconnect with them!!