Firsts on the Weekend

Driving back from Chewelah on Sunday we noticed a moose on the side of the highway. We turned around and hurried back to get another look.

We spooked it and it started running away.

Thankfully it stopped to take a look at us!

Our son thinks this was a young one!

On Saturday we spotted this critter on our back slope. We think it is a fox but it could be a coyote.

It’s coloring makes us think more fox than coyote.

This was the first moose we have seen since moving to Colville in 2018. Whether the other animal is a fox or a coyote it is a first sighting on our property of either!

Our yards are still covered with snow here and we have temperatures below freezing so not much melting happening.

Here we are on the last day of January. Is it just me or did January fly by?

God Moves in a Mysterious Way ~ Hymn

 

God Moves in a Mysterious Way

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sov’reign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flow’r.

Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.

Words: William Cowper, 1773.

Cheyenne to Billings and Home

Wrapping up our Land That We Love Tour with this post. On Saturday October 9th after we left Cheyenne we headed north on Interstate 25 with a cruise through Casper Wyoming ending up in Billings, Montana for the night.

It was a 455 mile drive. We filled up at Jerry’s Interstate Gas Station in Casper for $3.989. One of the highest priced gasoline on our trip. When we got to Billings we filled up the tank again at Costco for $3.149. On Sunday October 10th, on our last stretch to our home we bought gas again in Missoula at Costco for $3.299 and finally at our usual gasoline stop in Spokane, Washington at Costco for $3.489. Our drive from Billings to our home on Sunday was 609 miles. We originally planned to stop in Wallace, Idaho overnight on Sunday and drive the last stretch home on Monday the 11th of October but we were so ready to be home again we cancelled our night and headed straight home.

Here’s what we saw on our drive on Saturday October 9th.

Jackalope of Wyoming

 

After Casper I probably drove so photos ceased.

We arrived in Billings, filled up with gas at Costco, checked into Fairfield by Marriott for the night at $159.68. We freshened up and had one of the best dinners on our trip and I wrote a post about it here.

On Sunday early morning we packed up for the last leg of our journey home.

We made it home before dark and turned the heat back up and had a relaxing evening.

We are talking about where we should road trip next, Lord willing. Time will tell where and when. Thanks for following along with us. We do Love the USA and pray God will have mercy on our Homeland.

Truth for Today #4

Thursday January 27th

On Thursdays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s dig deep in God’s Truth this year!

2 Timothy 2:22-26

 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.  Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.  And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil,  correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,  and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

From Vera:

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4:12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

From Patricia:

Philippians 4:19

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. 

Psalm 89:15-

Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord. They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness. 

Still Early Hodgepodge

Time again for Wednesday Hodgepodge! Thank you Joyce From This Side of the Pond for asking the questions!

1. January 25th is National Opposites Day. ‘They’ say opposites attract…do you agree, and if so is that a good thing? Or do you subscribe more to a ‘birds of a feather’ philosophy? 

Getting really basic, in marriage opposites are a good thing, male and female. Our marriage started with a foundation of being the same spiritually, believing in God and being born again believing in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. After 47 years of marriage we have grown more similar than different in our likes and dislikes. We have different personalities and a different skill set, which works well. Although we don’t isolate ourselves with only like minded people it is nice to have a haven of like minded people in the world of ‘differences’.

2. Something you’re glad to have behind you?

Formal schooling from Elementary through College.

Something you’re glad is ahead of you? 

Continued learning experiences of life on this earth.

3. Your favorite hot food? Cold food? Are you a fan of breakfast for dinner? 

I love food! I’ll go with soup for hot food. I’ll go with a cold cut sandwich with all the extras for cold food. I am a fan of breakfast for dinner!

4. Are you someone who always arrives to appointments/events early or do you tend to run late? Last thing you were late for? 

Early, early, early. Hmm, hard to remember something I was late for. We did make it to a surprise party after the big surprise because the person who was being honored came early!

5. “What good is the warmth of summer without the cold of winter to give it sweetness?” John Steinbeck….Your thoughts? 

Every season has so much to enjoy all on it’s own and sometimes the huge contrasts do make us appreciate each season’s special characteristics more. I’m so happy to live in a part of the country where there are distinct differences in the seasons. Some here say we have a fifth season…mud.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

We are in a distinct Winter here with temperatures below freezing, snow still on the ground, and treacherous icy spots to avoid! We are a third of the way through Winter.

Enjoy the rest of Winter hodgepodgers!

Cheyenne, Wyoming

After we checked out of our hotel on Saturday morning October 9th we drove to the downtown historic district to see what we could see.

Historic Whipple House located in the heart of downtown Cheyenne. This historic mansion was built in 1883 by Mr. Whipple and later sold to Mr. Lacy who was commissioned by President Author to begin the Wyoming territory. The 24 foot ceiling, old historic pocket doors, and craftsmanship remain in the home today.

The sign wasn’t really easy to read but this original bronze statue is on sale for $6000. This was in the front yard of one of the homes downtown.

The Cathedral of St. Mary

Supreme Court State Library on Capitol Avenue.

Wyoming State Capitol

On July 4, 1867 the first tents were pitched on the site now known as Cheyenne. Cheyenne means “aliens” or “people of foreign language.” 

The City of Cheyenne had its beginning in 1867, when the Union Pacific Railroad came through on its way to the west coast. The town site was first surveyed by General Grenville Dodge and was named for an Indian tribe that roamed the area (originally called ‘Shey’ an’ nah’, belonging to the tribe of Alogonquian, the largest family of Indians on the North American Continent). Settlement came so fast that the nickname “Magic City of the Plains” was adopted.

The Cheyenne Depot museum in the distance.

The first Cheyenne Frontier Days happened in 1897.

We found our way out of Cheyenne as the sun rose. We traveled Interstate 25 north to Interstate 90 and Northwest to Billings on this day, 455 miles and Six and a half hours.

My next post will be filled with photos from the road from Cheyenne, Wyoming to Billings, Montana. Almost done with our Land That We Love Tour.

Kansas to Wyoming October 8th, 2021

We were on the road before dawn on Friday October 8th, 2021 on our Land That We Love Tour. On this day we traveled 549 miles which took us approximately 8 hours. Our original plan was to travel north to Nebraska and then west to Cheyenne but because of some road issues we changed our plans to travel west on I-70 with a northern jog once in Colorado then a west jog and finally continuing north on highway 85 into Cheyenne.

It’s time for some true confessions on some travel failures that we realized once home and doing further research on this area of Kansas. The reason we got off the highway for a while in Hays was to find Joe Bob Outfitters which we did and Dear made a purchase there. We also used the Home Depot for a pit stop. Now come the discoveries we made after we returned home and another discovery just this week. It’s not about Bob Dole, either, although it is interesting that Bob Dole was from Hays. This weeks discovery was that Dear’s mother Verna went to college in Hays! I was going through some of Verna’s papers this week and there were her college documents from Fort Hays Kansas State College!

If we would have traveled north through Hays and then west on highway 36 we would have gone through a few small towns where Verna’s Aunt Matilda (Dear’s Great Aunt Matilda) lived, (Oberlin, Kansas) and where Verna taught in a one room schoolhouse in McDonald, Kansas! Oye, we are kicking ourselves for missing that opportunity.

Another border town that uses part of each state name as the border city.

We stopped for gas in Seibert, Colorado at the Travel Plaza. Gas was $3.499 per gallon in Eastern Colorado. We also turned north here to jog up to Highway 34 and west again to highway 85 and north on 85 to Cheyenne.

The roads we traveled to get to highway 85 were desolate.

Always a good relief to reach our next destination safe and sound. We thank God for that.

We checked into Spring Hill Suites in Cheyenne where we paid $161.70 for our room. We ate at Sanford’s Cheyenne paying $42.14 before tip for a California Club Sandwich, a Cajun Chicken Sandwich and two drinks. The food was good.

Our Saturday travels on October 9th included stops in the historical area of downtown Cheyenne before we left town for Billings. Lots of photos in my next post.

Back to the present…

We spent Sunday January 23rd at home. We planned to go to church but when we pulled out of our drive onto the road it was so icy that our car didn’t want to go straight ahead. Slip, slip, sliding along we decided against our original plan. We very carefully turned around and into our driveway and watched our church service online. For the record, in person church is far better than online church.

The difference a day makes. We traveled on Saturday to Spokane and back home with no road issues. Whatever weather happened over night Saturday into Sunday turned our road into a sheet of ice. Monday the county will probably do some sanding since the school buses travel our road.

Hope you all had a peaceful weekend.

Mine Eyes Shall Behold Him ~ Hymn

Mine Eyes Shall Behold Him

I know not the hour of His coming,
Nor how He will speak to my heart;
Or whether at morning or mid-day,
My spirit to Him will depart.

Refrain

But I know I shall wake in the likeness
Of Him I am longing to see;
I know that mine eyes shall behold Him,
And that is enough for me.

I know not the bliss that awaits me,
At rest with my Savior above;
I know not how soon I shall enter,
And bathe in the ocean of love.

But I know I shall wake in the likeness
Of Him I am longing to see;
I know that mine eyes shall behold Him,
And that is enough for me.

Perhaps in the midst of my labor,
A voice from the Lord I shall hear;
Perhaps in the slumber of midnight,
Its message may fall on my ear.

But I know I shall wake in the likeness
Of Him I am longing to see;
I know that mine eyes shall behold Him,
And that is enough for me.

I know not, but O I am watching,
My lamp ever burning and bright,
I know not if Jesus will call me
At morning, at noon or at night.

But I know I shall wake in the likeness
Of Him I am longing to see;
I know that mine eyes shall behold Him,
And that is enough for me.

Words: Fanny Crosby

Land That We Love Tour ~ October 7th

We start on our home stretch on our Land That We Love Tour.

After two and a half great days with our brother’s family we left Dallas on Thursday October 7th at O’dark’thirty heading north to Oklahoma and Kansas. I posted a short post on that day here. We got a few gallons of gas at Central Truck Stop in Oklahoma City at $3.199 per gallon. Later that day we filled up our tank at the Costco in Wichita, Kansas for $2.729 per gallon.

After our gas and shopping stop at the Costco in Wichita Kansas we continued North and noticed the sign on the highway about the Mennonite Heritage and Agricultural Museum in Goessel, Kansas. We took the exit and enjoyed our time on these backroads checking out the church and museum.

Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church

Here’s a link to the museum for more information. It is a well thought out museum with a great collection of history and historical artifacts and other objects that tell stories of the Mennonite people in Kansas.

When we walked into the museum we noticed the Mennonite Girls Can Cook Cookbook. Woohoo!

Schroeder Barn

One room schoolhouse

Goessel State Bank

It was quite warm on this day and we were parched after walking around the museum out buildings.

Back on the road we made our way to McPherson, Kansas where we stayed at Fairfield Inn and Suites. We used our accumulated points to stay here for free. We ate at La Fiesta Restaurant and ate well for less than we had at any other Mexican restaurant.

McPherson has developed into one of the most industrialized small communities in the nation. Centered in one of the largest wheat producing areas of the United States, McPherson is also ranked among the top agricultural centers of Kansas.

On this Thursday we traveled 416 miles for approximately six and a quarter hours not counting our shopping and time at the museum.

 

Land That We Love Tour ~ N.C. to Texas

It was way back at the end of September and the beginning of October 2021 that we were on our Land That We Love Tour from Washington State, through Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina for the wedding of our niece. That’s where my posts left off in mid-December. Now I’d like to finish the rest of our tour through North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and home again, home again, jiggety jig. I hope to finish by the end of January.

Goodbye to Hickory, North Carolina and our VRBO and hello Tennessee on Sunday October 3rd.

On Sunday after 4 full days in our VRBO home we packed up our car again and had to use our Tetras skills to get it all to fit. We headed west on Interstate 40 through the Appalachians in North Carolina and along the Smoky Mountains into Tennessee and all the way to Jackson, Tennessee for the night.

Dear needed some coffee and we were ready to fill the tank with gas so we got off at an exit that didn’t have good choices for either coffee or gas. We did see Old Tennessee Distilling Co. and stopped in to have a look around. This was in Kodak, Tennessee. Dear had a great conversation with this character who’s grandfather taught him how to run a Still when he was 8 years old. His grandfather’s original Still was on display on an upper shelf in this establishment.

After our time in this store we headed west again on I-40 and a few exits along the way we were able to fill up with gas and then have a nice light lunch at Aubrey’s just outside of Knoxville. Dear had a burger and I had a 1/2 turkey sandwich and soup. Our food was $22.00 plus tax. Gas outside of Knoxville was $2.889 per gallon and we filled up with 17.284 gallons at $49.93.

On the road again we traveled through some incredible thunderstorms and downpours that slowed us way down because of no visibility. Several accidents had the freeway backed up for miles. Most of the accidents were on I-40 going east which was fortunate for us. We were so happy to finally get to clear skies and dry roads. We just zoomed past Nashville only seeing what we could off of the freeway. This was already a long travel day and we didn’t have time for sight seeing.

We thanked God for bringing us safely to our destination for the night at Residence Inn by Marriott in Jackson, Tennessee. We paid a total of $143.56 for the night. On this Sunday we traveled approximately 506 miles, 7-1/2 hours. We filled the tank up with gas again in Jackson for $2.889 per gallon. We only needed 12 gallons to fill up here. We had dinner at a local Mexican restaurant that was very popular. There were a couple mix-ups in our ordering and the meal ended up being half the price we expected, about $25.00.

On Monday We drove through Memphis and onward.

We crossed the mighty Mississippi river for the 2nd time on this road trip.

Hello Arkansas!

 

We stopped for gas and lunch in Texarkana. A town that is in both Arkansas and Texas. We bought gas on the Arkansas side for $2.729 per gallon. We had a fast food lunch at Whataburger on the state line for $13.45.

The Arkansas side of the road has Arkansas flags on the light poles and the Texas side of the street has Texas flags on the posts.

In Texas we are headed to my youngest brother’s home in Dallas. We would be staying with his family for a couple nights before hitting the road on a fast track home.

After 534 miles and over 8 hours of driving we pulled up to my brother’s home. We enjoyed a roast beef dinner around the table this evening. It was good to be in the state of Texas with our extended family for a couple of days.

Posts about our time in Dallas are here and here.

While in Dallas we also got to tour the church and offices where my brother and his dear wife are on staff. We enjoyed good conversation during our time together. Dear was able to help out with a couple home projects and I helped Andrew with one of his jigsaw puzzles.

Thursday October 7th we head north on our Land That We Love Tour.