[ Washington 6/19] [ Idaho 6/20 ] [ Montana 6/21-6/29] [ Wyoming 6/30-7/2 ] [ South Dakota 7/3-7/11 ] [Minnesota 7/12] [Iowa 7/13-7/15] [Missouri 7/16-7/21] [Illinois 7/22-7/25] [Kentucky 7/25-7/30] [Virginia 7/31-8/06]

The Trip Home- [Washington DC] [Gettysburg] [Philadelphia] [New York] [Boston] [Niagra Falls] [Dearborn] [Chicago] [The rest of the drive]

Detailed Itinerary-day by day / Leave us a Comment /

Wanna Help?

Day 11 June 29 - Sheridan, WY

Hello from Sheridan, WY! We finally made it out of Montana. YEEHAH! It was gorgeous, however, and I must say, Mark, I have new respect for you (did I just use the word respect when talking about you??) that you got to grow up in a place this beautiful with nothing around for miles.

We went to the fairgrounds for church this morning. Was fun to be with people who love God from all across America. Found Don on the road as we pulled over to take a picture of the Wyoming sign. He's struggling today. His first day that he isn't having a total blast. He's having to force himself to get here - so we left him there stranded, just to help with his motivation. It's pretty hot today and really hilly. The RV was going 35-45 up the hills. We have cold lemonade and chocolate awaiting him when he arrives. Meanwhile, we sit by the pool and read books.... Ah, life is good. =)=

Don met a group of pretty serious bikers today. Many of them have biked across the country several times. Pretty cool. Of course, they are on mopeds, so a bit faster than Don's choice!

Day 12 June 30 - Gillette, WY

We just found another town that we love! This one because of all the conveniences. The kids spent the afternoon at a free waterpark yesterday and then, when it got really hot, we all headed for the beautiful local library. Stayed there from 5 until 9pm when they closed! Then headed over to our local Walmart for groceries and to spend the night. Gotta love Walmart! Was a long day for Don, however. He did 106 miles!! Took him until after 7pm, which was making me a bit nervous. But he finally rolled in, still standing upright! The man is getting dark! He will accurately be representing our project from here on out, looking like the people we are riding for!!! We went in and bought another thing of 50 sunblock last night - not sure that it's helping, but at least we're helping out the local economy...

Your prayers for Don's safety are much appreciated. When we pull over to the side of the road to wait for him, the speed of the passing cars just amazes and somewhat frightens me. He's out there all day right off the shoulder and needs everyone to stay in their own lanes!!! He actually got honked at yesterday for the first time. Not a pleasant, hello honk but a "get out of my way" honk. I'm thinking the guy who honked outta get out of his cushy car and just try biking 10 of the 3500 feet of elevation Don did today. Then we'll see who's honking!!

Honestly, I am so proud (and amazed) at how Don is doing. We'll pass him on a big mountain pass and he just sits there on that bike, spinning those chicken legs round and round. The man is unstoppable! Oops, they said that about the Titanic and things didn't go so well so I better take that one back! Let's just say he's doing great and leave it at that.

Day 13 July 1 - Devil's Tower, WY

Day 13! July! Time is flying by. I'm already mourning the ending of our trip. It has been so much fun. Of course, that is my morning answer. Evenings I feel a little differently. Here is how the trip goes:

7 am - sun is shining and I'm watching Don head off down the road while I lie in bed and quietly read a book - "I love this!"

9 am - kids are rising, breakfast is cooking and it's another beautiful day - "I love my children, I love being with them, this is so great."

12 pm -sitting by a pool reading a book, getting up every now and then to play with the kids and see what they're up to - "this is a good life, I'm so glad we did this."

3 pm - cleaning the motor home for the fourth time and putting away the lunch dishes - "I wonder when Don is getting in?"

5 pm - making dinner, shooing the kids OUT of the RV NOW, picking up the RV - "Where is Don? He should have been here by now. Boy it's hot. Been a long day. Where's Don?"

7 pm - cleaning up the dishes, shooing the kids OUT of the RV NOW FOR THE REST OF THE NIGHT, picking up the RV that now has clothes and toys from one end to the other, "What were we thinking? Why didn't we get a hotel? With the kids in separate rooms? Why did we have FOUR children? Wouldn't 1 or 2 have been enough? Hi, Don. Great to see you. The kids missed you today. Wanna go OUTSIDE and play with th em?"

9 pm - trying to get the kids cleaned up, into bed, settled down, asking them to be quiet AGAIN, cleaning up the RV, looking longingly at my book - "I am done. What were we thinking??"

10 pm - all is quiet, James and I are quietly reading while Don sleeps. "This is the best. I'm so glad we did this!!"

And so begins another day! =)

Don had a short day today so he slept in and hung with the family until almost 10am. We're back at the cool library, heading back towards the aquatic center and then on to Devil's Tower tonight. We're hoping to catch their showing of "Close Encounters of a Third Kind" of whatever it's called. We'll be out of touch for a couple of days, probably. But pretty soon our cell phones will start working again!

A huge thank you to Natalie Stiles to stepped in and saved the day when our housesitter didn't arrive as expected. Thank you, my dear friend!! Thank you also to the Coffeys for feeding animals and keeping them alive for us. And thank you to Terry Ratcliff for letting our lonely dogs and cats hang on his porch the last two weeks! We do have the BEST neighbors living on GreenBluff.