Tuesday June 30th - night

36 days in a row riding a motorcycle around the USA, it is just about over. I really had no idea when I started what this trip would be like. The adventures have been challenging and fun. The people experiences have also been a great part of the trip. Seeing God guide and supply has been so encouraging. Seeing the scenery, the trees, rivers, farms was one of the things that I anticipated most. The USA is very beautiful and amazingly varied. The thing that I have valued most, especially at this stage of the trip, has been the alone time all day long as I have ridden. Alone with God, not just away from people. It is easy to see how easy it is to get distracted from Him. I know I will still get distracted, but I really believe that my ongoing relationship with God has been altered for the rest of my life because of this 36 days of pursuing a goal and a dream.

Tuesday June 30th - evening

Well, my camp is all set up at Gettysburg, South Dakota, a little town of 1100 people. They have a city park in town and camping is free, they even have a shower. When I read in my camping book that there was no fee, I thought it would either be a junk pile or it would be full. Neither was true. Two trailer houses with really old people and nobody else. The camping area is next to the city and school baseball diamond and there is a summer league game starting in an hour. I can watch from my folding camp chair. I rode exactly 400 miles today. Pretty easy day of riding especially this afternoon. I rode one stretch that was 60 miles long and I did not make a turn. It was straight as a string. Tomorrow I am going through the Badlands and Mount Rushmore and will camp in Crawford, Nebraska if all goes according to plan. If there is a ton of traffic, I will skip Mt Rushmore, I have seen it 3 times. Other than wind this morning the day was great. The warmest I saw any reader board say was 75 degrees.

The way the schedule looks now : Tuesday here in Gettysburg, South Dakota. Wednesday July 1st I will camp at Crawford, Nebraska. Thursday July 2nd I will camp at Cody, Wyoming. Friday July 3rd I will camp somewhere the other side of Yellowstone depending on availability, that will be a busy day. Saturday July 4th I will stay someplace in Northern Idaho, possibly Duane Williams' sister's house. Sunday July 5th, I will sleep at my Mom's in Trout Lake, Washington. Monday July 6th I will be home - YEAH. I can't wait. I am getting tired of sleeping with my GPS:-)

Tuesday June 30th - noon

South Dakota is flat rolling grassland, corn, and wheat. Long straight roads. Wind at my back most of the afternoon. Quite pleasant riding, almost boring. Have seen lots of birds, geese, ducks, pelicans, and pheasants.

Tuesday June 30th - mid morning

I am drinking coffee in Hankinson, North Dakota. The ride this morning has been very windy, cold, and pretty. Lots of nice farms and lakes. Minnesota is supposed to be the land of 10,000 lakes. I am now heading for Gettysburg, South Dakota. There are 3 different campgrounds there, I should find an available space. I am heading southwest now, maybe I will have some wind on my back now. Wind while riding a motorcycle is like smoke around a campfire. It doesn't make any difference where you are it is going to be in your face.

Tuesday June 30th - morning

My camp site last didn't have any mosquitoes, but it did have these little black gnats that were quite pesky. They didn't seem to bite, but they liked to land and crawl around on a person. I think they must have been licking me because they were terribly annoying. I left my helmet setting on the picnic table right side up so no rain would get into it, if it happened to rain. It didn't rain, but those little black gnats seemed to like the inside of my helmet. Warm and it smelled good. I didn't look in it this morning when I put it on and about one mile down the road they started crawling into my ears:-O I got stopped and pulled over very quickly and took the next 10 minutes getting those crawly creepy critters out of my helmet and my ears. Whoooeee was that bad!

Not quite as windy this morning, but maybe I am just used to it. Clear and very cold. I have all the clothes I brought on me. I look like a really big fat guy riding down the road. When I left on this trip I had visions of riding in nice hot weather wearing a t-shirt, blue jeans, half helmet, and sunglasses. Hasn't happened yet. Maybe when I get back in Oregon. It is now 8:30 am June 30th and I am about 30 miles from North Dakota.

Monday June 29th - evening

Finished the day with 337 miles. I am now sitting in my comfortable little folding chair at "Redwood Campground" on the Redwood River near Redwood City, Minnesota. Very nice campground, lots of big red oak trees and some other kind that I don't recognize that have my entire area in shade. The river is 10 feet away and is making a very soothing noise for a fisherman. No mosquitoes so far. Hot showers that are clean and free. Lots of RV campers, but no other tent campers so I don't have neighbors to invite me to dinner. Guess I better get busy heating water for some delicious freeze dried dinner. Let's see, I think I will have Teriyaki chicken and rice tonight:-)

By the end of today the wind was just as strong, but I was riding much more comfortably in it. Got used to it and it wasn't nearly as intimidating as earlier in the day. Even got to the point that the wind blowing on me was a bit exhilarating, you know, what this riding is all about, riding with the wind:-) I saw quite a few big wind generators today. I think if they would put one on every acre of land in this prairie that they could supply the world with electricity.

So far Minnesota has the best roads and New Hampshire and Vermont have the worst. Only rode on mountain roads in New Hampshire & Vermont, so that may be unfair. Nice farms in Minnesota. Well kept, good crops, lots of corn, corn, corn.

Monday June 29th - noon

I had another embarrassing thing happen. I put my GPS in my pocket as I have been doing lately, but I forgot to turn the old girl off. When I got into McDonald's she started nagging at me, "wrong turn - recalculating". I am not sure why, but she kept saying it over and over. The problem was I couldn't hear her, but everybody else in the place could. I could see everybody was looking at me. I thought maybe I better get my clothes washed afterall. Then some little kid came up and said that my phone was talking. I turned her off.

The worst thing about riding in this wind is I can't scratch. I am afraid of turning loose of my handle bars with one hand to scratch my nose. Ever notice when you can't scratch and you know it, that your whole body starts to itch. I have had to take a break pretty regularly just to scratch.

Monday June 29th - late morning

It is 11 am my time. I have ridden 130 miles so far and it has been blowing 30 - 40 mph all day. I hook my toes under my highway pegs, grip the handle bars real tight, and hang on to the gas tank with my knees. So far the wind hasn't blown me off of my bike, but it feels like it is going to at any moment. The trucks are all going 50 mph, so as I am going 55 - 60 mph, I pass them occasionally. When I get next to them everything goes in reverse with the wind and when I come out in front of them, there is this major blast of air that feels like I am going to leave the ground. I guess it blows like this all the time around here. I take a break and stop for a cup of coffee every 50 miles to relax.

Someone sent me a text when I wrote that 400 miles per day was more than I wanted to do after doing it a couple of times, because I get too tired. They asked what muscles got most tired? The answer is my head and my heart. I have had 4 accidents in a car. Nobody got hurt in any of them. Cars got dented, towed, and totaled, but with the protection of the car, seat belts, and air bags - no injuries. One thing that I know as I ride on my bike, is that any one of those 4 accidents on my bike, I would have sailed through the air, landed on my head probably, and been hurt. That realization causes me to ride my bike like I am walking through a field of alligators or rattlesnakes. Every intersection, I have my hand on my brake and I am watching every person like they are blind and dumb. That constant tension really begins to wear on me after a while. It is one of the aspects of riding a motorcycle that appeals to me, but I can only handle about 300 miles a day. The first thing I do when I get to my camping spot is get my little folding camp chair out, sit down, heave a big sigh, and just sit and relax. I bet you wish that you were having all this adventure with me:-) One of these days when I become a real biker dude and not just a wannabe, I probably will ride way more relaxed.

Stopped for gas and I took my helmet off and set it on the seat while I pumped gas. The wind was blowing so hard that it blew my helmet off of my seat. It rolled across the parking lot like a ball with me in frantic chase. I caught it just before it started into the street. Bunch of scars on my new pretty helmet.

Monday June 29th - morning

6:30 and I am all packed for another day riding my motorcycle through the USA. No rain this morning, slight breeze off the river, so no heavy dew. Everything is dry!! Packed in record time. This has been my favorite campsite by far, incredible view, great weather, no mosquitoes. Big bald eagle about 50 yards away perched in a tree looking for fish. I had a good night reading and praying last night. I built a nice big fire, slept like a baby. God is good, and God is good when it is raining:-( This morning I am making a bee line for the south east corner of North Dakota. It is 500 miles to the corner, so I will camp some place in Minnesota tonight. Minnesota is a big state! Looks like I will have good weather and I don't think I will have the wind today. I will take good care of Patty (my GPS).

Sunday June 28th - Evening

Today I discovered something worse than a cattle truck. In Iowa they have pig trucks:-O I am so thankful that I had my new full face shield helmet on. Whooooeeee. I have to do a little washing on it. Whooeee what a smell.

I just pulled into my camping spot for tonight, 4pm. I road 343 miles, no rain. Absolutely gorgeous scenery all day. I am at LaCrosse, Wisconsin. I am literaly 5 feet from the Mississippi river. I am camping in a hardwood grove that is beautiful and a nice breeze and not a bug one, so far:-) They have showers, so no Handi-Wipe job tonight. It is so comfortable here I should get in quite a bit of reading and writing.

My GPS started acting up a bit this afternoon when it began to get warm. I took it in with me when I bought a diet Pepsi and set it inside the cooler where they keep the pop. The old lady that was tending the store saw me do it, came over to see what I was doing. I said " my GPS starts acting weird when he gets hot". She said, "why do you call it a he?" I said, " I have this friend who talks like that about computers and I guess I picked it up from him". She said, " You should say she, no he". "Why" I said? "This thing keeps you from getting lost doesn't it?" I said "yes". "When you ride with your wife, doesn't she do that?" I said, "Yes". " I rest my case!" she said. So, I have named my GPS Patty. Even talked to her today.

I just went skinny dipping in the Mississippi river at LaCrosse, Wisconsin. How many people do you know can say that:-) I wanted to do something like in "Wild Hogs".

Went walking on a trail along the river earlier and saw a big bald Eagle roosting in a tree. He was only about a dozen feet off of the ground looking out into the water. I got really close to him before he saw me and flew off.

Sunday June 28th - Mid-day

Various parts of my body get sore and tired from riding 8 hours everyday. The worst is my neck. Almost every state on the east coast and midwest has these expansion joints in the road. They feel like a mini-speedbump. Occasionally would not be a problem, but every 30 seconds really takes a toll. Each time I hit one I have a mini whiplash and my new XXXXXL helmet that seems to weigh a ton compounds the jarring my neck takes. Good old Ibuprofen comes to the rescue though.

Just bought my tank of gas in Iowa. Riding along the Mississippi river called the scenic ridge road. Very, very pretty. When I crossed the Mississippi river, it was a big high bridge with that expanded metal floor that makes you feel like you are riding on ice and the wind was blowing a million miles an hour. Very scary for an old novice biker dude like me. Whooooeeeee lots of motorcycles on this road. My left arm is getting very tired doing the biker wave.

Sunday June 28th - morning

Blue skies here in Kankakee, IL. Quit raining about 3 am, rained really hard up until then. Everything is wet. Have it all draped across my bike, little shrubs, etc trying to dry it out. My French press finally broke, so I am drinking hot water while I read my Bible. Got to remember to buy some tea bags, decaff ones for the evening and another lighter, too much water in mine last night. Had to borrow some matches this morning from the neighbors. My goal today is to make it to LaCrosse, Wisconsin, about 350 miles. I will go into Iowa once I drive across Illinois, drive up the Mississippi, cross into Wisconsin, and drive up this scenic route along the river until I get to LaCrosse. Sounds good on paper.

My GPS quit working yesterday. It started shutting off and then restarting over and over. I finally figured out last night that I think it overheated. I will take it inside with me when I go to get something to drink so he can cool his little brain off some. It really is very handy when I am going through highly populated areas with lots of streets that don't show up on my map.

I have been on the road for an hour now this fine Sunday morning. The wind is blowing hard across the road, so I am in a constant state of turning the bike left to compensate. It is clear, no rain so far. I have enjoyed driving through Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois seeing all the farms and farm ground, lots of corn. No coffee at this station:-( Got to get some coffee soon before I go into some kind of shock from no caffeine! I will begin looking for a church at 10 am and see what pops up.

Man it is a real pain trying to fold up my map in this wind. Whoooooeeeee it is blowing.

Saturday June 27th - evening

Well, I made a decision today. I won't make it home in my 33 day goal, July 3rd. If I could do 430 miles each day I could make it. I went exactly 400 miles today and I am so tired as I sit here in my little camp, I don't even feel like fixing my dinner. I am afraid that if I do another like this one tomorrow I will end up having an accident. At the end of the day I was very mentally fatigued and could hardly figure out how to get to the campground from directions I had. I am bummed in that I wanted to be home for fireworks with my grand kids and to be home to preach on July 5th. I am working on getting somebody way better than me. I should make it home by Monday or Tuesday. I am relieved now that I have pulled the trigger on this decision because I will enjoy the rest of the trip without the pressure of getting the miles.

I am camped this evening at Kankakee, IL. Nice campground, but no showers. I will use some handy wipes, they work pretty good. I was sitting here trying to muster up the strength to make dinner and my neighbor camper came over and invited me to dinner. Corn on the cob and barbequed hamburgers:-)

It was hot today. I drank 32 oz of water, diet pepsi, or ice tea every hour and never went to the bathroom all day. The heat with the wind that is hitting me all day must really suck out the moisture. I think that is one of the reasons that I am so tired today. I tipped my bike over again today leaving a gas station. Thought I was going out a driveway, but hit a curb that was there that I didn't see. Picked it up OK without any assistance. Looked around at all the people gawking at me and shrugged like "I do that all the time." No damage to the bike.

Kankakee, where I am camped is about 30 miles south of Chicago. Large campground with lots of people and lots of kids, especially since it is a Saturday. Right on the Kankakee river. Big slow moving river with nice beach and lots of canoes to rent. The kids are coming by often to look at my bike and ask questions.

Had only 1 close call to a serious accident today. There was a corn topper going down the road about 25 MPH. I came behind him and when I could see that nobody was coming, I whipped out to go around him. At the same time he turned left in front of me to go into a corn field. I don't think he saw me. I slammed on the brakes and screeched to a stop without loosing control of the bike. I prayed for the next 30 minutes as I drove.

Hot all day and while we were eating dinner we had a fireworks display from God. Big bright, booming thunder and lightning, raining now. I will never again complain about the rain in Oregon. The couple who invited me to eat, come to this campground every weekend during the summer. They are Christians and they are both reading purpose drive life by Rick Warren. They live in Chicago in a 24 unit condo. They were quite fascinated with our work in Sierra Leone and Liberia and asked a ton of questions. I don't think either have been much further from Chicago than this campgroud. Raining hard now. Hope it quits by morning.

Saturday June 27th - noon

I went into Michigan, then into Indiana, and in about an hour I will be in Illinois. It is now 2 pm, so I should make it almost to Iowa by the end of the day. My new helmet is working good, except I haven't done too well remembering to lift the face shield before I spit:-( My nose has been running a lot and I can't blow it proper while riding and I hate to just let it run, so I sniff in hard and spit. Works good except when you forget to lift your face shield. YUK.

Saturday June 27th - morning

7 am Walnut Grove campground in Tiffin, Ohio. I have eaten my oat/flax breakfast, taken my vitamins, showered, shaved, and brushed my teeth. Now am going to read in my Bible for a while, pray, and ask God to protect me and keep me from wrecking on my motorcycle. I am going to commit my life to living for Him today. I hope to go through Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and camp somewhere in Illinois tonight.

Friday June 26th - evening

My tires wore out:-O I looked at them a couple of days ago and I thought, "I am not sure they will make the 10,000 miles that they were advertised to get." Stopped for gas an hour ago and looked, back one was totally bald. I went in the little store and asked if there were any motorcycle places around. A young kid in the store said yes and gave me their phone number. I called them and told them my story. They said they had my size in stock and even though they were due to close in an hour they would get them put on for me. Only problem is I am not going to get my 400 miles today. About 330. There is a camp site 8 miles from here. Probably won't get out of here until 7pm. I will sure feel better riding tomorrow on new tires. Messed up my budget for my trip. Will have to take it out of Sherri's marriage money:-)

Well, what started out as a bummer day turned out alright. This morning I prayed that the Lord would show me a place to get some new tires, if I needed them. Well after 350 miles of riding today, the tires were definitely hairless. Lady at the gas station told me where this place was. They were absolutely wonderful. Large place with lots of employees. They all wanted to talk about my trip. They hung my used tires on the wall and put a sign under them that read," these tires have rolled in 35 states". They gave me a bumper sticker with their store, town, and state on it. They took pity on me and sold me a very nice new helmet for less than I paid for my cheap one at Joe's in Salem. They washed and waxed my bike and found me a nice campsite with a shower for cheap. The sun is shining and the weather report is that it is supposed to be nice where I am tomorrow. New tires, new helmet, I can ride with confidence the rest of the trip.

I am camping at Tiffin Ohio.

Friday June 26th - noon

Lunch time - I am eating a chicken wrap and drinking a Diet Pepsi at a Dairy Queen near Akron, Ohio. Made almost 200 miles so far, about 100 on freeways. Started raining about 30 minutes after I started this morning and has rained continually since, but not real heavy. Kept my head down behind my windshield and cruised along. Roads never got really heavy with water, so I felt safe enough to keep going. The sun is coming out now and I am shedding some clothes.

Friday June 26th - morning

7 am my time, 4 am your time on the 26th of June. It poured last night, but is beautifully clear this morning. I have had tent parts hanging from every tree and draped over nearby picnic tables to dry along with my motorcycle cover. Hate packing all that stuff wet. If I do, it smells really bad tonight while I sleep in it. I am hoping for a non-rainy day all day today. We will see. If not, we will cope, adjust, and grumble:-) No, not really. Too many good things to grumble about anything, besides God says not to. I will work hard today with His strength to do His will.

Thursday June 25th - night

Here I sit in this really nice campground, and I am the only person in it. Kind of lonely with no other campers to talk to. I am feeling a bit depressed. I went back over all my figures and maps, I have 3300 miles left before I get to my house, and I have 8 days left. That is 412 miles a day. I am not sure what I did or left out to think I had less. Well if I can get some decent weather, I think I can do that. Probably going to have to break down and so some freeway riding. Oh well.

Have you ever seen those movies where a spaceship is re-entering the atmosphere and something goes wrong and it starts going faster and faster and the passengers are shaking and pieces of the spaceship start coming off - then it just burns up! That's the sensation I get when I ride my motorcycle on the freeways. It is like riding in some kind of wind tunnel with all those trucks going by sucking my clothes as they do. Oh well, I have learned a lot of new skills on this trip. I might as well learn how to ride this thing on the freeway. I was talking to one biker and he loves freeways, " Nothing cooler than burning down the freeway at 85 mph". Just about makes me barf my flax seed thinking about it. It is funny that it is no big deal driving a car all day on a freeway, but 30 minutes on my motorcycle about gives me a heart attack. Well, if I am going to be a real biker dude someday, I better quit fussing about it and git er done:-) I think I will try to ride 50 miles on the freeway tomorrow.

Laying in my sleeping bag in my tent listening to the most awesome thunder. Just rolls on and on and is so incredibly loud. Oh oh, here comes the rain. The Bible talks about God's voice sounding like thunder, Ps 29 says " The voice of God thunders. The voice of God is powerful. The voice of the Lord is majestic" Whoooeeee - it is getting louder. Boy, I hope the rain quits!

Thursday June 25th - evening

Great weather and great ride all day. Stopped to get gas at 3 pm and I asked the attendant if he knew the weather for tomorrow, he was looking at a weather site on line. He said tomorrow will be fine, but look at this - these are huge thunder heads moving in and they will be here in an hour and it is going to dump. Oh great I said! Do you know of any campgrounds close, I said? KOA up the road 17 miles. Off I went and here I sit will my tent all set up watching big black clouds moving in. I hope there is a bunch of lightning before it starts raining so I can watch it:-) I rode from Syracuse, New York, straight south in what they call the finger lakes area. Very beautiful. Lots of dairies, but didn't see any Guernseys:-( I rode Hwy 6 straight west once I got into Pennsylvania and I am almost in Ohio in a town named Warren. The whole day was great. Traffic was light, scenery was super, and the ride was semi curvy. Just enough to keep from going to sleep. I rode 320 miles today. I would have made 400 if the rain hadn't come. Tomorrow I will get 400 miles in.

This morning I smeared bag balm all over my mustache to keep it from blowing up and tickling my nose while I ride. Didn't work. It still tickled the heck out of me, but at least the inside of my nose won't be chapped:-)

Thursday June 25th - morning

8 days left to make it home by July 3rd and watch fireworks with my grandkids. I will try and get in 400 miles today and be in western Pennsylvania this evening. It is nice weather now, hope it continues for a while. Enjoyable staying with my son Sam's in-laws. They treated me well and sent me off with eggs and bacon for breakfast. I have enjoyed the trip very much, but I am for sure in the grind it out stage. I knew that point would come where what I really want is to be home, but I can't until I ride these miles. Well, I will try to get a bunch ground out today.

Wednesday June 24th - evening

I rode 350 miles today. I am staying the night at Shannon's parents home (my daughter-in-law), near Syracuse, New York. No freeze dried dinner tonight. We had barbecued rib-eye steak with mushrooms, potatos, and brusell sprouts:-) I had a great ride today. Went from the mountains of Vermont, into the Adirondak mountains of upper New York. Very, very beautiful ride, very popular with bikers. Passed several hundred and visited with several dozen during the day at gas stations. The farthest from home were a couple of guys from Chicago. Great weather today. Hoping for some more tomorrow.

One of the most irritating things is, when I am riding the wind blows mustache hairs into my nose and they flop around in there and it itches like crazy, more like a tickle inside your nose. It has gotten worse as I haven't trimmed my mustache since I left. It is getting so I am riding most of the time with one hand, as I am using the other one to scratch the inside of my nose.

Wednesday June 24th - morning

This morning the birds are chipring, loudly. They started at 4:30 am :-) The sun is just coming up and most of the clouds are gone. Thank you Jesus! It takes about a full hour and a half to get ready each morning. Getting tent, pad, sleeping bag rolled up, and everything packed in the right place and bungy corded on. Get water heated for coffee in the French press and oatmeal / flax prepared. I have to wash dishes too. I usually use the left over hot water, pour it in my bowl and scrape the oatmeal off with my fingernail, rinse with more hot water and there we have it (I'm sure it is sanitized). Never wash coffee stuff! Hey something new! For the last ten years I have not been able to stand on one foot for more than a second. That is why I always put my pants on sitting down. This morning, without thinking about it, I started putting my riding pants on standing up, to keep them from dragging in the dirt which they do when I am sitting down. I was about done when I realized that I had stood on one leg for at least 30 seconds! Wow. I tried it some more, just standing there, I could stand on one leg easy for a long time:-) I am not sure if it is sleeping on the ground, balancing on a bike all day, but my suspicions are that it is the flax seed:-) Well, we will see if my new physical skill lasts. Off I go for another day of trusting the Lord and seeing what happens.

Tuesday June 23rd - evening

Rode 350 miles today. That gives me 6636 miles ridden, a daily average of 288 miles. That means I need to average 327 miles each day from here on out to get home by July 3rd, my goal. I think I can do it. I think every day from here on out will be easier to get more miles. These highly populated states on the east coast are slow going. I am camping tonight at a camp ground in Groton Vermont. It is east of Montpelier on Hwy 302. Hot showers, though they cost 25 cents per 5 minutes, worth every penny:-) I asked the lady how much they charged for firewood, she said $4 for a little bundle. I decided to get some. She sent a kid down with a golf cart and trailor to deliver the wood. He got to looking at my bike and talking to me about it. When he left, he left a huge stack of wood. I asked if I got all that wood for $4! He said no, you get all that wood because you talked to me:-) Here I sit beside a nice fire eating my reconstituted dinner drinking bullion tea and writing my blog:-)

In case you didn't hear, I am a grandpa again. Shelly had her baby, Wyatt Phillip Crabb. Mom and baby are healthy:-) That is 11 grandkids now. I saw a number of signs today that said, watch out for moose. I did, but I didn't see a single moose:-( I sure enjoyed the beauty of the scenery today, lots of birch, aspen, hemlock, and fir. Lots of lakes and streams, reminded me a lot of Alaska. Enjoyed the ride today as I spent most of it contemplating God's character as I witnessed His creation. Romans says that if we really look, everything about God can be understood by what he has made. I crave knowing about God and I crave even more to know Him personally more and more.

There is something about a campfire that stimulates reflection. Sitting here in my folding camp chair reading the Bible, thinking about it, thinking about Patty & I. Thinking about our kids and grandkids, thinking about JBC, thinking about heaven. What I will do there. What it will feel like and look like. Thinking about God and His will for my life. Sitting and reflecting. Nice. Nice fire. Don't do this as much at home. Too busy.

Tuesday June 23rd - afternoon

Here I sit drinking a Diet Pepsi in Cornish, Maine, I am now ready to head west. It is 2 pm, so I am going to ride about 3 more hours and look for a place to camp. The rain has held off so far. If it starts raining, I will start looking in earnest for a place to pitch my tent. New Hampshire was gorgeous and Maine as well. I will see some more of New Hampshire now and then Vermont. No adventures so far today. Just lots of riding and seeing new country.

Tuesday June 23rd - mid morning

Here I sit at a Dunkin Donuts in New Hampshire, just across the border from Townsend Massachusetts. I really am just drinking coffee:-) 70 miles across Massachusetts, it was easily my least favorite state to drive through. Like one big city, lots of people and cars, all in a hurry. So far no rain, but it is dark, overcast, and cold, but I am not complaining. Going to get as far as I can today. Rick, my friend at the Sticks Tavern, got up to see me off this morning, though I am sure he didn't get to bed before 2 am. I asked if I could pray for him, he said "yes" so I prayed a blessing on him and his wife. He seemed very pleased. He said he would call me on July 4th to see if I made it home.

Monday Evening, June 22

I sat in Dunkin Donuts for 3 hours waiting for the rain to let up. Started talking to people in there to find someplace I could stay. While I was asking, this rough looking guy came up and introduced himself as a Biker. He asked how I was doing and I told him my dilemma. He said that he worked at the "Sticks Tavern" and they had some rooms and that he would have to do some cleaning first but that I could stay there. I said "super" and off we went. While we were getting my stuff moved in one of the "regulars" came over and started talking. He asked if I had changed the oil yet in the bike. I told him no, but I was trying to. I just hadn't found a place to do it, but that I had brought the synthetic oil with me to do it. He said, "Follow me. I have a shop down the road 1/8 of a mile." So I followed him and I got my oil changed.

The guy who got me the room took me out to eat dinner at another tavern where they serve food, and where the local Bikers hang out. He said they would love to hear my story about what I was doing. Brian, the guy helping me, got me a T-shirt for a souvenir that says, "Sticks Tavern - 2nd Annual Poker Run & Pig Roast." It will be one of my favorite mementos of this trip!

I had a diet Pepsi and a Buffalo Burger for dinner and met a bunch of guys who ride motorcycles, some who were part of the Hell's Angels, and all who have been dreaming of doing what I am doing. They asked a lot of questions and I got their addresses to write to when I get home. They thought I was OK for a religious guy. They all tried to locate a full face helmet for me, but none to be found. They don't have helmet laws here, and as one guy said, "Only guys from Oregon wear helmets." Well, I am going to bed and praying that it doesn't rain tomorrow. Love you all. Dee

Monday Morning, June 22

It's hard to imagine that I have been doing this for three weeks. All the days seem to run together. The scenery, the culture, the experiences. Too much information for my brain to process in such a short time. Got up to a soggy day. Everything is wet. A glimmer of sunshine at 6am so I had everything hanging up on tree limbs. My motorcycle has become a clothes line. I hate packing everything wet because it is wet in the evening when I unpack it and it has acquired a bit of a musty odor. The inside of my tent is dry as well as my sleeping bag so I will quit whining about a little smell. I am an ex-dairy farmer (no problem with smells!) First thing every morning I take a shower (where one is available), and there is usually just one water temperature; Wow! Wakes me right up! Then I heat water on my handy-dandy one-burner camp stove and make coffee and my oatmeal-flax breakfast. I put the balance of hot water in my bowl and use my finger to wash away all the sticking oatmeal. Then I sit down and read my Bible and pray and ask God to keep me safe and to experience Him to the fullest, and drink two cups of the finest coffee ever made. Praying for my family and my church. Whooeee, the Bike started another morning. Praise the Lord!

At 9am I was in Connecticut. Oregon type rain - intermittent drizzle. I sat for a while in a Dunkin Donuts drinking a cup of coffee and warming up (No donuts!) I am riding through a lot of little burgs. Old houses. Mostly 45mph limits on semi-winding roads and 30mph in the towns. Fun speed because I can look at the scenery, but slow covering ground.

At Noon I found another Dunkin Donuts in Chepachet, Rhode Island and drank coffee while I waited for the rain to let up. Raining hard right now. If this keeps up I won't make Maine tonight. The rain is not letting up and the weather report is for even worse. SO, I am spending the night in the STICKS TAVERN. There are evidently a lot of motorcyclists through here and a lot of the taverns have rooms for bikers to stay overnight. So that's what I'm going to do. The owner even gave me a souvenir T-shirt. :-) Only made 250 miles today, but can't ride in a steady downpour.

One of the things that I knew when I left on this trip was that I was a motorcycle riding novice. I had never ridden a motorcycle in my life except for a Yamaha Trail 90 on the farm when I was a kid, but never on the road. When I got started , all the habits that I had developed to drive a car no longer worked. Everything was different. I had to think every time I shifted: "Let's see now, is it one down and four up or the other way round." Sometimes I would shift down when I should have shifted up and I would get this sudden unexpected slow down as I released the clutch. Speaking of the clutch, it is no longer on the floor, it is on one of the handle bars. Most of the time I remember that it is the handle on the left but occasionally I forget. You don't even want to know what that looks like! The throttle is now a thing that is run by my hand, not my foot. Do I twist it up or down to go faster? Sometimes I just do it a little bit and figure it out by trial and error. I have figured out that if I turn loose of the throttle that it will slow down on its own as long as I remember it is the right hand, not the left. I have yet to decide if all of this is a result of being a novice or being old and senile! I have now ridden over 6000 miles on this trip and I seem to be doing more by habit. Though because of being a novice I have been incredibly attentive in my driving. Brings back the days of learning to drive a car and worse yet, the days of riding in the car that one of my kids was driving as they learned.

Sunday evening, later - June 21st

One of my biggest challenges on this trip is forgetting things Being an old guy this has become more of an issue. When I stop to read the map, I get out my reading glasses to read it and then I take off down the road with them still on and it takes me awhile to figure why everything is so blurry. I take off my gloves so I can get the map and put on my glasses and I set them on the gas tank. I forget to put them back on, so I have to pull back over and run down the road and pick them up out of the road where they have fallen. One of the good things about my bike is that it won't start with the kick stand down. Otherwise I probably would have ripped it off by now. Oh the wonder of God's grace to me:-) False alarm! My little headlight does work:-) There is a little switch on the back of it to use to turn if off and I must have switched it off while I was putting the rain cover on:-) The bike has ran well. Pretty consistently getting 50 - 54 mpg. Starts every morning first crank. I have discovered that it doesn't want to start on a steep incline though:-) At this stage in the trip I would give myself an A for planning. I did bring way too many clothes:-) I will bring 3/4 of what I brought untouched. I also didn't need to bring my folding table. There has been a picnic table in every camp ground. I am on the other hand very thankful that I brought my folding camp chair. So nice to be able to sit in it in the evenings and read & write. I have developed a real fondness for freeze dried dinners, oatmeal, and flax seed breakfasts:-)

Sunday evening - June 21st

Do you know what my new least favorite thing is on this trip? The last several campsites have been mosquito free so they have faded from my memory, and I haven't seen a cattle truck for a week. My new least favorite thing is "round abouts". I remember seeing them when I was in England and thinking "boy am I glad they don't have those things in the states!" Well, they have quite a few of them on this side of the US. I spent some time today going round and round on a number of them trying to figure out which little exit I was supposed to take. After several laps around I get so disoriented that I took the exit that I came in on. My GPS didn't help me much:-(( Creativity is a character trait that we can develop if we want, to a very high degree. One of the character traits of God that we see all around us is His creativity. Watching fireflies at night, seeing the Grand Canyon, has made me so aware of the greatness of God's creativity. I have come to the conclusion on this trip that those who will develop it the most in their own lives are those who set and pursue really big goals and dreams. The pursuit of these goals will result in lots of problems and barriers. As these are overcome and solved, creativity gets stronger, bigger, and more powerful in us. One of the barriers to completing this trip could be mechanical failure of my motorcycle. I got a motorcycle endorsement on my AAA coverage and bought a warrantee that is honored by any motorcycle shop and covers everything but tires. I also bought new tires. I had my first problem with my bike today. I have one big headlight and two smaller ones, one on each side of the big one. I don't drive at night, but I like the extra visibility the extra two lights give. One of them quit working today. I bought replacement bulbs and fuses for everything, but I think they are sitting at home in my shop. Oh well. If that is my biggest mechanical issue, I will smile:-)

Sunday, June 21st

Left Morgantown, Pennsylvania at 7am this morning. Started raining about 5 minutes later and rained all day off and on. Not so hard that I couldn't see or so that the road had lots of standing water. I rode 250 miles today. I was going to try and get over 300 but the riding in the rain wore me out and froze me out as well. I am camped at Sharon, Connecticut. A very beautiful campground with lots of big trees and a shower. I bought a bundle of firewood for $5 and I am going to build me a fire and sit by it later this evening. I might even throw a few pine cones in the fire and make a few major new commitments to God in my service for Him. :-) I am going to have freeze-dried Beef Stroganoff for dinner. Yum, yum! I am going to camp in Fryeberg, Maine tomorrow night and then it is all West after that. This ole horse can already smell the hay at home. Who knows, once I get started for home I may put in some 600 mile days, especially if I can get some good weather. I have 21 days done and 6,250 mi. That is about 50 miles short of my 300 mile a day goal. I won't have any trouble making it up once I get some straight roads and good weather.

Saturday Night, June 20th

Tomorrow if the weather cooperates at all I will go to Newton, New Jersey. From there to Newburgh, New York, across the top of Connecticut, and into Rhode Island and maybe into Massachusetts. I am anxious to get to Maine and then I am headed home. Hallelujah!! Looking forward to hearing how Father's Day Weekend went at church. Hope all you fathers have a great day with your families tomorrow. Dee

Saturday Morning, June 20

Every night I put this very nice, waterproof cover on my bike. I lay across the seat of the bike everything I don't want to get wet if it rains. I have an alarm that I connect to it so that if anybody pulls on it in the middle of the night this terrible, awful, incredibly loud siren goes off. It would then wake me and I would yell at the would-be robber to get out of here before I have to get up and beat him up. :-) Well, this morning I got up at my usual 5:30am and forgot about the alarm and set it off. Then I couldn't remember how to shut if off, but I eventually got it. This is Saturday morning, with zillions of people from Philadelphia camping. Oh well, so much for their sleeping-in morning.

Today will be different in that every mile up to now has been according to my plan that I have been making for the last year. Today I will make it up as I go, having changed because of not wanting to go into New Jersey on a Friday night. I will try to keep from getting lost.

It is now 10am. I have been riding for 3 hours. Rain started coming down so hard that when a car came by me from the other direction it about washed me off the road. I am not feeling safe at all about riding in this. I stopped at a little food mart that has no gas because a pump is leaking. I'm sitting inside drinking coffee. There is no business because of no gas so the young man running the place who is from India is enjoying my company. There is a motel up the road 30 min. that I located with his help. A low-end beater type that has rooms for $40, so if the rain doesn't let up in an hour I will head there. The weather station here in the store says tomorrow will be better. The whole world is praying for sunshine in New York so Tiger Woods can play golf at the U.S. Open, so I hope that helps me. :-)

Well, here it is noon on Saturday my 20th day of riding, and I am sitting in a motel room because of torrential downpours in Amish Country, Pennsylvania. I am in Morgantown. I will spend the day studying, writing, reading, and see if I can get several really good sermons done. I will work at not feeling lonely, bored or depressed. :-)

Late Friday Night, June 19

Met a nice guy in camp tonight. Named Dave. Came over and started talking motorcycles when he saw mine, and then he started to share with me about his faith in Christ. Talked about "Bikers for Christ." When he found out I was a Christian we had a very nice sharing about our lives, kids, churches, etc.

Just laid down in my nice little tent on my 1 inch foam pad in my very comfortable sleeping bag, and after a day like today thinking, "Yeh, it just doesn't get much better than this." :-) Thanking God for all of you. Dee

Friday Night, June 19th

Covering 342 miles today sounds good, but the only problem is that I got lost twice and about 50 miles was makeup. The first time was when I programmed my GPS for a city in Northeast Maryland where I wanted to go. I forgot to push the little button that says "no freeways." My GPS loves freeways and it will send me onto every freeway in the USA if I don't tell it not to. So, before I know it I am on this Freeway. One of the problems with freeways is that the traffic is so heavy I don't dare look down at my GPS. The freeway kept getting wider and wider and before I knew it there were like 40 lanes. I finally got off and ended up at a Motel. I pulled into the parking lot to figure out where I was and to find a bathroom! I got my map out and a guy came over and asked where I was trying to go. I asked him where I was and he said, downtown Baltimore!! I showed him on the map where I wanted to get to and he gave me a few simple instructions and in about an hour I was where I wanted to be.

The town I am at tonight is Quarryville, not Quartzville. Anyway, the second time I got lost I was trying to go to Newark, Delaware, buy some gas to get my receipt and then head to Pennsylvania. I programmed in Newark, but instead of Newark, Delaware, I put in Newark, Maryland. After about 40 min. I thought this isn't right, so I stopped at a gas station and got out my map and a guy came over and asked if he could help and I asked him to show me on the map where I was and I had gone in totally the wrong way.

When I started calling campgrounds I got a rude awakening. Any campground within 100 miles of Philadelphia was going to be full on a Friday night. I kept trying. One lady said they could give me single tent site for $88. I gave her my, "I have been riding a motorcycle for 19 days" line but her response was, "I have heard better stories than that one." I kept calling and finally got a Christian campground and they said they could give me a spot for $22 if I was sure I was a pastor. :-)

When I got to where I was supposed to turn into the campground the main road I was on was real steep. There was a bunch of traffic so I stopped and waited to turn left into the campground. A big line of cars built up behind me. Finally there was a break in the traffic. I hadn't gotten my bike shifted all the way down to first and when I started to go I killed it. And then it wouldn't start. So now I had cars lining up from both directions. So I tried to push it over to the driveway of the campground and just about tipped the bike over. I used the starter motor with it in gear and managed to get it out of the street. (Just about the time I think I am finally getting close to being a real Biker Dude I do something like that.) Got it started and made it to the camp and found the bathroom! I think I'm going to sleep well tonight!

Please pray for my "sense of direction," and that God will keep sending people to give me good directions when I need them! I have a couple more days of heavy traffic to deal with, but then it should be getting better. Appreciate all of you! I love you, Dee.

Friday, June 19th

Got left at 7am this morning. It was 60 degrees and very cold riding. Spent about an hour riding on a freeway going East in Maryland. Lots of coal trucks. Saw several big coal mines in West Virginia. I don't like riding on freeways but I probably will need to do that a bunch today to get anywhere.

Ended up riding 342 miles, and it didn't rain on me once! I am now camped in Quartzville, Pennsylvania, which is Amish country. I passed five buggies pulled by horses. After I left West Virginia I went to Maryland and then into Delaware, and then Pennsylvania.

Thursday Night, June 18th

Got a good start this morning. Left Gate City, Virginia at 7am and two hours later I was in Pikeville, Kentucky. It was super foggy when I left this morning, but no rain. Rode through the Cumberland Gap. Very gorgeous scenery, what I could see after the fog lifted. Fairly mountainous with lots of hardwood forests. Lots of up and down riding.

Rode 430 miles today and didn't get rained on once! Most of the day there were thunderheads in front of me, behind me, to my left, and to my right but over me were clear skies. The last 150 miles that I did were in the Allegheny Mountains, and it took me five hours. Averaged 30 mph, 90 degree climbs with constant 20-30 mph curves. There were at least 40 of those kinds of hills. Wild!! Very pretty scenery, lots of trees, little valleys with farms, even saw one dairy. Rode 12 hours but I feel good making up the time that I lost yesterday. I am looking forward to some flat and relatively straight roads tomorrow, but I am not looking forward to the traffic as I go through Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey. I am camped at Davis, West Virginia. It is near Elkins.

Was looking for this campground that was in my camping book and I couldn't find it. I pulled into this driveway where a lady was standing to ask directions (I have gotten pretty good at that!). I asked her where it was and she told me and then I noticed a tent set up not too far from where we were. I asked her if this was a campsite and she said it was a small one she and her husband had set up on their 5 acres of land to make a little extra money. She said I could stay for $10. Has water, electricity, showers, and a great view. No mosquitoes in the camp, either!

She invited me down to their campfire to visit later, so I went up and met my neighbors. The six couples who are camped here all came. All older, retired people in motor homes. They were way more interested in talking about my grandkids than the motorcycle trip, which suited me fine. The grandkids are one of my most favorite subjects. One couple had 13 and I came in second with our 11. (I think I have that right.) I got a cup of decaf tea and a cookie out of the deal.

Well, now I am going to load up with Ibuprofen and get into my sleeping bag. Thanks to all of you who are praying so faithfully for me. It was a really good day. I'm praying for you! I love you. Dee

Thursday Morning, June 18

I really let the weather station get in my head last night. Went to bed discouraged thinking it was going to be impossible to achieve the goal. Spent some time reading Psalms and praying. Got up this morning with resolve. Put the cover for the bike and my little tent on top, easy to get to. If it starts raining hard where I feel it is unsafe to continue I will stop, put the cover on my bike, set my tent up and wait until it stops, and then go on some more. Most of the really bad storms only last an hour at most. I should be in Davis, West Virginia, tonight. It is near Elkins. Praying all of you have a safe and productive day.

Late Wednesday Night - June 17

They just issued a flash flood warning for Southwest Virginia where I presently am. The weather forecast for the area I am due to drive through is in "Biblical proportions", quoting the weather station. Please pray that I can get enough clearing to ride my motorcycle safely.

Wednesday Evening - June 17

Got up this morning at 6 am and got my handy-dandy little one burner cook stove out and heated water and fixed my oatmeal/flaxseed breakfast and made coffee (I taped my french press together. It leaks but I can get a cup of good coffee). Looked at my maps and realized that I was going to have to do the Dragon Tail again. One good thing is that I left earlier than the other bikers so I didn't have any of those hot-shot sport bikers on my tail pushing me, so I took it nice and easy. Bought myself a bumper sticker for my aluminum boxes that says, "I did the Dragon Tail." Should have gotten two!

I am now in Gates City, Virginia, just north of Johnson City, Tennessee. I had hoped to make it to Kentucky but it started pouring rain, and when it rains here it gets right with it! I stood under a business awning for an hour waiting for it to quit. Some guys in the business came out and told me there was a Days Inn around the corner, so I gave in and here I sit. I won't lose any time because I will just go into Kentucky until I find a gas station and get my receipt for that State and then head up through West Virginia to Maryland. I don't mind riding in "regular" rain, but when it pours like it has the last couple of times, I have gotten rained off the road because I can't see - and that could be a problem! The forecast for the entire East Coast for the next week is for rain. One good thing is that it seldom rains for more than an hour, and then I can be back on the road again.

Hadn't really budgeted for all these motel stays, but sure am appreciating sleeping in a real bed. Am enjoying reading the texts from many of you. Thanks for reading the blog. Dee

Wednesday, June 17th

I haven't been in areas that had cell phone service so I'm a little behind in the blog. Night before last I had a good night of camping at Sylvania, Georgia. No rattlesnakes got into my tent, no crocodiles tried to get in either, and I only got one additional mosquito bite. I headed west yesterday morning up the west side of South Carolina on Hwy. 25.

Rode 360 miles yesterday. I went through all South Carolina and through most of North Carolina. I rode in the Appalachian Mts. and the Smokey Mts. This was the windingest, curviest piece of road I have ever done. One section called the Dragon's Tail is 320 turns in 11 miles. These are turns that are marked at 20 mph. I rode on about 100 miles of road almost that winding. It took me four hours to ride that 100 miles. I never dragged a peg but I was getting pretty good at cornering at relatively high speeds, but I have to admit that when I came upon a slow car I was relieved that I had to slow down. Praise the Lord for "Grandma Drivers!" It was a very tiring day. The kind of riding I did today keeps your heart in your throat, and the amount of adrenaline I used up made me feel like a limp rag at the end of the day.

I camped last night at Fontana, North Carolina. There is a big dam making a big reservoir. I enjoyed eating my Oregon freeze dried dinner of beef stew. Really good. I had time to sit in my handy-dandy little folding chair while praying for my church family and watching the fire flies. There are zillions out tonight. They are everywhere. What a nice treat from God. Like sitting and watching "holy fireworks." :-)

Planning to ride through Tennessee today. I'm praying that God blesses your day. Please keep praying for me. Dee

Monday Night, June 15th

There are four things I hate on a 30 day motorcycle trip: (1) Mosquitos. They may move down from number one when the experience of zillions of them attacking me as I camped near the Mississippi River fades in my memory and the 100 plus bites that I have quit itching. (2) thunder storms with incredibly high winds, lots of lightning just looking for a motorcycle rider to strike, and more rain in 30 minutes than comes out of a fire hose. (3) Truck drivers that are in a hurry; they all are, and are driving way faster than I am. (4) High winds that make riding motorcycles a lot of high-tension work, and a new one gets added to the list, (5) bees and yellow jackets that go up the sleeve of your coat and sting you right when you are in heavy traffic. Ohhhhhhhhhhh that hurts!

Well, here I am at my camp spot for the day. The owner isn't here so I am sitting in the shade texting this blog waiting for him. Rode 350 miles today. Good weather all the way. Pleasant day of riding on back roads at 55 mph with very few trucks. I asked a lady camped here if there were mosquitos and she said no, but they do have zillions of little black gnats that bite read hard. Oh, no! Now I will have to add one more thing to the list of things I hate.

A sad thing happened today. I stopped for gas and a diet coke. I went in after filling up and paid my bill and drank the coke and then came out, got on my bike and took off the way I had just come from. I went about 10 miles and noticed a street I had seen before I stopped for gas. It was named "Dee's Street." When I saw it the second time I thought, "Wow, two streets by that name." And then the thought popped into my head, "You aren't going the way you just came from, are you?" Na, I couldn't do that! Then I saw a church I had noticed earlier, so I turned around and thought, "They probably shouldn't let senile old guys like me out on a trip by themselves. They could get lost and never come home!"

I stopped for gas today and it was in a "pretty back-woodsy" place, or whatever they call them in Georgia. Anyway, the gas nozzles didn't have automatic shutoff on them. I started pumping and about then some "good ole boy" started talking to me. I forgot what I was doing and pretty soon he yelled and I looked down and gas was running everywhere. Ooooooooh was the old lady in the store mad. Ruined my mileage figures for that tank.

I decided today that riding motorcycles and life are a lot alike. Almost everything is trying to knock you over. You just have to figure out how to cope with the "knocker downers" using God's wisdom and strength. To cope with the mosquitos I bought some really strong mosquito repellent. I brought some with me that a doctor recommended because it wouldn't cause skin cancer. The only trouble is it kept the mosquitos off about as good as spit. Good old fashioned 100% deet may give me skin cancer but it keeps those critters off.

At the end of today, Monday the 15th, I have 4725 miles. That is 315 miles per day; 9730 miles is the total miles for my charted trip. That means it will take me another 16 days to get home. Close to half way. :-)

This place I am staying at tonight is interesting. Almost everybody is a permanent resident in RVs here, working on some major gas pipe line going in nearby. The kids have been over looking at my motorcycle and asking questions. The parents are a little dubious of a guy that is off galavanting around the country and not working. My beef stroganof is about ready. Just pour in the hot water and it's ready to be enjoyed!

A fellow just walked by and asked if my tent kept out snakes because there are a lot of them. I assured him that it did. (I hope it does!) A little kid came over as I was boiling my water for my freeze dried dinner. He asked what I was having. I told him beef stroganof. He said, "Sounds good. Save me some, I will be back." And off he pedaled. I maybe should get out the flaxseed and oatmeal and give him some of that.

The kid never came back but the groundskeeper came by and asked what I was eating. He pointed to a group barbequeing and said they were having rattlesnake. I asked if he was joking and he said no, they catch one just about every day and clean it and bbq it. I told him I would stick with my freeze dried dinner. He also said that there was an alligator in the pond that my tent is next to. He said nobody knows how he got in there. After one of the floods they had recently he just showed up. Said nobody has seen him up on the land yet. Hope he stays put tonight.

The reason that it takes 8 hours to go 300 miles is because in staying almost exclusively off of freeways I drive through a lot of little towns like Jefferson. You slow down to 30mph and have either a triffic light or a stop sign. In this part of the country there is a little town at least every 10 miles. I enjoy the scenery and the culture doing it this way, but it is much slower than charging along on the freeways. Saw a big ole tortise in the road today. Must have been 18 inches across.

Praying for you! Please pray for me. Dee

Monday Morning, June 15

It's now 7:33 am East Coast time, Monday morning, and I am starting the third week of this journey of 10,000 miles going around the US hitting all lower 48 states. I should be close to half done by tonight. We will see. I had a very good night's sleep in the motel and even slept in a little. So far the trip has been lots of adventures with experiences and people. I have had a great time studying and preparing sermons in the evenings and really feel that this has been a major spiritual pilgrimage for me. The biggest challenge has been that I have gotten very lonely without Patty and family and friends, although the alone time has been super refreshing and a key to the spiritual growth. The riding 8 hours every day especially in the heat has been a challenge but is about the same as the grind of preparing for a marathon. We will see what the day holds. I am trusting God for every detail of the day. Stay faithful. I love you, Dee.

Sunday, June 14th

Here I sit in a nice comfortable motel room in Donaldson, Georgia. I got caught in a horrific thunder storm. I was riding through this town when all of a sudden the wind started blowing so hard I thought a tornado was happening or something. I was afraid it was going to blow my bike over with me on it. I stopped in the middle of the street and pushed my bike into a parking lot. Got the cover for it out, got it covered and I ran over and stood under the eaves of a business. I am glad they had closed already. It must have rained a zillion inches in 30 minutes. I have never seen it rain that hard, not even in Africa. Got my handy-dandy cell phone out after it quit, called information and got thename of a motel. Called, and the manager had recently moved from Baker City, OR and said he would give a fellow Oregonian a good deal, and he did. Even let me push my bike into a covered area for the night.

I said in one of my previous entries that trucks were my least favorite part of this trip, but I have changed that to mosquitos. After showering tonight in my nice motel room I looked in the mirror, and I kid you not, there are at least 100 mosquito bites. I got them two nights ago when I camped near the Mississippi River. They must have gotten into my tent while I was cooking, and didn't have it completely closed. That night they had a royal feast. It was particularly hot that night, so I didn't sleep with a t-shirt on. My back looks like Pastor Bob shot me with a shot gun. I itch so bad that I am jumping up and taking a cold shower about every 30 minutes. (A little sympathy from a few of you would probably help. :-)

I rode about 275 miles today. Started in Alabama, went into Florida, and then into Georgia. I am still slightly ahead of schedule even with the wind-thunder-lightening-rain storm interruption to my goal for today. My plan is to ride 350 miles tomorrow, which will put me into Sylvania, Georgia, right next to the South Carolina border.

I went to church today in Alabama at Oak Grove Baptist Church. I decided that the first church I saw after 10 o'clock I would stop at and this ended up being the one. About 25 people in attendance. They all were so old that two of the men called me "young man," and the pastor made mention of the young man from Oregon that was visiting them today. I enjoyed the time very much. I don't think they get many visitors and they seemed very honored that I visited them. It felt good to be able to encourage them.

I almost ran over an armadillo today. I have seen quite a few of them dead along the road. I am not sure what that experience would feel like, running over an armadillo. I ran over a 2x4 board laying in the road where they were doing road construction and that made my bike buck pretty good. Almost bit my tongue. The armadillo was bigger than the 2x4 for sure.

All the states that I have been through have been pretty, each in a different kind of way. Alabama has been particularly pretty. I didn't realize that they had so much timber, at least in the south part. Lots of yellow pine. I even rode by a clear cut. Looked like Oregon. I saw cotton fields today. Lots of peanuts. Millions of acres of corn, much of it for ethonal. Haven't seen any dairies. I guess I will have to wait until I get to Wisconsin.

Every morning I spend some time working on a new Bible memory verse and then reviewing it in my head all during the day. Thinking about what it means and applying it to my life. Today's was Psalm 18:3-4 - "The Lord girds me with strength. He makes my way blameless. He makes my feet like deers' feet and sets me up on my high places. He trains my hands for battle so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze."

I was glad to hear that both Pastor Mike and Saah didn't "mess up" in the Services this weekend, and that Pastor Bob and Journey had a good "first Service." Keep praying that God will continue to bless JBC and all our daughter churches with more and more opportunities to reach people for Him. Praying for all of you! I love you! Dee

Saturday, June 13

I'm enjoying seeing fireflies everywhere in the evening. They are so cool and fun to watch. God's creativity is amazing. The really amazing thing is that He is so big and powerful and wise but He still notices every detail of my life and loves with a love so big I can't comprehend it.

Today I headed south through the rest of Mississippi, through Louisiana, and I'm camping now near Wilma, Alabama. About 330 miles of traveling. I learned things today that I never knew. Arkansas raises a lot of rice. So does Mississippi. Mississippi burns its grain stubble way more than Oregon. I drove through a bunch of smoke today. Mississippi doesn't seem to have as many cattle trucks as Arkansas does. Praise the Lord :-) Rained on me hard right after I came across the Mississippi River. But then in 30 minutes the sun came out and then it was hotter than Africa! So many mosquitos that I am laying in my tent reading and writing and mocking the mosquitos as they fly around trying to get in. :-)

Intimidation is a funny thing. Even though I was only going 20 mph when I had the close call on the gravel road, I thought about it for the next couple of hours, and the more I thought about it, the spookier I got. I remember a lady telling me that she didn't fly because she kept thinking about planes she had seen in the news that crashed. Planes, motorcycles, cars are one thing, but I can remember many times I got intimidated and fearful over making a decision or doing something that I knew I needed to do because I kept thinking about "what if" I did the wrong thing. The more I pray whenever I get anxious, the more peace and confidence God gives me. I am going to stay off gravel roads from now on, though!

The place that I stayed last night was my least favorite of any camp site: "Leroy Pierce National Forest Campground" out of Hollandale, Mississippi. The scenery was incredible but the mosquitos were the fiercest that I have ever encountered in my many years of hunting and fishing. The mosquito repellent wasn't working so I went into the tent to read and write. Uncomfortable to do that for several hours, but no other way. In the morning when I woke up there were about 20 real big ones flying around. How did they get in here? They must have chewed a hole in my tent. I started killing them, slapping them against the inside of my tent. Everyone had about a quart of blood in them. When I got done killing them it looked worse than a Rambo movie in my tent. I was afraid I was going to faint from loss of blood, but a little flax for breakfast gave me my strength back. :-)

I used to wonder why motorcycle riders all tended to ride hunched over and with their knees sticking out. I decided that it was just being a cool motorcycle dude. But now I ride hunched over because after hours sittin on this bike feeling every bump in the road, that position is the most comfortable. I am amazed at how good my back is feeling. The reason for the knees sticking out is to catch wind. You are sitting right on top of the engine and your bottom gets hot and sweats and then when you get off your bike it looks like you wet your pants. That is certainly not cool looking. So you stick your knees out to catch the air and it cools and evaporates in the appropriate places. So now I look like a cool Biker Dude.

Back to my camp site near Wilma, Alabama. It is very beautiful with lots of trees and shade. There are very few mosquitos and the ones that are here are very nice. The campsite cost $10, which has been about the average. I rode 350 miles today and they were very peaceful and enjoyable miles. The speed limit on all non-interstate freeways in Miss., Louisiana, and Ala. is 55mph. I like riding 55. In Texas, Arkansas, OK, Missouri and Kansas the speed limit was 70 on everything except for gravel driveways. I do not like riding my bike that fast, so I continuously ticked off drivers behind me who would then make obscene gestures. The temperature was around 90 which is comfortable on my motorcycle even with the big coat I wear. Unzip the coat halfway so wind can blow in, hold my arms just so , so that wind blows up my sleeves, put my feet up on the highway pegs so wind blows up my pant legs, and keep my knees out (we talked about that already) and it is as good as air conditioning.

My least favorite thing on this trip is trucks. Almost all are in a big hurry. They think that they are king of the road. None of them like me in front of them, and they intimidate me to death. When they pass me the wind that they create with their mass just about blows me off the road. And then there are the cattle trucks!

I can't believe it! Those mosquitos that got into my tent last night bit me on my bald spot, and because that is such a "small" area, there were a bunch of bites in a very small area and today while I was riding they were itching like crazy under my helmet. I am sure I looked funny trying to ride my bike with one hand and putting my other hand on the top of my helmet scooting it all around to scratch my head. I am not sure why God created mosquitos. I think it is part of the curse.

One of the things that I think about while riding is dying. As cars are whizzing past in the other lane 5 to 10 feet away it is easy to think that all I would have to do is not pay attention for a few seconds and I would be dead. The same applies with a car but because I am inclosed, with seat belts and air bags I rarely think the same way. Whenever I think about dying in a motorcycle crash, I think, "What then?" Because of my personal faith in Jesus Christ I have no doubt whatsoever of what would be next. In the Bible it says that Jesus will take away the fear of death for those who trust him. I can sincerely say that I have no fear of death because to die is to go to heaven and that is going to be an unbelievable place. I am going to do all I can to stick around as long as possible even in light of riding a motorcycle 8 hours a day for 30 days straight. I am very much looking forward to going to my eternal home with God because of my faith.

I called Pastor Mike tonight before church and told him not to "mess up." I'm thinking about all of you and praying for you. Please continue to pray for me. I love you, Dee.

Friday, June 12

Big crisis this morning! A squirrel ate one of my packages of oatmeal and flax. Now I will be one bag short for the trip! I guess I will have to go out for eggs and bacon and pancakes one morning. :-) Another really big crisis when my motorcycle fell over, my French Press coffee maker broke. Now I am going to have to drink that weak stuff at gas stations.

Speaking of things going wrong: I destroyed my good camera in the rain, my GPS quit working, I've gotten lost 3 times, I have lost my keys a dozen times, I left my wallet on the counter of a gas station, my nose is several times smaller than it was because of multiple skin peels from being out in the wind and sun all day because of no face screen on my helmet (I do put sun screen on regularly). Several have offered to buy me a new one but I am getting way too many sermon illustrations without it.

One of the reasons that a trip like this is such a groiwng experience is that everything that can go wrong does, but at a much higher rate of incidence, so every day there are a new set of problems to solve with a rejoicing spirit. Just figuring out the next camping site is a major issue every day. It isn't just the challenges, it is working hard to have a really good attitude so that everything is fun, even the sore backside and tired back from sleeping on the ground. Every morning I pray my list of commitments to the Lord, and a key one is to rejoice always!

Sorry if I confused some of you the other day. I drove from Oklahoma up into Kansas and then drove back into Oklahoma where I camped. I was only in Missouri long enough to get gas so I have my receipt from every state and maybe get a bumper sticker for my aluminum saddle bags.

Just stopped at Leroy Percy State Park near Hollandale, Mississippi. Rode 350 miles today through the Ozarks in Arkansas and on into Mississippi. People in Arkansas aren't nearly as friendly as those in Oklahoma. Not rude or mean, just busy doing their own thing. They are not interested in visiting with someone they haven't met before. I suspect I tend to be more like those I have met in Arkansas instead of those I met in Oklahoma. I am going to work hard redeeming every chance encounter as if the Lord arranged it. "Help me, Lord, to keep this commitment."

Whoooeee, I will never program my GPS for "shortest" route again. It sent me down this gravel road that turned out to be 20 miles long. The worst thing was a section that had been flooded and was all muddy. My front tire hit that and I looked like a fish flopping in the bottom of a boat. I was going everywhere and about to flip out of control. I yelled at the very top of my lungs, "Help me, Jesus!!" Somehow I got through that. I am going to be content with not taking the "short" way from now on. Keep praying for me!! I need it!

Thursday - June 11

I've been riding through The Ozarks today. This blog will be shorter than most because I don't have sending capability for the texts. Have to get through these mountains to where there are more towers.

Had an adventure today I was hoping I could avoid on this trip. I had parked the bike on the shoulder of the road so I could take some pictures. It was on an incline and the bike tipped over. I tried for a long while to get it up but wasn't having much success. God sent a person to come help me and we were able to get it upright and it runs just fine. I think I'm going to have a sore back tonight, though.

I brought a little one-burner back packer's stove for this trip. It burns regular gasoline which is cool because the 2 gallons of gas that I brought in case I ran out of gas (motorcycles don't have very big gas tanks) would work for my stove as well. There is a little reservoir that you let fill with a little gasoline. You then light this small amount of gas and it heats up the manifold and then the gas vaporizes and it works just like propane would. I tried lighting it the other morning without my reading glasses on and I couldn't see when I had enough gasoline in the little bowl. I filled the bowl clear full and quite a bit ran over as well. When I lit the gasoline it made an inferno about three feet high. The lady who ran the camp came running out of her office saying, "Sir, sir. Campfires are not allowed!" :-)

Do you know what is the most aggravating invention of man? The zipper! It always gets hung up at the worst times. I have two zippers on my tent and one on my sleeping bag. A couple of evenings ago it didn't look at all like rain so I decided to leave everything out. That would save me a lot of time in the morning. At 3 am it started to rain. I woke up with a start as I heard the rain hitting the tent. The zipper on my sleeping bag got stuck. I managed to get out of it without unzipping it, and then the inside zipper hung up on the tent. I finally got it down and the outside zipper hung up. I finally got outside, and dried out all the stuff that got wet the next day in a big KOA dryer. Cost me 3 dollars in quarters.

I'm learning and growing. Praying that all of you are doing the same. Looking forward to what tomorrow brings. Dee

Wednesday, June 10

Sure do appreciate everyone who has sent me text messages. I like to read them in the evenings. Some of you haven't signed yours though, so I'm not sure who is texting me or how I should respond. Please let me know who you are!

Last night I camped at Wynoka, OK. The camp is right next to the Little Sahara, a huge area of sand dunes of 5000+ acres. I camped next to a family that had come to ride quads in the dunes. They invited me over for dinner and I told them my life history and then they invited me to go ride the dunes with them. They had an extra quad for one of their friends that was coming later. I had never done that before. Whoooeee! What a rush that was! I thought, "made it this far safe on my motorcycle only to break my arm riding a quad in the sand dunes." It was wild and hairy. Tired me out more than my 350 miles on my motorcycle did.

What a difference one day and two states make. Night before last I stood in the shower under as hot of water as I could stand to warm up, and last night I stood under water as cold as I could to cool down. At 10pm the little reader board at the camp office said 94 degrees.

Do you know what is worse than a big Texas bug hitting you in the face while you are driving a motorcycle? Getting a bug inside your helmet while you are driving. In my hair is bad, but when one gets in my ear I use my brakes to the max! They have wide shoulders on the roads in most of the States I've been in. That is good because I stop a lot. For bugs, but mostly to look at my map. At first I would look at turns, road numbers and towns quite a bit in advance, but I would just forget. So now I just stop at every intersection and get my map out again. I thought about buying one of those whiteboard pens and writing direcitons on my windshield. I may yet. The trials of old age!

I have to tell you that I am having a really good time. I am smiling so much as I ride that it takes me 10 minutes when I get to my camping site each night to clean the bugs out of my teeth. One of the cool things about riding a motorcycle is that you can smell everything around you. Today I smelled cut alfalfa hay, went by several feed lots and, oh, what a sweet smell that was, rode by a freshly runover skunk, and passed a deer that had been hit by a car several days ago. Oklahoma and Kansas are flat with lots of farming. They are harvesting wheat already. Almost all of my miles are country roads so I get to see and smell, a lot of farms.

Without a face shield on my helmet my face gets cold when it is cold, rain gets on me when it rains, bugs hit me int he head, bugs get inside my helmet, but I found out the worst thing today when a cattle truck went by me with a lot of "stuff" coming out the back. Whooeee - a big piece of the "stuff" is way worse than a bug, even a Texas bug.

Lots of dew this morning. Must be because of the high humidity. All my camping gear was as wet as if it had rained. Didn't sleep very well. There must be several hundred quads in this campground and many were running all night long. I tried to pick up a nap today on some straight stretches. :-) Strong thunder showers on most of my planned route. I was reading in Psalms this morning about totally trusting God. This trip has increased my trust and has really increased my asking for help.

One of the things that I read while I was preparing for this trip is that a group of guys traveling together attracts very little attention, even ignored. But a single rider, especially an old guy with a gray beard with stuff stacked three feet on his bike attracts a lot of attention. That is true, especially in the South. Every place I stop, people want to talk. They give directions, encouragement, and best of all they give me food! When I tell them what I am doing they get all excited and often tell me of some crazy dream they had that they never did because it was . . . . just crazy. It seems most people have things they dreamed of doing but never have because it is just too impractical. One of the thoughts that I have had regularly on this trip is that wisdom is not intended by God to make our life dull or risk-free. Wisdom is not supposed to make us prisoners of practicality.

Another thing I have been thinking about, being by myself and away from home is how much I take those important to me for granted. My wife, my kids, family, my church family and friends. To take someone for granted is to fail to appreciate them as much as you should. I am committed to working on that when I get home. On the other hand, I have never spent so much time in constant dialog with God as I have on this trip. I will try and not let that slip when I get home.

I bought a tank of gas in Kansas and got my receipt, so I have one for every state. Went through Missouri and am in Grover, OK. tonight. Was going to go an hour longer, but some really black clouds started forming and I thought, Oh, oh, I am in big trouble. Just then I saw a sign that said Bear Lake Resort and I saw an RV, so I whipped in to see if they had tent spots. The lady said you had to be a member to stay there, but if I went through an hour long membership spiel I could stay one night. I said OK. The lady who gave the spiel came in and asked where I was from. I told her and she said that was too far away to be a member. I asked if that meant I couldn't stay. She asked what I was doing and I told her, and she said, "You poor dear, of course you can stay and we will let you use the spot next to the covered area so you can have a dry spot to sit while the lightening show is going on." I'm sitting in it now as I write you this story. God has been taking care of me every day. Can't wait to see what adventures await me tomorrow.

I am going to have a hard time making my weight goal - all these older people in these big RVs keep feeding me!

I have ridden 3158 miles at the end of Day Ten. If I keep up that average I will be home in 31 days instead of 33. I could easily increase my average to 330 miles a day and be home in 30 days. I enjoy riding and am not getting riding fatigue. I think it is the flax seed!

Love you all, Dee.

Bryce Canyon scenary

More pics - Entering Utah

Entering Utah

June 10 - Pics from the last several days

Some of the scenary from the Grand Canyon.

Tuesday, June 9

Yesterday I saw an elk as I was crossing the Rockies, and then about a zillion antelope when I got down in the open grasslands. Also, yesterday I almost ran over a rattlesnake. I swerved to miss it because it looked like a big limb lying in the road. As I rode by it I saw it was a really big rattlesnake. I was tempted to turn around and run over it and skin it and hang the skin and rattles on my windshield to show off for the Harley guys but couldn't find a place to turn around. Oh, well.
One of my goals for this trip was to lose 30 lbs. Before I left, Patty mixed up 30 baggies with oatmeal, ground flax seed, cinnamon and dried fruit. For breakfast I just heat up water in my little one burner camp stove and pour it into a bowl with my oatmeal. I also have a French press coffeemaker so the rest of the hot water goes into that with lots of coffee grounds. A breakfast fit for a king for 30 days in a row! Before I left I bought 30 freeze dried dinners, six different courses, so I have more variety than for breakfast. Just add hot water. For lunch I eat a protein bar. I think I have lost quite a bit so far. My clothes are getting pretty baggy.
Just about through Texas. This part of Texas is so flat that I can see the curvature of the earth. :-). The worst thing about not having a face shield now is that Texas has a lot of big bugs. One of them was so big that when it hit me in the forehead it knocked me out. The roads are so straight here though, it didn't matter. :-) (That was for my grandkids!) Pretty comfortable day to ride. About 85, but overcast with only a little wind. Headed for Oklahoma!

Monday - June 8

Last night it was really cold camping in Colorado. I kept getting up and putting clothes on all night, even my dirty ones. My "light-weight" sleeping bag is indeed light weight. Looked like a really fat man when I got up this morning. Good breakfast of oatmeal and flax seed!

Spent a lot of time praying the last couple of days. Got everybody in the church prayed for. I pray for Patty and my kids and grandkids every day. Having a really good time with God on this trip.

Rode 12 hours today and made it over the Rockies. Wouldn't have taken quite so long but there was an accident that closed the road and I went ahead and took the detour rather than waiting several hours. Ended up getting lost because my GPS is not working - I think I've dropped it one too many times. Finally got to my camping place tonight which is in Clayton, NM, right on the Texas - New Mexico border. As I was setting up my tent I noticed there was no dirt at this campground - it's all gravel. Could be an interesting night! Stay faithful.

Love ya, Dee

Sunday, June 7

Was a beautiful clear night last night when I went to sleep, but woke up about 3am to the sound of rain. Nothing new - except . . . . I had left all my stuff on the picnic table! I really had to scramble to get it all in my tent!

I rode 400 miles today and am camped in Cortez, Colorado tonight. I drove on the prettiest section of my trip so far - beautiful scenery! It was very windy; lots of curves for motorcycles. I saw many motorcycles today. My left arm is really tired from doing the "biker's wave". I talked to three guys from N. Carolina and told them what I was doing. They took my e-mail and want to hear all about it later!

I went over a mountain pass today that was 9,600 ft. elevation. Very cold! The bike is running well. I've made it through the first week of this adventure and my body seems to be "toughening up," especially where I sit! I'm getting lots of sermons done!! It would be great if some of you could text me on my phone. I like to read them at night. My cell phone # is 503-559-5282.

Heard the Leadership Guys did well on their sermons. I'm looking forward to listening to the CDs when I get back.

I should be camping at a town called Clayton tomorrow night which is on the Texas-New Mexico border. My GPS is acting wierd - it can't figure out where it's at!! Keep praying!

June 6

Friday afternoon - Had quite an adventure today. Stopped to set up camp and soon after my tent was laid over a fence to dry, and my water was boiling for my dinner. I turned to visit with people in a motor home nearby. When we finished visiting I turned around and my tent was gone! I searched everywhere, ran all around the camp asking if anyone had seen a yellow tent and all said, "No." By then several others were helping me look, and I had almost resigned myself to thinking I'd have to do the rest of the trip out under the stars! Yep, you guessed it! We found it . . . . . way up in a tree!! The wind has truly been "gusty," but I'm now warm and snug inside my "flying tent." Those of you who pray for me never know what you are protecting me from.

Saturday A.M. - Cloudy and cold camping. The temperature was actually freezing last night. Without my face shield my face is frozen. I'm in Utah. Sunshine now but chilly, gotta go - I'm stopped alongside of the road and the bugs are starting to get me! Camping near Bryce Canyon tonight. Thanks again for praying. As you can see, I definitely need it!

June 5

Rode through the Grand Canyon today. Pretty spectacular. Super windy again; wind blowing about 50 mph. Along with the wind there was a lot of blowing sand. I have sand in my eyes, in my ears, in my nose, in my armpits and everywhere else! Really looking forward to a shower. Staying at a campground tonight that has a fence all the way around it so nothing blows away. Hope I get my tent set up easier this time. It took several "old people" at the other campground the other night to help me finally get it anchored. Nice people in these campgrounds.

I'm about an hour's ride from Utah. Looking forward to seeing Bryce Canyon and lots of rimrock tomorrow. Be sure to attend church this weekend and encourage the men who will be giving their Leadership Sermons. I'm praying for you.

June 3 - I Survived Nevada

June 2nd-4th

I'll try to catch you up on what's been happening the last couple of days. I understand our internet server has changed and there have been some times of no computer access. Should all be fixed by now.

After almost having my tent blow away on the first night (Monday), I was able to get some rest. During the night, however, my water bottle leaked all over my journal and my camera, so the camera no longer works and I'm using regular pen and paper to keep track of things. I've picked up a couple of disposable cameras, and I'm also taking pictures with my phone, so when I send them by e-mail to be put on the blog the quality may not be the best. You'll get the idea!
I was able to splice together the wires on the GPS cord so it now works again.

Tuesday it was really rainy and cold, with lots of wind. When I got to the campground it was really stormy, so I decided to ride into town and rent a room for the night. It was a wise choice! Lots of interesting people at the campgrounds and gas stations. Met 12 bikers from Sweden who are in the U.S. just riding around the countryside. Many bikers doing the same thing I'm doing, trying to hit all 48 lower states.

I got my first bumper sticker in Nevada: "I Survived Nevada. The lonliest state in all the 50 States." I'm putting the stickers on my stainless steel boxes that Richard Elkins made. I hope to have a sticker from each state by the time I'm finished.

Ended up Wednesday night at Big Pine, CA. It rained all day again and the wind was blowing about 50 mph. Felt like I was riding a bucking horse all day. Pulled into the campground and was really having trouble getting my tent to stay put. Some other campers came to help and we finally bungied the tent to a fence and then to my bike. That worked, but it was raining so hard I decided I should ride into town to get something to eat. Couldn't do that however with the bike bungied to the tent so had pretty much resigned myself to a "power bar" for dinner. Fortunately the rain and wind stopped long enough to make a small fire and heat up water for one of my "instant dinners." Yum!

Spent Thurday riding through Death Valley and the Mohave Desert. Really beautiful scenary, and it was 100 degrees!! Made me very happy to be warm again. The wind was really strong. It was so hot that I changed helmets and wore my half-helmet. I had my full helmet strapped to the bike, and the wind was so strong it sheared off the face mask shield (this keeps the rain out of my face). I have no idea where that ended up, but I did get my second sticker stating I made it through Death Valley! Tonight I'm staying in Needles, CA at the vacation home of a pastor friend who has attended our Pastors' Seminar and pastors Live Ride Christian Church. He's a "biker dude," too. I've got the AC cranked up, enjoyed a long shower and will get to sleep in a real bed. I'm planning to spend some time on my computer working on sermons tonight. Life is good.

On Friday I'll be in Arizona riding at the Grand Canyon. Looking forward to that. Please keep praying for me. I'm still trying to establish some kind of routine, but so far the weather has been pretty extreme. Understand you've all had some interesting weather at home as well. I'm praying for all of you.