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.