#sigosherts #roadtrip #homeschooliscool
On September 24 we embarked on a two and a half month trip out West, to Nevada, and down south to Arizona, and on to Texas. With our car loaded quite literally to the top with things to put on our shipment (in Dallas), we headed out with our three youngest kids, our first stop being Nashota House Theological Seminary, to visit friends that we met in the Solomon Islands nearly a year previously.
Loaded on the top of our van are 33 donated breast pumps I had collected over the summer. We will also add these to the shipment! I am very excited to get these to mommies in the Solomon Islands who need them. In the NICU in Honiara, new mothers must hand express to provide milk for their tiny infants. When I was in the Solomon Islands last, I owned a breast pump that I was able to lend out several different times to mothers in need of one. I am really excited to be able to get these donated breast pumps into the country. Please pray for us. The cost to get them into the country could be up to $40 per breast pump (shipping, taxes, and fees). We already have someone who has pledged to help with the cost though, and we are so thankful for God’s provision!
Next stop was Charles City, IA. We were greeted with much hospitality! We shared at Amazing Grace Church, and met a very encouraging older gentlemen, who opened his home to us in the most gracious manner. We were so encouraged and inspired by this man, who told us much of his story.
Omaha, NE was our next stop. We spent 10 days with my bestest friend and her family. We had a lot of fun, and the kids were very sad to leave for the next part of our journey. We will get to see them one more time before we leave in January, though. We also saw some friends we ran out of time to see the first time we were in Omaha in April and May.
And then we were in Colorado Springs, CO for my cousins wedding. What a lovely time with family. The wedding was beautiful, and Asiel enjoyed seeing my cousin’s daughter, who is close to her age. They had met at the wedding we went to in TN in May. We also made a trip up to Pikes Peak, and explored a few other places around the area.
On our way to Carson City, NV, we stopped at many, many places. We stayed the night in Moab, UT for two nights, and Baker, NV for two nights as well, so that we could better explore Colorado and Utah and Nevada! It was amazing.
We spent 10 days in Carson City, visiting people, sharing at 2 churches, and seeing family. We stayed with my cousin and her family. It was a wonderful time of connecting. We spent time seeing Lake Tahoe, Virginia City, and the famous Chocolate Factory! We took my cousin and her spouse bowling at the bowling alley I went to in High School!
On our way to Surprise, AZ we had the opportunity to see MANY AMAZING THINGS! This was the funnest part of the site seeing part of our trip! We headed south and into Death Valley. We got to the lowest point in the USA, Badwater Basin. It was white with SALT!
At this point in our journey (leaving Carson City, heading south to Arizona) we started to have some car trouble. In the picture above we are driving with the windows down in Death Valley, because we can’t use the AC. The car was close to over heating, and we were trying to make it to a gas station (which wasn’t too far away). We later had issues again, near the Grand Canyon, and ended up with a car repair! But we are thankful that we were never stranded on the side of the road, or stuck somewhere we didn’t want to be. The mechanic was able to get the van fixed in less than 24 hours, and we were on our way on schedule. Praise the Lord! (The van has been doing great every since! Yay!)
We spent three nights in Seligman, AZ, the inspiration for the movie Cars. It was really neat to see the town. We also saw the Grand Canyon! Wow! What a testament to God’s amazingness. Such amazing evidence of the flood of the Old Testament as well. We walked the Rim Trail.
After the Grand Canyon, we headed to Walnut Canyon, which was fascinating. We hiked the Island Trail, and went down 273 stairs. You could see the homes built into the cliffs. The kids enjoyed walking around and in some of the remains of the cliff dwellers homes.
We then left Seligman, Az, heading south to Surprise, AZ to see my friend from college. On our way we stopped to see two amazing sites. First was Slide Rock State Park. So fun, even though the water was 57 degrees. I remembered visiting this place as a kid, and I had wanted to take my kids for years. It was so cool to finally get to do it. Then we drove to Montezuma Castle National Monument. It was also fascinating to see. We spotted a baby rattle snake as well!
After spending 5 days in Surprise, AZ, sharing at a home meeting, and then at a homeschool co-op, we headed to Dallas, TX, stopping in Santa Rosa, NM for a night, and heading out early the next morning. We were all anxious to settle in for a few weeks and not go anywhere for awhile. But, we managed to make one more stop before Dallas, however; Petrified Forest National Park. What a treat! It was amazing to see trees that had been made into rock. Such colors too. Just awesome.More proof that this whole earth was covered in water at one point in time.
And now we have arrived in Dallas, TX. We will be here for three weeks as we rest a bit, but also work on getting things onto a pallet or two to ship to the Solomon Islands ahead of us. (We will still beat it there, though, haha.) We are so thankful for all the people we got to see, all the churches we visited at, and all the amazing sites we got to see along the way. Thank you for your payers.