The Grand Trip - The Beginning

Early this spring my sweetheart and I embarked on a grand trip - a trip we had long dreamed of. Plans were made and we were off for adventures far from home.  This was my view through the passenger side rear view mirror.  You can see our home-away-from-home coming along behind, especially in the little section at the bottom corner of the mirror.

I shared a bit of our trip here.  We were away from home for seven-and-a-half weeks - that's almost two months!  We met new friends, visited family and dear friends along the way, experienced life in other parts of the Western United States and took millions of photos.  I probably didn't take millions of photos but there are a lot of them. I will do a series of posts to give you an idea of the scope of our travels and the places we enjoyed along the way.

We left home on Sunday afternoon - my sweetheart, my little dog, Joey, and I. Off we went with our home-away-from-home following behind.  Our route was carefully planned and stops along the way had been thoughtfully 'mapped' out on our calendars and our road maps.  Our first destination that evening was on the southern end of Oregon a few hours south of home.  We spent the night in a beautiful state park along the banks of a beautiful river.

Not long after breakfast the next morning we crossed the southern Oregon border into California.  We made the required stop at the California Agricultural Inspection Station to be sure we didn't have certain fruits and vegetables that could spread disease to the vast agricultural crops of California. The inspector asked if we had any citrus fruits. We smiled and said, 'no', but I chuckled as we drove away because a few miles back, just before we came to the inspection station, we had eaten the two oranges we had on-board.  I told my sweetheart it was a good thing we didn't have to report the citrus fruit in our tummies!

We drove for many hours over miles and miles of freeway. We passed by Northern California's Mount Shasta. . .

And crossed over Lake Shasta which is beautiful and full after many long years of drought in California.

Nearing our stop for the next couple of days, we turned off the freeway and drove through farmland on back roads. . .

 On straight roads. . .

And roads that took a turn.

We drove through the countryside and a few small towns until we came to the place where we would spend the next two nights. We are members of Thousand Trails RV Resorts and Lake Minden was one of the locations we wanted to experience.  We checked in and found our spot near the corner of the lane beside the lake.

The big back windows of our home-away-from-home looked out on the lake behind us. It was still and quiet as evening approached.

But the next morning was a totally different scene!  The early morning sun shone on the trees across the lake. Green trees became gold. Pure gold, so it seemed.

We drove from the lake to the nearby home of a very dear friend - a friend I met through our blogs. She had dinner waiting for us when we arrived and lunch again the next day. She and I spent time together - chatting and thrifting and antiquing - and just enjoying being together again.

Our time together went fast - too fast - and soon it was time to say goodbye.  My sweetheart and I had places to go and more dear people to see!  Our travels took us just a short distance where family was waiting for our arrival. Our grand trip had begun just as we had hoped - with precious people who were helping us make precious memories!

Missing But Not Lost

I've been missing from my blog lately, but I wasn't lost! A lot is going on in my life and, at times I wonder if I'm really just going in circles. I still need to organize and edit the millions of photos from our 'big' trip over a month ago. Shortly after we arrived home from that trip we celebrated the graduation of two grandsons - two brothers - one from high school and one from middle school.

Recently we went away for several days of camping and fishing at a beautiful lake high in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon. I took a lot of photos but didn't have internet access to share them here. If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you've probably seen a few photos from the lake. For some reason my cell phone could usually connect to Instagram and Facebook but not to the internet in general.

My sweetheart and I - and some of our family - are working very hard to get my dear, little mother's home ready to sell. It's hard work and has been a hard decision for me. My father built their home when I was in high school and I love the little cottage and yard.  We thought and prayed much about selling our home and moving into my family home but we sensed that it's best to sell instead of making it ours. I took a lot of photos before I started taking things apart inside my dear, little mother's home so we can always look back and remember the wonderful place where we all spent time with two people who were so dear to us. I plan to share those photos with you soon.

I will be back with blog posts that - so far - are in my head. Posts that need to be put in words. And photos. This is a place where I love to come to 'talk' to you and share what's on my heart. Perhaps I need to get off the merry-go-round of life more often and stop here for awhile!

God's Gifts

I love books - and I love to read them, I love the way they look on the shelf and I love to hold a book and read what's written inside. My love of books came from my dear, little mother. She was a librarian for a few years before she traveled from California to Seattle, Washington to attend a tiny Bible Institute where she met my father! Her love for books has always been obvious. Even when she went to Heaven her home was still filled with books - gorgeous, old vintage books with exquisite covers, rare vintage books that are falling apart from much use, complete sets of books by her favorite old authors and newer books that inspire and bless the soul. She read to me from the time I was too young to remember and trips to the local library were a regular event as I grew older. I began to collect books - and I still love books! I love to snoop through the book section of thrift stores and I'm always drawn to books at garage sales. Once in a while I find a book that calls to me and I know I need to add it to my list of books to read. That happened recently in the back corner of a Goodwill near Palm Springs, California! I found a book - just one - that had to come home with me. And I'm enjoying every word!

One of my current favorite fiction authors is Debbie Macomber. She lives in the Pacific Northwest, as do I, and her stories are often set in cities I know. It seems to add something special when I can visualize the setting. While Debbie usually writes fiction, she has written a few non-fiction books that are a great read - and very soul-stirring. I picked up one of those books at the Goodwill when we were traveling through California recently. The opening pages spoke deeply to my soul. She shared a parable that made me think. And search my heart. I'd like to share it with you. She wrote:

"There's a story that goes something like this:
"A woman arrived at the gates of Heaven to be met by St. Peter.
"'You may first want to join the others at the throne,' he said to her, 'and then greet those you loved on earth. But when you are ready, I'll take you on a tour of Heaven.'
"When the time came for her tour, she could hardly take it all in. It reminded her a little of her earthly home, but she could see that earth had only been a pale shadow of what she was seeing now. They explored every nook and cranny of Heaven - waterfalls, fields of flowers, exquisite buildings, and streets of gold.
"As the tour drew to an end, she noticed one massive door they had not yet explored. A gold padlock secured it. 'What's in that room?' she asked.
"You don't want to see that room,' St. Peter said, steering her away from it. 'It's only a storeroom.'
"But I do. May I see inside? I want to see every bit of Heaven.'
"St. Peter didn't answer. Instead he took a large key out of his pocket, put it in the lock, and turned it. The tumblers clicked and the padlock opened. He took the lock off and opened the door. The woman had to blink several times to take it all in. Inside the cavernous room were stacks and stacks of gifts, wrapped in all the colors of the rainbow and tied with all the colors of Heaven.
"She clapped her hands with delight. 'Is this where you store presents for everyone in Heaven?'
 "'No. These gifts are not for Heaven, they were meant for earth.'
"What do you mean were?' She walked through the stacks and came to a pile marked with her name.
'Look, these gifts are for me.' She fingered the paper and ribbons. 'May I open them?'
"No. You don't need them now.' St. Peter put a hand on her shoulder, guiding her toward the door.
"'But if I don't need them now, does that mean I needed them on earth?' She couldn't take her eyes off the pile. To think she would never get to enjoy all those beautifully wrapped gifts.
"He nodded his head. 'Yes, you needed them on earth.'
"She looked around the room, realizing that there must have been millions of gifts. Maybe more, since she couldn't see an end to the room. 'Why weren't my gifts sent to me on earth?' As she looked closer, she could read names on all the gifts. 'Not just my gifts, why haven't any of these gifts around the room been sent?'
"St. Peter sighed. 'You don't understand. Every one of them was sent.' Moving his arm in an arc that encompassed the whole room, he said, 'All of these and more. These are the ones that were returned unopened.' He moved her toward the door. 'Many people on earth don't recognize God's gifts and fail to open them.'"

Debbie goes on to say:

"I love gifts - both giving and receiving. When I first heard this story, I wondered if there was any truth to the parable. Had God sent gifts to me that I hadn't opened? When I get to Heaven, I don't want to discover that I failed to recognize the gifts God sent into my life. I don't want to miss a single one.
"Unfortunately, in real life God's presents don't always come gaily gift-wrapped, and they are not always easily recognized. Some even initially come looking like challenges. And often these gifts are people shaped."
(From 'God's Guest List: Welcoming Those Who Influence Our Lives' written by Debbie Macomber)

Perhaps the reason this parable touches me so deeply is because I watched my dear, little mother embrace the gifts - the people - God sent her way. She was good at that. Very good. Her life made a difference in the lives of many people along her journey here on earth. Perhaps it's because she is so newly arrived in Heaven and, looking back, when all is said and done, I want my life to make a difference. The way she did! I don't want to miss the gifts God sends to me.

In Memory

Happy Memorial Day!

With gratitude to those who gave so we can live in freedom.

Adventures On The Road

My sweetheart and I have been traveling and seeing sights we've dreamed of seeing for a long time. I didn't have much consistent internet access in most places so I wasn't able to check in here and let you know what we were doing. I had a mobile hot spot so I could stay connected and it worked great - as long as we weren't parked at the bottom of a hill or somewhere between high cliffs that surrounded the campground or so deep into the woods that no signal could reach us! So, I wasn't able to share our trip with you until now unless you've been following me on Facebook or Instagram. It was rather strange that I usually was able to post on Facebook or send text messages in areas where I didn't have enough cell signal to make phone calls or go online. We were on the road with our home-away-from home for almost two months and I took about a million photos of places we've been.  You can imagine that I have some serious sorting and editing to do but I have a few photos to share with you now. Most of them were taken with my cell phone or tablet. Some were taken from the passenger seat of our pickup so there may be reflections from the windshield that couldn't be avoided. There's so much to share about our trip soon when I have a chance to edit my photos. Until then, just a peek here and there will have to do.

We left home on a Sunday afternoon and we traveled a lot of miles before we returned home again yesterday. We made a big circle from home, through four states and back home again. 

We camped in the beauty of Southern Oregon. . .

Crossed the border from Oregon. . .

Into California.

We drove past snow-covered mountains. . . 

Camped beside a lake at a beautiful campground. . .

And spent time at the home of a very dear blog friend (and did a bit of thrifting and antiquing, too).

We spent several days with my father's family.  That included talking almost nonstop to catch up after too much time apart, meals together and a very special Easter Sunday that included church and a very large family gathering.

We spent three days in the land of many palms. . .

Before we crossed the border into Arizona. While we were in Arizona we walked on the desert. . .

Drove  up a mountain and hiked a ways to see the sights below. . .

 Visited National Monuments where we discovered ancient ruins. . .

And explored a quaint, little mining town high in the mountains.

This is just part of our adventures - there's so much more to share but that will have to wait for another day. Long-anticipated adventures became reality. There will be time to tell you all about it soon.

We're Gone!

Things have changed a lot since I shared the post about the old pickup and my sweetheart’s new-to-us truck!  We’ve run away from home – well, we didn’t really run away - we’re just not there.  My sweetheart hooked up our cabin-on-wheels (trailer) and we put the dog in the car – and headed off for an adventure of a lifetime. Our plans included time with a very dear blog friend along the way and some long-overdue time with family, too.  We plan to go places we’ve never been and before it's over a childhood dream of mine will finally come true.

We left home over a week ago for a dream trip – a trip we’ve dreamed of for a long time. It’s the first of many we have planned.  I have limited internet access right now so I can’t share many photos until we get to a place with more access. Then I’ll show you where we’ve been and tell you all about our trip.  If you follow me on Facebook you may have seen some of the places we’ve landed along the way. We are having a great time – and it has only just begun.  We have many miles to go before we get home again!

He is Risen - Risen indeed!