RV ADVENTURES: 6/16/21. UTAH

THE COST:

When we first decided to get an RV, I thought that it would cost more than we ever expected, so I wanted to keep a clear record of how much we actually spend and what we spend it on. We are now six weeks in, and here is what we did. There are a few things that did not make it to the list - laundry (about $12 per week -quarters), maybe a little ice. I don’t know. This is close.

GAS: $1,046.90
EATING OUT: $763.34
GROCERIES: $598.12
SOUVENIERS: $482.61
PARTS: $877.89
CAMPGROUNDS: $986.88
ENTERTAINMENT: $827.26
PARK PASS: $80.00

TOTAL EXPENSES FOR 6 WEEKS: $5,663.00
MILEAGE (Pickup) 2,563 at about 10.5 miles per gallon - Average price of diesel ($3.65)
MILEAGE (Motorcycle) 2,191

Some of these expenses are a one-time expense: We forgot to get our booster cables (parts), trailer break control (parts), Makita fan and batteries (parts), water jugs, lumber to build a shelf with hooks. Inflatable kayak $560 (entertainment). We may or may not use this, but after turning over in our canoe, we got one. America the Beautiful park pass. One time. Forever!!!!

The Campground expense may be a little off for someone else. We boondocked at least two weeks, and we stayed eight days at Lee’s Ferry at $10 per night. Campground expenses are from $45 - $85 per night. Canyonland was $65. We are about to stay a few nights in Estes Park @ $85 per night. It is hard to find campgrounds for more than a few days. Most weekends are already booked. It is a good thing that we are able to boondock, and we love that the most.

THE HEAT:

While we were in the Zion/Escalante/Boulder area, the temperatures got down into the 40s at night. We had to turn on the heater in the morning before I would get out of bed. When the sun came up, it was beautiful 70s—80s, Then we landed at Moab. The first day we were there, it was 106 - then 109 - then 108. We did just fine. We were in a park with trees and A/C. There have only been a couple of days - back at Lee’s Ferry - that I thought it was too hot. As long as there is a breeze, we are good. We just ordered a Makita fan and the 18V batteries. We think that will do the trick, even when we are boondocking. I will let you know,.

UTAH:

Oh my goodness! Beautiful. Vast!!! Panoramic views. Breathtaking. Uninhabited. Untouched. Ever-changing rock formations. Majestic. Larger than life. Colorful. Textures. Lots of textures and colors. Not much vegetation. Stunted shrubs. Dry. Drought. Right now - HOT! We just entered Colorado. At the border, the landscape changes. It is green, and it has water.

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK: Oh my goodness! I want to go again. Beautiful. Unexpected. We did not get to explore this enough. I want to go back.

CANYONLAND NATIONAL PARK: Same, but different. Beautiful. Wow. I got really hot here and could not cool down. 25-30 years ago, I had a heat stroke. It took me years to fully recover. I don’t want to do that again, so I didn’t get to do near what I wanted to. Next time.

WITNESS HIM NOW:

It is funny. Zion NP ministered to me so much. The names of all of the hikes and routes and mountains spoke to me, and I listened. Then a friend asked me to pray for her brother. I did, and when we started traveling again, we went through a town that had the same name as my friend’s brother. We stopped, and I took off my shoes, anointed the land, and I prayed. Then we went to Arches, and Lyndyl said, “There is the Garden of Eden, do you want to stop?” OH MY GOODNESS! The Garden of Eden. The beginning. Everything was stolen and lost in the Garden of Eden. I took off my shoes, anointed the land with oil - five drops - grace! And I prayed, and I worshiped. LORD, I thank you that You had.a plan from the beginning, a good plan, a plan to prosper and not to harm, a plan to give us hope and a future. You knew we would not get it right. You knew we would lose it all. JESUS! You bought it back. You took back what the enemy stole. Thank you! Now, I am asking in the Mighty Name of Jesus that You would redeem the land. Heal it. Set it free. Two thousand years ago, You paid the price. Now all of creation is groaning, crying out - COME! HEAL! SET FREE! RESTORE! Rend the heavens and pour out righteousness. Send Your rain. Water the land. Let the land open up and receive. PLANT! WATER! GROW! RIGHTEOUSNESS! JUSTICE! SALVATION! FREEDOM! Come, LORD Jesus! COME! Redeem the land. In Jesus’ name! AMEN

Then I looked at the map. The Devil’s Garden. Not any more. In Jesus’ name. It was 105 degrees. I went to the trailhead, and I cried, “Holy! Redeemed! Set free! Bought back!” At the end of the trail was the Dark Angel. I didn’t go there, but I know God did. The enemy’s time is short. We know it, and he knows it.
On the way back, we saw The Fiery Furnace - a hike that you have to get a permit to do. I know that we will all go there. The fiery furnace. But just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, there will be a fourth man in the fire with us, and we will not get burned. It will purify. As we passed this trailhead, I could see the hills on fire. Has it begun?

Then on the way out, we stopped at Courthouse Wash. Local governments. Holy. Just. Righteous. Fair. Living and moving in light and truth. In Jesus’ name.
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So the land is speaking to me, and I am speaking to the land. Who would have ever thought?

OUR RV ADVENTURES: Sunday, June 13, 2021
We have spent the last three nights in the most beautiful place ever, and we have driven on the most beautiful highway ever - Highway 12. As far as the eye can see. On top of the world. Breathtaking. On a motorcycle it is spectacular. Oh my goodness!

But can I tell you, pulling a camper has been a learning curve. Muscles tense. Can we do this?Will we make it? We have both had to hold our breath several times the last few days. It started out when we traveled up the Escalante Staircase. Steep. Narrow. Never-ending. Always going higher. Our truck struggled to keep going. We pulled over as often as we could to let it rest. So by the time we got to Boulder, Utah, we were ready to find a place and stop. Any place. We knew that all the land after Boulder was Dixie National Forest land, so we could stop anywhere, but we couldn’t see anything. Then about ten miles out of town, we saw two campers to the right, so we pulled into a drop off from the pavement to the dirt road. Then we went on further. Do we go to the right or to the left? We chose the right, and it was the lessor of two evils, but OH MY GOODNESS! Would we ever get out? We would worry about that later. We pulled into a meadow of blooming flowers with mule deer watching us. Gorgeous. What we found out later is that just a hundred yards further would have put us into camping areas that had a paved entrances. It would have been SO MUCH EASIER! We were at mile marker 93. At mile marker 103 is a turn out that overlooks the entire world. There was only enough room for one camper, but WOW! Then at mile markers 106 and 111, there are Dixie Forest Campgrounds, and there are several places in between. I have to insert here that we found out that there are black bear in this area. My husband met a man who won the lottery, so he gets to shoot one black bear and one bull elk. We never saw one, though. Lyndyl kept looking.

Right now we are on Hwy 24 past Capital Reef National Park. Glorious. We went to the park yesterday, but this is just as beautiful. We are on our way to Canyonland RV Campground. It is between Canyonland National Park and Arches. We will go to those places in the next couple of days, then head to Estes Park, Colorado, where we will have a family reunion. So excited.

We are driving thorough a place in Utah right now that looks like Mars. No vegetation. Just gray rock and sand. Desolate. Deserted. We can see where four wheelers and dirt bikes have had a blast.

RV LIFE:

I have not done laundry in over two weeks. I am on my last pair of underwear. I know you wanted to hear that. Since we left Colorado, grocery stores and anything else we have needed have been few and far between. We bought our last groceries at Family Dollar. Page, AZ and Kanab, Utah have been the only large towns we have been through. We have been packing sack lunches when we go out because we don’t know if we will be able to find was anything or not. Peanut butter and honey sandwiches. Apples. Oranges. Chips. America!

Two nights ago, I woke up to our carbon monoxide detector going off. Two shrill beeps. Then two more shrill beeps. And my husband sleeps through it all. He cannot hear that high of a pitch. I woke him up, and we decided that the detector was faulty. We put it out on the front steps where it went off all night long. We have to get another on. So now we don’t have a smoke detector (it kept going off when i cooked), and we don’t have carbon monoxide deal. Really we do. There is one in the kitchen.

OH THE PLACES WE GO!

CAPITAL REEF NATIONAL PARK: Yesterday we rode the motorcycle to Capital Reef. Mainly we wanted to know what kind of road we would be going down with our camper. Gorgeous! Green. Vast panoramic views. On top of the world. Downhill the whole way. Yay! When we got to Capital Reef, it was after lunch 1-2. 95 degrees. We were still sore from the hike up Angels Landing, so we didn’t want to do anything strenuous. Go in. Ride around. Get the patch. There was a scenic drive just past the Visitor’s Center, and at the end of that road, there was a one mile hike through Capital Gorge. OK. Doable. So we parked our motorcycle and headed out. What we didn’t realize is that there was a 2.5 mile dirt road that you had to take before you get to the gorge. After walking about 3/4 of a mile, Lyndyl said, “Go sit under that tree while I go get the motorcycle.” I did. He came back with the bike, but the road was too rocky. We finally turned around and went to the Gifford House. This is a place inside the park that sells homemade strawberry/rhubarb pies, jams, ice cream. Everything was gone by the time we got there, but it was cool. Next time.

WITNESS HIM NOW:

While I was sitting under the tree waiting for Lyndyl to come back, there was a cool breeze and flies buzzing and heat coming up from the rock I was sitting on, and this took me back to my childhood. Aspermont, Texas. When I was young, we would have family reunions out at Little Grandma and Little Grandpa’s house. They were my great- grandparents. I don’t remember anything about them except the memories at this house. The house had no running water. There was a well out on the back porch. A bath house. An outhouse. And there were people everywhere. Little Grandma and Little Grandpa had twelve? kids. Then all the cousins - my dad’s generation. Then all of the grandkids - us.

And such a thankfulness came over me for my inheritance. I took off my shoes, anointed that rock I was sitting on, and I worshiped God. Howells. Lots of Howells, and so many of them love Jesus. Inheritance. Good people. All of them were good people. A wide river of grace that flowing through my veins. Deep and wide. LORD, thank you for those who went before us, who prepared the way. I know, LORD, that You began a good work in us, and You will complete it until you come back. So LORD, send an intense hunger and thirst for righteousness into the hearts of this family. Redeem that which was lost or stolen. Heal that which was broken. Set free those who are in bondage. Buy back Your people. Send light and truth. Send mercy and grace. Send Your unfailing love. Dry bones, hear the Word of the LORD. Breathe O four winds on these who are slain so that they might live. Graves, open up. Lazaros, come forth. LORD, don’t let any fall through the cracks. Holy Spirit, draw, woo. Put a longing in the hearts of Your people for more.

So I began to cry out for Howells. Then I started crying out for Whites. Then Jeneweins. Then Greens. My bloodline. Holy. LORD, rend the heavens and pour out righteousness. Hearts, open wide and receive. Let righteousness and salvation spring up together. Open up you gates, you everlasting doors and let the King of Glory in. Open up you gates, you everlasting doors and let the King of Glory in. And who is the King of Glory? The LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the LORD mighty in battle - He is the King of Glory. Heal. Mend. Set free. Send life, health, hope. Send Your unfailing love. Reach far and wide. I am asking this in the Mighty Name of JESUS!
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So the land has been speaking to me. Mostly through words, but yesterday, it spoke to me through nature. LORD, hear my cry.

TAKING BACK TERRITORY:

I have to write this. I don’t know if people will understand or not, but it feels like God is doing something big, something I never expected and never saw coming. A few weeks before we left on our adventure, I saw Shan Newton at Jerry’s Burgers. He told me of a friend of his who always prays, “God, where do You want me to go, and what do You want me to say?” This resonated in my spirit. From that moment on, I set my heart to try to pray this prayer. It is not what I do, but what I say. Where do I go, and what do I say? This is HUGE to me right now because everything God is doing in my life has to do with words.
Then when we started this RV journey over a month ago, my friend Annabeth Martin started telling me that our trip was prophetic. Dolores, Colorado. Dolores River. Dolores means pain and sorrow. I anointed the river and prayed. Annabeth says that what we are doing is taking back what has been lost or stolen. Redeeming the land. I just looked up the meaning of redeem. It means to compensate for the faults or bad aspects of something; to do something that compensates for poor past performance or behavior; to atone or make amends for error or evil; to gain or regain possession of something in exchange for payment; to fulfill or carry out a pledge or promise. Jesus did this for us. Now it feels like He wants me to pray over the land so that He can redeem it, too. I don’t know if this is right, but I know that what I am praying is from the heart of God, so I prayed, and I anointed. Then after we left the Badlands, Annabeth said, “Call that which is bad, good.” That opportunity was gone. I just don’t think like this, but I started to pay attention.

On the way to Lee’s Ferry, we went through a little town called Bitter Springs. I stopped, took off my shoes and prayed and anointed the ground. I called forth the bitter to become sweet. I cried, “HOLY!” Then we hiked Cathedral Wash. We hiked the upper and the lower part of the wash. On the way out of town, I made my husband stop. Again I took off my shoes, anointed the ground with oil, and cried, “HOLY!” Cathedral. Wash. God, wash your church by the water of Your Word. It is not what man does. It is what You do. Forgive us for worshiping the work of our own hands. Forgive us for defiling Your temple. Cleanse us, LORD. Make holy that which is unholy. Spirit come. Idols fall. Sprinkle us with clean water so that we can be clean. Pour Your Spirit into us. Make us a well-watered garden and a fortified city for Your glory. I am asking this in the Mighty Name of Jesus!

Then we entered Utah. We camped at Mount Carmel. Mount Carmel. I knew this was in the Bible, so I googled it. This is the “highest” place of Baal worship. It is the place where Elijah had his showdown with the 450 prophets of Baal to show which god should be served. (1 Kings 18) Read this story. It is fascinating. Elijah stood up in front of all of Israel and said, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him! But if Baal is god, then follow him.” But the people were silent. They didn’t know. They sat back and watched as all of the prophets of Baal shouted and danced and cried and cut themselves to call on their god to bring fire. After all of their attempts failed, Elijah rebuilt the altar, poured water over the sacrifice and prayed, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant. Prove that I have done all this at Your command. O LORD, answer me! ANSWER ME SO THESE PEOPLE WILL KNOW THAT YOU, O LORD, ARE GOD AND THAT YOU HAVE BROUGHT THEM BACK TO YOURSELF.” Immediately the fire of the LORD flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, “The LORD - He is God!” We are at a point in history where everyone is watching. God, what are you going to do? My heart is shaking because I think we are all going to see fire fall! So I anointed the ground and I prayed.

I also found out from google that Mount Carmel is also well known for its lush beauty and variety of plants. The city of Carmel, near Hebron, was given to the tribe of Judah as part of their inheritance (Joshua 15:55). At the time I prayed, I did not know about this place being the inheritance of Judah (that’s the tribe that Jesus is from - our inheritance) or that it was lush. I have to go back to Mount Carmel, take off my shoes, and pray again. Take back that which was lost or stolen. Redeem.

Then there is Zion! Zion is near and dear to my heart because I know that this is the Holy Mountain of God. “On the HOLY MOUNTAIN stands the city founded by the LORD. He loves the city of Jerusalem more than any other city in Israel. O city of God, what glorious things are said of you! I will count Egypt and Babylon among those who know Me - also Philistia and Tyre, and even distant Ethiopia. They have all become citizens of Jerusalem! The people will play flutes and sing, ‘The source of My life springs from Jerusalem!’” (Psalm 87). “Who may climb the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in His holy place? Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies. They will receive the LORD’s blessing and have a right relationship with God their Savior. Such people may seek You and worship in Your presence O God of Jacob.” (Psalm 24:3-6). Then the LORD talks about us as being the city of God (Jerusalem) and the mountain of God (Zion) - His holy Temple in Isaiah 60:13-14. “The glory of Lebanon will be yours - the forests of cypress, fir, and pine - to beautify My sanctuary. My Temple (that’s us) will be glorious! The descendants of your tormentors will come and bow before you. Those who despised you will kiss your feet. They will call you the City of the LORD, and Zion of the Holy One of Israel.” He goes on to say, “I will make you beautiful forever, a joy to all generations (vs 15); I will make peace your leader and righteousness your ruler. Violence will disappear from your land (heart); the desolation and destruction of war will end. Salvation will surround you like city walls, and praise will be on the lips of all who enter there. No longer will you need the sun to shine by day, nor the moon to give its light by night, for the LORD your God will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set; your moon will not go down. For the LORD will be your everlasting light. Your days of mourning will come to an end. All your people will be righteous. They will possess their land forever, for I will plant them there with My own hands in order to bring Myself glory. The smallest family will become a thousand people, and the tiniest group will become a mighty nation. At the right time, I, the LORD, will make it happen.” (Isaiah 60:17-22)

“Wake up, wake up, O Zion! Clothe yourself with strength. Put on your beautiful clothes, O holy city of Jerusalem, for unclean and godless people will enter your gates no longer. Rise from the dust, O Jerusalem. Sit in the place of honor. Remove the chains of slavery (sin) from your neck, O captive daughter of Zion. For this is what the LORD says, “When I sold you into exile, I received no payment. Now I can redeem you without having to pay for you.” This is what the Sovereign LORD says, “Long ago My people chose to live in Egypt. Now they are oppressed by Assyria. What is this?” asks the LORD. “Why are My people enslaved again? Those who rule them shout in exultation. My name is blasphemed all day long. But I will reveal My name to My people, and they will come to know its power. Then at last they will recognize that I am the One who speaks to them.” (Isaiah 52:1-4)

So you can tell that Zion - HOLY MOUNTAIN - is important to me. So we enter Zion National Park, and there is a tunnel that runs through a mountain that is 1.1 miles long. The tunnel is called Zion/Mt Carmel tunnel. Oh my goodness! This tunnel runs through the heart of all that we know and believe and desire. The heart of both mountains. So every time we travel through the mountain, I pray and I anoint. LORD, redeem the land. Buy back that which has been lost or stolen. Let the earth produce again. Let the mountains tremble. Let the rain come. Let the earth receive. Let plants appear. Let springtime come. Plant! Water! Till! Harvest! Dry bones, hear the Word of the LORD. Breath O four winds on these slain that they may live. Graves, open wide. LORD, rend the heavens and pour out righteousness. Earth, open wide and receive. Let righteousness and salvation spring up together. Send light, LORD. Send truth. Send unfailing love. I say to those who are in darkness, “Come into the light.” And I say to those who are in bondage, “Come out in freedom.” Light and love. Mercy and grace. LORD, redeem that which has been stolen or lost. Heal that which is sick. Mend that which has been broken. Comfort those who mourn. Send life. Send hope. Breathe. Wash. Make whole. Make holy. Forgive. Set free. Open up you gates, you everlasting doors and let the King of Glory in - the LORD mighty in battle, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies - the Sovereign LORD. Breathe O four winds. Breathe. In Jesus’ name.

If we only knew what God wants to do for us, we would come running hard toward His open arms. Hebrews gives us a glimpse of what He wants for us. “You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai. For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking. They staggered back under God’s command: ‘If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death. Moses himself was so frightened at the sight that he said, ‘I am terrified and trembling.’” (Hebrews 12:18-21). This is the mountain that we come to when we try to follow the law, when we try to get to heaven on our own works. It is scary, and it doesn’t work. But listen to what happens when we come to Jesus and let Him have our hopes and our dreams, our past and our future, our successes and our failures, our worries and our fears, our DESIRES! Look what happens when we let Him forgive us.

“No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in joyful gathering. You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, Himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. You have come to JESUS, the One who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Able.” (Hebrews 12:22-24). FORGIVENESS! We are forgiven, so we forgive. We are loved, so we love. We are honored, so we honor. If we could only see. God, give us all eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts to understand what the Spirit is saying. A glorious, joyful assembly of the redeemed. ZION!

Whew! This is a lot, isn’t it. I am still trying to process. Then when we get to Zion, my husband and I both want to hike THE NARROWS. It is a pretty difficult hike. There are stumbling blocks everywhere. Large boulders. Rocks of all sizes that have to be crossed. Water. There are places where it is hard to see what is under the water. It is hard walking upstream against the current. It made me think of Matthew 7 where it said, “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets. You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life (to treat others like you would want to be treated) is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” The narrow way is love - treating others like you want to be treated. So I took off my shoes, anointed the river, and I cried, “HOLY!” LORD, teach us how to love one another - really love. Teach us to see others like You see them, fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of the Most High God. Teach us to stop judging and criticizing one another. Let mockery be far from us. Please forgive us where we have failed in these areas. Now teach us to honor one another. Teach us to lift each other up in our hearts with respect. All people. Place a guard our hearts and our mouths. Do not let fresh water and salty water come from the same fountain. Give us patience and kindness. Let us not keep any record of being wronged. Let forgiveness come quickly. Teach us how to love those who hate us, bless those who curse us, and pray for those who spitefully use us. Let us never repay evil for evil, but instead, let us repay good. LORD, teach us to be thankful for all people. Teach us to intercede for all people. Teach us to help all people. Help us to cover each other’s nakedness instead of exposing. LOVE. LORD, train us to be like You. It does not come easy. Help us. In Jesus’ name.

So it took us 8 hours to hike 6 miles yesterday, and we are both so sore. But today as the LORD was teaching me, I realized that what I am doing is speaking life over the land, redeeming the curse. So we hiked all the way up to what is called the Subway. The canyon splits. We took the canyon on the right, but this morning I found out that the canyon that was to the left is called Wall Street. It is another two miles upstream, and my heart wants to go. I don’t know if my body is able, but the spirit is willing. I want to anoint that which has been lost or stolen. What we do with money. Corruption. Greed. Pride. Power. I want God to redeem that which was lost or stolen. To compensate for past performance or behavior. I want to take off my shoes and cry, “HOLY!”

So is all of this going to make a difference? I don’t know. All I know is that God is now moving me to pray. He has not done that in a while. I know that my heart is reaching out to touch God’s heart. It is exciting to think that God is not only redeeming man, but redeeming the land, too. Both have been under a curse for so long, and now it feels like God is breaking the curse. Hallelujah, thank you Jesus.
So for my praying friends, will you join me in my prayers, and will you, too, start paying attention. Will you begin to call those things that are not as though they are. Will you begin to speak life and health and hope over people and over the earth. I really do believe that every place our feet touch is ground God has given us. Let’s take back what the enemy has stolen.

Blessings to you.
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Terri

JUNE 10, 2021 OUR RV ADVENTURES:
We spent this last week camped in Dixie National Forest between Zion National Park and Bryce National Park.  Peaceful.  Cool.  We wanted more of this.  We basically just slept here because our days were so full.  We wish we could have stayed longer.  We wanted to ride bikes through the forest and explore, but we have to be in Estes Park, Colorado on the 16th, and we still want to go to Canyon ReefsNational Park, Canyonland National Park and Arches.  We did find reservations fo Canyonland for Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.  We will see if we can camp in Dixie Forest for the next three nights - somewhere around Canyon Reef.  We have to find someplace to dump first.  We stayed six days in the forest with no problem.  We still have water - don’t know how much.
Can I say that we are enjoying this time so much.  Before we left Brownwood, while we were on the river at Fabis Park, I stopped for the first time and really enjoyed the moment.  STOPPED.  AND REALLY ENJOYED THE MOMENT.  I don’t know if I have ever done that before.  There was always too much to do, and I was always living in the future.  Preparing.  Planning. What do we do next.  Now we are riding through the most beautiful places in America on the motorcycle.  We went through Zion four times.  The first time I had to take pictures.  It was so beautiful.  The other times, I sat back and drank in the beauty.  Zion was good for my soul in so many ways.  Now we are riding on Hwy 12 on our way to Canyon Reef.  Beautiful.  There is a paved bike trail right beside us.  It goes all the way through Red Canyon and Bryce National Park.  Miles and miles of bicycle trails.  Now we are stopped.  They are working on this road.

RV LIFE:​

It is getting easier.  At first, we knew nothing.  Now we stop and kind of know what to do.  I fill the water tank while my husband does the crappy stuff.  We never know where we are going to stay.  National forests are our preference, but we never know until we get there.  For anyone who wants to do this trip, you can stay in Dixie National Forest for up to 16 days and then move.  There is so much to do around there.  I would like to spend a month or more here.  Next time.


OH THE PLACES WE GO!


NATIONAL PARKS:  From the beginning of our trip, we knew we were going to follow National Parks.  Our goal is to see them all.  What I didn't expect is how beautiful!  The most amazing places I have ever been.  And I did not realize how cheap these trips are.  We have an AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL pass, so we get into all parks free.  Unlimited entertainment.  The most beautiful places in America - free.  The most amazing things to do - free.  Oh my goodness.  I feel like I have a free pass to all of the best rides at the most exclusive amusement parks, and no one is trying to take my money.  National parks do not sell food or water.  You have to bring your own.  They have places to fill water jugs.


BRYCE NATIONAL PARK:  Gloriously beautiful.  We did not get to touch this place like we have others.  Like the Grand Canyon, we saw this place from a distance.  Breathtaking.  We only spent 2-3 hours at this park.


ZION NATIONAL PARK:  This place is near and dear to my heart.  Zion.  I am blogging a lot about this place, because everything here is taking me to God.  Spiritual.  I have prayed more in this place than I have ever prayed.  The mountains are textured and white and pink outside the park, but grand and towering inside.  I tried and tried to capture the beauty and majesty, but I couldn’t.  We spent four days in this park.  We could have stayed a lot longer.  We hiked the “touristy” hikes.  There are many hikes that are more advanced.  We didn’t come close to seeing what we wanted to see.


THE NARROWS:  The Narrows is a famous hiking trail through a slot canyon in Zion.  Many people do this.  You hike through water.  WEAR CLOSED TOED SHOES THAT HAVE SUPPORT AND ARE COMFORTABLE!  Many people hiked the trail in sandals.  This is difficult.  I thought this was a difficult hike.  Upstream over rocks.  Sometimes chest deep.  We started out trying to step on the rocks, but it was easier to walk over them in the water.  If you take this trail, don’t stop too soon.  Go to where the canyon splits.  To the left, they call that canyon Wall Street.  To the right, a small canyon - beautiful, easy - leads to a waterfall.  It took us 8 hours to hike to this place the first time we did it, and 5 hours the second time.  You have to hike a mile to get to the place where The Narrows starts.  Coming back was hard.  We were tired.


ANGELS LANDING:  This is another strenuous 5.4 mile hike up to the top of a 1400 foot mountain. The path is paved the whole way.  Switchbacks. Hard.  I had to stop often to “blow” as my husband would say.  GLORIOUS!  At the top of the mountain, there is another half mile hike using a chain to keep your balance.  If we ever go again, I might do that.  Not this time.  Lyndyl went half way.


OH THE PEOPLE WE SEE:


This week we didn’t meet many people.  I connected a lot with the land.


WITNESS HIM NOW:


I want to record what I see God doing.  Sweet Jesus!  I am seeing Him do so much, but it is all in the spirit.  He is teaching me how to call forth life out of death, blessings out of curses.  Redeeming that which was lost or stolen.  It feels like He is doing something so much bigger than I am.  Annabeth Martin told me something a few weeks ago that spoke volumes to me.  She said that Jesus was the prophet.  Then He was the prophecy - the Word.  Then He fulfilled prophecy when He came to earth.  Now, because He lives in us, He is continuing to prophecy and He is continuing to fulfill prophecy.  It is Jesus who is doing it.  He lives in us.  He uses us to do what He wants to do on this earth.  If that is true, Jesus is speaking life over the land right now.  He is also speaking life over people.  I am doing things I have never done before, but I know that it is not me doing it.  Shan Newton said, “Ask God where to go and what to say.”  Sweet Jesus!  Who would have ever thought that I would be talking to the land!  If you want to know more, follow my blogs.


NOTE:  The life that I am speaking over The Narrows and Wall Street and Angels Landing is also the life that God wants to speak over you.  If you, too, want “HOLY,” open your heart wide to Jesus.  If you see inside of yourself places where you have “missed the mark,” confess it as a sin.  Come to God and say, “I am guilty.  Please forgive me.”  Then ask Him to do for you what you cannot do for yourself.  Call on His mighty angels to help you.  Live free!  God is taking us all into the Promise Land, a land flowing with milk and honey.  This is the place that He had prepared for us from the foundation of the world.


THINGS THAT TAKE MY BREATH AWAY:

• A 70 year old man standing heart-wide-open to Jesus.
• Driving through the Zion/Mt Carmel tunnel - the heart of who we are. Praying. The presence of God was so thick I couldn’t breath.  Seven times through the heart of both mountains.
• Driving though Zion - in the moment - breathing in beauty

I am sitting here in the laundry mat waiting for my clothes to dry, and my heart is so full.  I think it has something to do with the Grand Canyon.  We went there two days ago, and I was so overwhelmed with the majesty, I couldn't breathe.  I still can't.  I was/am in the presence of God.  He is so big.  Then we met Josef.  I don't know where that will lead.  God will have to open doors for anything further to happen, but Josef wants his cousin to meet us so bad.  He feels like his cousin would find God if he did.  I have been praying for that to happen, but it is in God's hands.  But, no matter what, our encounter with Josef was God ordained.  We will all be forever changed, and God is glorified.

OH THE PLACES WE GO!

THE GRAND CANYON!  Of all the places I have ever been in my life, this is the most amazing.  I couldn't breathe.  Majestic.  Awe inspiring.  Holy.  There were many people who couldn't see it.  I could tell by their eyes and their countenance.  But as we were heading back, I looked up and there was a blind girl way up at the top.  She had her white cane, and her boyfriend was making sure she didn't fall.  She wanted to "see" the Grand Canyon.  I went back to see if I could get a picture, but I barely did.  LORD, let her blind eyes see.  Let all of our blind eyes see.  In Jesus' name.

CATHEDRAL WASH:  From the time we turn off of the road at Marble Canyon to go to Lee's Ferry where we are camped, it is six miles.  Beautiful.  Oh my goodness!  But we noticed every time we went past this certain place, there were cars parked there.  This morning we went and found that there are two hiking trails called The Cathedral Wash.  One leads toward the Vermillion Cliffs and the other leads down to the Colorado River.  We took the one toward the river.  Oh my!  So much fun.  We didn't make it all the way down because it became too "technical."  In others words, too steep and hard.  My husband wanted to do it so bad.  I kept reminding him that he wasn't 25 anymore.  If our boys had been here, it would have happened.  As for me.  NO.  We also hiked the upper Cathedral.  Amazing.  It is like I can feel the power of God in nature.

OH THE PEOPLE WE SEE:

JOSEF.  Wow!  Read my previous blog.  If the LORD decides to open this door, we could have an inside track to share the Good News to people in very high places in the Czech Republic.  We will see.  God is so good.  My heart has turned now toward praying for this country.  First it was the Indian nations.  Now the Czech Republic.  LORD, send Your Spirit into places that seem so desolate.  Bring life.  Bring health.  Bring hope.  Send Your kindness.  Set Your people free.  Continue to use Josef.  Continue to cause him to hunger and thirst after righteousness so that You can fill him.  Continue to guide him and lead him into all truth.  LORD, may the spirit of wisdom and understanding and the spirit of counsel and might and the spirit of the fear of the LORD and knowledge be upon him.  Let him not go by what he sees or hears, but with righteousness let him make judgments.

MOMENTS THAT TAKE MY BREATH AWAY.

The Grand Canyon.
The Vermilion Cliffs.
The Colorado River.
My husband.
Josef.
It is all too big right now.  I am seeing/sensing God everywhere.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST:

GAS:  $204.57
GROCERIES: $68.25
FOOD: $94.18
RV: $80.00
PARTS: 37.93
SOUVENIRS: $123.90

TOTAL FOR WEEK 4:  $608.83

We have officially been on the road for four months.  There is so much to see.  So much to do.  We have never come close to what we are experiencing now.  All I can say is, "God is big!"

How can I start this blog?  It feels like there are some encounters that are far bigger than you are.  This is one of those.  Two days ago Lyndyl looked out our window and saw a 70 year old man struggling to put up his tent.  The wind was getting up pretty good, so he went out to help.  I sat in our trailer and blogged while Lyndyl did this.  When my husband came back, he said, "You have to meet this guy!  He grew up in Czechoslovakia under Communist rule.  He has been stuck in the United States since October.  He came to see his daughter who lives in Washington, then they shut down the borders into his country because of covid."  I was fascinated!  I want to know more.  Nosey me.  I met him, and I listened to him talk.

Before 1990, Czechoslovakia was under Communist rule.  Josef's father was high up in the Communist Party.  His father was in Washington during the Cuban missile crisis.  Oh my!  Josef was 20 years old at this time, and he said that came to the United States and fell in love with the Cowboys because of Bob Hayes.  He has always been a Cowboy fan.  He loves Texas.  Anyway.  Josef grew up under the Communist "privilege."  He got to shop at different places than the ordinary people, and he got to read magazines and newspapers.  He was allowed to get an education.  He became a dentist.  Others were not allowed these opportunities.  He said that under Communist rule, from the time a child could talk, they were told that America was bad and Russia was good.  All Czech people grew up brainwashed, and if they thought any different, they didn't say it because they would lose their job or worse.  They never even talked to their children, because their children might say something, and their future would be ruined.  If a teacher wanted to believe in God, she would no longer have a job.  He said that to this day the older people still believe that Communism is the way - his generation.  I asked him how he escaped, and he said, "I could see what was happening."

So in 1990, the Russian Communist Party rule fell.  Countries separated.  Czechoslovakia became the Czech Republic, a parliamentary democracy.  During this time, if you knew the right people, you became very rich.  His cousin was one of these people.  He said at the fall of Communism, businesses were way undervalued.  His cousin bought a furniture company for $6,000 and two years later sold it to IKEA for $18 million.  The whole time we were together Josef talked about this cousin.  He was so concerned for him.  He said that just before Easter this year, his cousin's best friend was killed in a helicopter crash in Alaska.  He said, "You can look it up," and we did.  The March 29, 2021 headline read:  Czech Billionaire Is Among 5 Killed in Heli-Skiing Crash Near Alaska Glacier.  Petr Kellner (his cousin's best friend) was listed as the wealthiest man in the Czech Republic.  Forbes has him worth $17.5 billion.  Josef's cousin and Petr Kellner were born one day apart, and they did everything together.  Petr was also one of the ones who knew people during the fall of Communism.  He bought all of the insurance companies for $60 million, but no one knows where he got that money.  I did the math. These two men are 56 now.  They would have been in their mid twenties during this transition.  Joseph also said that if his cousin had had his green card, he would have been in that helicopter.  I could not understand all of the details, but this cousin is in the United States without a green card.  He can't go back to the Czech Republic or he will lose all he has worked for.  He is stuck, and he can't do anything for fear that he will be caught.  There are also people - lawyers - who are blackmailing him.  He is in a hard place. Josef's heart is broken for his cousin, and he wants to help.  Josef knows that God is the only One who can help, but he doesn't know how to get his cousin to turn to God.

Back to Josef's story.  Twenty years ago his wife passed away.  This left him very confused.  Then six years ago, he was invited to a retreat, and there he met God.  Or he said, "God found him." His life changed.  Hallelujah, thank you Jesus!  But he still does not understand.  What about the different religions?  Joel Osteen?  Mormans?  I just told him to trust the Bible and what it says, but when listening to men, face Jesus with your heart wide open, and ask Him, "Is this the truth. God will lead you. Jesus is the answer, not a man."  So he stood there with heart-wide-open to let God do whatever He wanted to do.  There is such a strong desire in him to follow Jesus.  He is amazing.  So I prayed for him, and he sat there and received.  Thank you Jesus!!!

So last night I woke up praying for this man, that God would make him a clear witness for His glory.  I prayed that the spirit of wisdom and understanding would enter his heart to lead him and guide him into all truth.  I prayed for a five minute harvest.  That's what Twyla Wallace saw in a dream - seeds planted and five minutes later, there was fruit.  I prayed for boldness and courage to speak the truth in love.  I prayed for the Spirit to descend with power over the Czech Republic and that hearts would be wide open to receive.  I prayed for the fire to fall to purify that which is impure in the Czech Republic - light and truth and mercy and grace.  Freedom.  Joy.  Peace.

This morning Josef came and drank coffee with us.  It is his desire that I meet with his cousin.  He thinks his cousin could hear me, so I pray!  God, you said that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but NEVERTHELESS, nothing is impossible with you.  Do the impossible.  God, send Your Spirit.  Send Your mercy and grace.  Send Your kindness that leads to repentance.  Send hope and a future.  Send peace.  Send comfort.  Send joy.  LORD, we need You to do what none of us can do.  Rescue.  God, I am asking for an open door.  In Jesus' name.

Yesterday, Josef went to the North Rim to see if he could rent the Lodge for a month so that Petr Kellner's family can come together to find peace.  This man's death is like a hornet's nest.  There will be many people who get stung.  LORD, I ask that You orchestrate deliverance.  I am asking that in Jesus' name.  AMEN

For all my praying friends, would you help me pray for this man and his country.  I do not think that it is by accident that we me.

Blessings to you,
​Terri

I try not to blog but once a week, but so much has happened in the last couple of days, and I want to record it.  I don't want to forget anything.  We left New Mexico on Wednesday, May 26th.  We had a flat tire that morning in Farmington, so it took us a while to get started.  We had just left Bisti Badlands, which I thought was so spectacular.  I am from west Texas - flat country.  Even rock formations fascinate me.  But as we left the badlands, the landscape changed.  Out of nowhere massive rock formations loomed in front of us.  It was incredible.  It was Bisti Badlands, but on a grand scale.  Then we drove across all of northern Arizona.  We did not know where we were going to stop, we just knew we were heading west.

I have to backtrack a little here.  I have a friend, Annabeth Martin, who thinks that our trip is prophetic.  She sees things in a way that I do not.  When we stopped at Dolores, Colorado on the Dolores River, she said, "Dolores means sorrow."  Later my son told me that Dolores means "pain."  So Annabeth wanted me to anoint the Dolores River.  She said that the LORD has come to anoint us with the oil of joy and the oil of gladness.  It is true, He has, and He has already anointed me.  In Isaiah 53, I understand that on the cross, Jesus bore our pain, and He carried our sorrows.  So that river that is over 250 miles long, is a river of pain and sorrow.  If flows straight through Indian territory.  I started to pray and prophecy over Indian nations.  So when I told Annabeth that we had stopped at the county line of Dolores and Montezuma at that bridge to anoint the river from that point - close to Rico, she said, "When you enter the badlands, call them good."  Say what?  We had already left the badlands, and I didn't do that.  I messaged Annabeth, "Girl, you see in a way that I don't see.  You have to teach me."   She then said, "I keep hearing, 'Take your shoes off, you are standing on holy ground."  OH MY!  So I started to pay attention.

All of northern Arizona is beautiful.  Massive rock formations.  But it is also desolate.  Not much can grow on this land - it is all Indian land - Apache and Navajo.  I can tell that because it is colored purple on my map.  Then I looked at where we were going - toward Page, AZ.  The town before Page is called Bitter Springs.  The Indian reservations stop just short of the Colorado River.  Did they get a raw deal.  Probably.  I told my husband, "I want to stop at Bitter Springs," and we did.  I took off my shoes, and I cried, "Holy!"  "Dry bones, hear the Word of the LORD."  "Breathe O four winds on these slain that they may live."  "Graves open up."  "Live!" "Bitter water, become sweet."  "LORD, send light into a dark and desolate land.  Heal the land.  Set the captives free.  Heal the broken hearts.  Set at liberty those who are bound.  Beauty for ashes!  The oil of joy for mourning!  A garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they may be plantings of the LORD for His glory."  "O send out Your light and Your truth.  Let them lead them.  Let them bring them to Your holy hill and to your tabernacle."  HOLY!  In Jesus' name.  HOLY.  HEALED.  WHOLE.

So I want to include the pictures of me standing barefoot prophesying.  I also want the pictures that I took from our truck as we were traveling northern New Mexico and northern Arizona.  After leaving Bitter Springs, we passed Marble Canyon before we even realized we were there.  All we really saw was a Motel, but it had a large parking lot and a couple of campers in the back.  When we saw that it was another 44 miles to Jacob Lake, we decided to turn back.  The man at the motel pointed to a road right beside us that led to a campground.  OH MY GOODNESS!

OH THE PLACES WE GO!

LEE'S FERRY:  Lee's Ferry is in Glen Canyon National Park, so with our AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL pass, we pay half price -  $10 per night.   We have no hookups, but there is a dump station right here,  There is also water at the dump station, so it is very convenient for us.  There are 50? campsites with covered tables and fire pits here.  There is also a bathroom.  Right now there are only about ten campsites taken, and it is Memorial weekend.  The park ranger said that this is the best kept secret around.  No one knew about this place until a couple of years ago when they opened the upper part of the Colorado River to kayaks. 

Lee's Ferry is the point where all of the rafts that float down the river through the Grand Canyon enter.  That trip is 270 miles long and will end up at Lake Meade near Las Vegas, Nevada.  Cool, huh!  We happened to be down on the river when a couple of groups were starting the trip, so we asked a lot of questions.  They say that there is a two year waiting list to take that trip.  I don't know how much it costs.  This is also the only? place you can enter the Colorado River around here.  Everything is regulated, so you can't even enter the river up at Page.  

Most people think that you have to have a permit to get on the river, but you don't if you go upriver.  We talked to the Park Ranger, and he gave us the scoop.  This river is a grade A fishing place - brown and rainbow trout, and until two years ago, it was a fisherman's paradise.  We talked to one man who had been fishing this river for 25 years.  He was not happy with the kayaks.  So you can paddle upstream, like we were doing, or you can hire some outfitters to take you the fifteen miles upstream to the dam, then float the river down.  Many people camp along the banks, so you can take as long as you want.  From what I understand, if you don't have a kayak, you can rent one for $100 per person, and they will take you upstream and let you out.  If you have your own boat, they say it costs anywhere from $65-$75 to have them take you.  Is that per person?   I don't know, but it would be worth it.  But from what I understand, you have to have a reservation.  One of the guys at the dock gave me a list of people who do this:

Backhaul outfitters:
Dave Trimble (928) 380-4504
Rae Lynn (435) 899-9717
Mike Haws (928) 587-3682
Mike Roth ((28) 719-1048

Then just down from the campground, there is a place called, The Beach.  It is a beach.  A sandy beach.  Cold water! Hot weather, and cold water. So cool!  This place is also 130 miles from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  We are going to go there tomorrow, I think.  But it is so much colder there.  We rode our motorcycle to Jacob Lake, and it was 60 degrees.  It was 95 when we left Lee's Ferry.  We have to have our coats, and we have to leave early.  Then it is only 110 miles to Zion National Park.  When we go there, we may just take the motorcycle and a tent.  We want this to be our home base for a while, but I want to do some hikes in Zion.

OH THE PEOPLE WE SEE!

PAT & DENNIS:  I don't know their last names, but Pat and Dennis are brothers.  Pat Lives in Minneapolis, and Dennis lives in Houston.  Pat flew into Houston over five weeks ago, and they took a train to El Paso.  They then got on their bicycles and went from El Paso to Tempi, AZ (426 miles).  Then from Tempi, AZ to Cedar City Utah (479 miles).  Then they were going to fly home from there.  They ride from 40-50 miles per day.  We fixed breakfast for them Thursday morning, then we passed them on the motorcycle as we rode to Jacob Lake.  We gave them some of our water.  Then we brought them cookies on the way back.  These are two neat people.  I wish we would have had more time to get to know them.  And we don't even know their last name.  Lyndyl is on the phone right now asking Randy if he wants to ride bicycles.  Randy laughed.

MICK AND GINA SWAPP:  Yesterday we decided to put our canoe into the river and paddle upstream.  Our last experience left me a little concerned.  So we thought that we would see if we could do it.  We probably paddled upstream about a mile when I could feel my legs burning, so we pulled over to the sandy beach so that I could put on my pants.  That was when Mick and Gina pulled up around the bend from us.  Their dog, Denali, a Great Pyrenees, met us first.  So sweet!  Then we just hit it off.  Mick knows so much!  He use to be a river guide.  He designed and built the boat they were driving.  It is made for long trips.  They have taken it down the Colorado several times.  He was a wealth of information, but most of the time he was speaking a foreign language to me.  He said names and terms I had never heard before.  I could not take it all in.  He also use to work as the manager? of the power plant that was here.  He knew all about the river and how it provided electricity for much of California and Arizona, but they have been in a drought for a long time, and he thinks that unless they get rain, Lake Powell will be too low to provide the electricity.  He thinks there will be blackouts by the end of summer.  He also sings.  He gave us a CD.  Fascinating.  Then Gina!  Wow!  She is a marvel.  She cans.  Shoots elk.  Processes.  She works hard and is prepared for anything.  She and Mick work as a team.  We loved them.  So then they just said, "Do you want us to take you upstream a few miles?  Heck yes!  - Although I was still a little nervous after our last canoe trip.  They took us al the way to Horseshoe Bend and showed us all the people up there who were taking pictures.  When we get to Page, I am going to take a picture from the top.  So cool!  I am hoping we connect again.

RV LIFE:

It has been averaging 95 degrees here at Lee's Ferry.  It is hot, like Texas, but there is nearly always a breeze.  We don't want to run the generator more than we have to, but we are just fine.  Lyndyl starts out sleeping on the couch because it is cooler, then he comes to bed.  We will see what happens when it gets hotter.

MOMENTS THAT TAKE MY BREATH AWAY:

The ride up to Mesa Verde again. 
The ride up and down the Colorado River.  Oh my goodness!

We are now on the road out of Farmington, NM. Rough road. We are headed toward the North Rim of the Grand Canyon - we think. We stopped at Denny’s this morning to get breakfast, and when we got through, our back tire was flat. Luckily we were only two miles from Discount Tire because when Lyndyl put the spare on, it was nearly flat, too. Discount Tire replaced our tire for $37.00. Yay!

We left Dolores, Colorado yesterday morning and drove to the Bisti Badlands. The drive there was so cool. Jutting out of the ground were random rock formations. I need to post some of the pictures. Crazy, amazing. I am looking at one now. All around Shiprock, NM and Farmington, NM are such amazing rock formations. Then we spent the night at the Bisti Badlands. Oh my goodness! So cool! I am so glad we did this, but it was a lot of walking. We met Phil Rolnicki in the parking lot of Bisti, and he walked with us and pointed out landmarks so that we could get where we needed to be. If it were not for him, I don’t know that we would have ever found the rock formations. He walked with us about a mile and a half before he turned around. I am so glad he was our guide. Other than Phil, we only saw five other people. This place is massive. The temperature was in the 70’s or low 80’s yesterday, so it was good, but if it was a hot day, this would be difficult.

RV LIFE:

THE THINGS WE NEED AND DON’T NEED: When we started out, we thought we would need our fire pit and wood. We love to cook outside, and we love to sit by a fire, but we found that there is a burn ban nearly everywhere, and the wind gets up so fast and blows so hard. We don't want to take a chance on anything catching fire. So right now we have a dog cage filled with firewood (I know!) and covered with a tarp (to keep the wood that we don’t burn dry), and a fire pit in the back of our truck. We have used this fire pit only a couple of times. We have used instead, our two burner propane cooker. We also thought that we would need lots of propane. We have three 20 pound bottles for our camper and one 20 pound bottle for the cooker, but we also have a 100 pound bottle in the back of the truck - just in case. That’s the way we roll. - Can I stop and mention here that we just crossed over into Arizona, and the roads are so much better! - Back to propane. It goes a lot further than we thought. We have only filled up one bottle since we left Brownwood. We also bought a new trailer brake control. Coming out of the mountains at Cloudcroft was hard on our braking system. Now we know to shift into low gear, and the new braking system for the trailer is awesome. Lyndyl has said several times since he installed it that it was a good investment.

BATH TIME: I have had several people ask me about taking a bath. When I was at home, I would use all of the hot water - forty gallons in my bathtub. I love to take a bath - not shower. That is the way I get warm. So when we started doing this RV thing, I didn’t know how this would work. We have 40 gallons of water, and that is all, and only 6 gallons of hot water at a time, so I put one inch of hot water in the small bathtub, and I get in. Then I adjust the shower to wet my hair, and I turn off the water while I wash my hair and my body, then I turn on the shower and rinse off. If it is cold, I have the small heater in the bathroom with me, but that was when we had electricity. I know that for many of you, this is too much information, but this is part of RV life. My husband does not bend well, so he can’t get in the tub. He showers. But the shower is SMALL, so when he turns around, the curtain goes to the outside of the tub. The first time he showered, we had water flowing into the bedroom. I need to interject here that I have been to Africa where women carry jugs of water on their head for miles. That is all the water they get. As I am downsizing, I think of other people and other places. We are spoiled rotten.

OH THE PLACES WE GO:

DURANGO-SILVERTON TRAIN: We took the train to Cascade Falls. That is a 5 hour round trip. There is also a train that goes all the way into Silverton - nine hours. The weather was iffy, so we chose the shorter of the two. The first half of the trip was through the town area, then we stopped halfway to pick up some more people. I don’t know what the name of that stop was, but if we were to do this ride again, we would get on there. From that point on, it was spectacular! We rode the open train. I think we saw more than the people in the closed cars. What we did not see going, we saw coming. The train ride cost us $187.

RICO: We rode our motorcycle to Rico one afternoon . Such a pretty ride. This is an old town. There are plenty of places to boondock along the Dolores River. It is gorgeous. I wanted to stay.

BOGGY DRAW; We went back to Boggy Draw to bike. This time we rode the Maverick Trail. We both liked this so much!!! It was shorter, but harder than the 199 trail. We both had to stop at the top of each incline. We had to push our bike in some places. We are so out of shape. We would both do that ride again!

BISTI BADLANDS: One of the places I wanted to go from the beginning was the Bisti Badlands. I saw pictures on Pinterest. It did not disappoint. One of the concerns we had about going was getting lost. Nothing is marked. But we met Phil in the parking lot, and he came with us to point out landmarks. He said that if we always follow the washout draw (where the bushes grow), it would take us back to the entrance. He also pointed out a plant on the horizon over the entrance. You can see that for miles, so between the washout and the plant, we always had our bearings. Then he pointed out two black buttes over to the right. The twin black buttes are the beginning of where all of the really cool rock formations start. We had to walk a long way before we came to these buttes. But to tell you the truth, anywhere you look, it is breathtaking. Like walking on the moon. Take water. Good walking shoes. A hat. Don’t go in the heat of the day.

OH THE PEOPLE WE SEE:

LINDA JAMES: When we were pulling into the Indian museum at Dolores, a lady started running to get out of our way. Of course that was a conversation starter. This lady was 78 years old, and she was a hoot. She was from Montana, and when her husband died when she was in her 60s, she decided to take off. She said that all of her husbands died of self-defense. She has an RV and has been on the road ever since. She loves Dolores, and she keeps going back there. She loves to hike. She talked about Ice Lake on Silverton Hiking Trail. She said that the hike is tough, gaining lots of elevation, but she said around every bend is another water fall or lake or view. She said it is breathtaking. I want to go!!!! When we looked this hiking trail up, we found that it was closed. In March there was a fire. Someday, LORD willing, I will hike that trail. After all, if a 78 year old woman can do it, so can I.

PEOPLE WE KNOW FROM BROWNWOOD, TEXAS. Ya’ll, there is the neatest couple who live in Brownwood but who have 35 acres in Dolores, Colorado near Boggy Draw. When she saw my post about bicycling in Boggy Draw, she messaged me. They were in Dolores. Oh my goodness, and they invited us over to eat. I wish I had taken more pictures. We drove up to their place, and there was a log cabin in the middle of a meadow. Ute Mountain was their view from their front porch. This man built this whole house with his two hands. It is not quite finished. He only gets to work on it when he comes to Colorado, but! Gorgeous! I took some pictures, but later found out that these two are kind of private people. All of my pictures had them in it, so the only pictures we have of their place, I took when we were leaving. It was the outside with lights on. I wish I had a picture of the place from the road. Paradise! And the meal was awesome.

PHIL AND BERNADINE ROLNICKI: We met Phil and Bernadine in the parking lot of Bisti Badlands. They were camping. When I asked if they knew the area, Phil said that they had been there five days. They meant to stay only two, but loved the place. They are originally from Chicago, but lived in Michigan for several years. While they were in Michigan, they had a 40 foot boat that they played in the great lakes. Sometime in there they exchanged their boat for an R-Pod RV, and they moved to Santa Fe. They go when they want to go. I am so glad we met them. This stop would not have been near as pleasant if we had not.

LYNDYL MET A GUY in the Bisti parking lot. He was sitting in a half tent in a chair. In front of him was a BMW. That’s what my husband thought. It was not. It was a Russian Ural. The guy went on to tell us the history of the German/Russian motorcycles. Then he and Lyndyl went around the pickup to throw away trash. This man then told my husband his story. This man worked in electronics. It was his business, and it was pretty big. All of his parts were made in China, so he just moved to China. This made things easier, but it was a hard place to have a business, but the man said he had several contacts in China that made it easier. While in China, he met his wife. She was a doctor. In China, mandatory retirement for a female is 50 years old unless she is a professional, then it is 55. There were only government run hospitals, but when she retired at 55, there were private practices. She worked three more years, then the man (I wish I knew his name.) got a Naval contract with his electronics. To get the contract, he had to move back to the states, so they moved. While Lyndyl was talking to this man, he asked him about my friend Tia Moen. For all of my theatre friends, Tia worked for Azle school district until last year when she took a theatre job in China. She posts on Facebook, and I am intrigued with the pictures she posts. But in all of her pictures, I see no people. I am like, “Where are the people?” Well, this man said, “I know what it is. In China, for a governor to advance in the government, he has to show progress. So this man said that there are many ghost towns. Building after building, luxurious - with no one living in them.” Is that so? I don’t know, but that is what the man said. I am sad that I didn’t get to hear his story. I would have known his name and age. Man. It is so cool to hear all the stories. Another life lived.

THE PRICE OF IT ALL:

WEEK 3:
Gas $48.97
Food $146.53
Groceries $52.68
RV Campground $288.26
Entertainment $316.26
Souvenirs $118.79
Parts $104.11
TOTAL $1,075.60
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This is a lot of money for us. We eat out a lot, and we are doing things that we want to do, things that in the past, we said no to. I want to give a clear witness to how much this life actually costs.

5/18/21 OUR RV ADVENTURES:

We have now been on the road for two full weeks. I know that for some people that is not much, but for us it is. This week has been different from last week in that we are staying for two weeks at an amazing RV place on the Dolores River. It is much easier to be hooked up to electricity and water all the time and to not move every few days, but my heart wants to go into the woods and camp by rivers and look out into meadows and onto mountains. That’s just me. I want to boondock.  But, when I told my family about this wonderful place, 

RV CULTURE: The thing that I have found while at this RV campground is that there is a different group of people - an RV culture. Most of the people we have met here are full time RVers. They have been living out of their RV for from 3-7 years without going home. Most do not have another home. Nearly all of the people that we meet are our age or older. Some live on a fixed income, so they do the WorkAmp (work camp) program or they boondock. There are about twelve couples who work this campground. They clean the cabins, do landscape, work the office, etc. They work three days and are off three days - about 20 hours a piece per week. They get their rent, electricity, water, butane, and laundry furnished as well as making minimum wage. It is not a bad deal. Every campground has its own rules and perks. One couple who works here is going to work in Alvin, Texas this winter. All the man has to do is keep the pool clean. She doesn’t have to do anything, and they get their place paid for. The only problem with this is that they have to commit to 6 months per place. If you work the State Parks, you only have to commit to 2-3 months at a time. This could be an alternative to high rent.

THE RIVER: This campground is right on the river. AMAZING! So we decided to test out our canoe. The problem is that a canoe takes on water. We didn’t know that, and by the time we rode out the last of the two mile stretch, our canoe overturned, and we had to drag everything to shore. So we decided to invest in an inflatable kayak. We didn’t want a kayak at first because it hurts Lyndyl’s shoulders to row above his head, but on a river, there is not much rowing - mostly guiding. I think it will be fun. I will let you know. The kayak should be here on Monday, the day we leave.

HIKING/BIKING: Because this place is so amazing, we messaged all of our kids and told them that they should come. Cloud and his family took us up on it. So fun! There is so much to do here, but after I told the story of riding the river, they didn’t want to do that. Haha. So we went hiking. So much fun. There are tons of hiking/bike trails in this area. We went on Boggy Draw 199. It is a 9 mile hike, but we only made it about 2.5 miles in before people were wanting to turn around. After Cloud’s family left, Lyndyl and I took our bikes down to Boggy Draw and rode that same trail. WOW! We are soooo out of shape. I had to stop at the top of each hill to catch my breath, but by the time I had ridden nine miles, it was getting easier. This trail took us mainly through the woods. We want to go back and do another trail that is 11.7 miles. This is the way to exercise. I love it, but man am I sore.

RV LIFE:

I think we have about figured out how to do this. Our black water/gray water works. Yay! We are very comfortable. Everything else works, too. We thought that we would cook outside on our fire pit because that is what we do at home, but we have an outdoor butane two burner stove that is amazing. We love outdoors.

OH THE PLACES WE GO:

DOLORES RIVER RV CAMPGROUND: I would recommend this place to anyone. This is a great place and a great location. It is close to so much, and it is on the river. Apparently the only months you can float this river like we are doing is in May and June. After the snow melts, the river becomes a trickle. I think. That’s what I read.

BOGGY DRAW: If you take Hwy 31 out of Dolores toward the mountains, you will come to Boggy Draw Trail Head road. Turn right and go till you come to the parking lot of the trail heads. So many places to go. Hike. Bike. Please take your mountain bikes! Fun! After we got through riding the 199 trail, we took our pickup around on the road 527. It is legal to camp for up to 14 days anywhere off of this road. Oh my goodness! The meadows. The woods. I want to go, but we have already paid for two weeks at Dolores River RV. If we had only known. Do you know what I think it is? Our back wall opens up to whatever view we want. I don’t want an RV campground view. I want that meadow with yellow flowers blooming everywhere.

MESA VERDE: Wow! Wow! Wow! Mesa Verde is only about 20 miles from our campground. Then it is 20 miles to the top of the mesa. Mesa Verde is one of the reasons we chose Dolores to camp. It is very close. The ride up to Mesa Verde is spectacular. I would put it in the same category as the Million Dollar Highway. Steep. Scary. Spectacular!!! Then the history! The cliff dwellings! The Indians! So much!

OH THE PEOPLE WE SEE:

It is funny that the people we meet here in the campground we don’t get to know as much. I don’t know why. We meet people who go back into their trailers. Nice people. I just didn’t get to know them. The only memorable person I met was today at Walmart. The woman checking us out was older, and it looked like she was hurting, but she smiled. I asked her how she felt, and she said her body is getting older, and it is doing whatever it wants to do. As I left, I gave her my card, and I asked her if she had worry in her heart. She became animated, and said, “Well, heck yes.” So I asked her if she wanted it to go away, and she said, “Yes! And all of this other stuff, too.” She pointed to her stomach. I think that was what was hurting. I took her to Jesus, and I said, “Say you are guilty of worrying.” She did, and she started kind of dancing. I told her to go to my website, and I told her that if she would give Jesus her worries and her fears, her physical symptoms will go away. I believe that with all of my heart. I will probably never see her again. I don’t even know her name.

WITNESS HIM NOW:

I want to record what I see God doing. I think He worked in the lady in Walmart. I am not sure, but I know that He is working in me. Sunday morning, my friend Annabeth Martin called early and woke us up. She said, “Do you know what is going on?” No. What? Then she told me about all the bombing that were happening in Israel. Then she just started talking. She sees things that I do not see. Everything she sees, points her back to what God is doing. But what she said was, “Jesus was a prophet. Jesus was also the prophetic work, and Jesus is the fulfillment of all prophecy, and because Jesus lives in us, He is fulfilling prophecy through us. This is the mystery - Christ in you, the hope of glory!” Oh my goodness. This ministered to me. It is not what I do. It is Christ who lives in me. Prophecy is being fulfilled. Wow! God encouraged me that morning.

Then Annabeth, who thinks our whole trip is prophetic, said, “Do you know what Dolores means?” No. “It means sorrow, but you are anointed with the oil of gladness and joy. Go and pour oil into that river of sorrow.” So I did. I put Frankincense oil into the river before we got in. Then my son said, “Do you know what Dolores means? In Spanish it means ‘pain.’” So in my mind, there is something going on with pain and sorrow. In Isaiah 52-53, we understand that Jesus bore our pain and He carried our sorrow. I started to pray. Then I started seeing all the Indian history, and my heart reached out to the pain and the sorrow in this nation. LORD, thank you for all that You did. Now, heal! In Jesus’ name. Then I began to think about the Indians. The pain and the sorrow. And I began to pray.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

I want to record our costs. We started our trip on I want everyone to know what we are doing. So the first week went like this:
WEEK !: (5/4-5/11)
Gas $299.10 ($2.87-$3.39 per gallon)
Food $219.28
Groceries $96.85
Vineyards/Alpaca Farm $138.00
Parts: $81.35
RV Parks $81.35
Park Passes: America the Beautiful $80.00
TOTAL: $1109.87. (miles driven 1300.3)

WEEK 2: (5/12-5/18)
Gas $10.75 (motorcycle)
Food $47.89
Groceries $271.59
Parts $56.12
RV Parks - Dolores ($44-$49 per night) $293.26
TOTAL: $679.61. (miles driven 76)
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I did not put in the cost of our trip - kayak $509.