On the Road....AGAIN!

Friday, August 3,2012    On our way to Iowa

We were on the road by 3:30am and we had a beautiful night to travel by.  We had a long day ahead of us and hoped to be to my parents by early evening.  We switched drivers early in the morning and after I had been sleeping a bit, I was awakened by the strong smell of smoke.  We were in Wyoming and must have been near fires. We did not see any but the smoke hung in the sky and was very strong.  We prayed for the people who have fought and been touched by fires this summer- there are so very many in so many different states. 

I had prayed that we would have a safe and uneventful trip.  Safe we had but our adventures are far from over.  Here is a big lesson we would like to pass on to anyone who might sometime travel through Wyoming.  ALWAYS KNOW WHERE YOU ARE!!!!!  You don't know when you will see a gas station again.  Yep, we ran out of gas outside of Gillette, Wyoming.  Dave had asked me if I thought we should get gas but we had a bit and some of the kids were sleeping....so I told him no.  Well, the miles passed and Dave had me check where the next town was....it was farther than we wanted!  We were praying and we actually stopped in a little town for gas, but it went out of business in June- UGHHH!   Well, our tank went dry when we were about 4 miles out of town.  Dave was actually able to coast if for almost 3 miles on the shoulder- thank goodness for down hill!  Then...Dave got out and pushed the car (YES- HE PUSHED IT :) 



Very thankful for a strong husband!





The boys were a huge help!



The boys got out and helped.  They made it about another 1/2 mile until a man stopped to see if he could give Dave a lift to the gas station. The boys continued to push as they were able so Dave would have less distance to cover getting back to us(we were ALMOST to the exit by this time).  Suddenly, a car pulled up behind us and this AMAZING lady got out with gas can.  She had seen Dave pushing the car so she went to the gas station, borrowed the gas can, BOUGHT us gas, drove back out on the highway, crossed through the grass median and even poured the gas in for us.  She truly was an angel!!!!  The attendants at the station later said they had never seen her before!!!  By the time Dave got to the gas station, the people asked if he was the car that ran out of gas and told him a lady was on her way with gas.  They said that people run out of gas all the time there!

Thank you Lord for sending us an Angel in Disguise and may we bless others the way she blessed us!

It was wild as we drove through areas that had signs for the Badlands, Wall Drug, Mt. Rushmore....all the places that we stopped at as we first started our trip.  What amazing memories! It is hard to believe that it has been 5 weeks.  We would love to stop and see all these places again!  The only place we didn't get to stop and see was Devil's Tower. We would have gone by if our time was not so tight.  We have good friends who stayed there so I may need to lift a photo from them! :)



They left the light on for us...
SO glad to be here!



The rest of the trip was less eventful but we were sad as we drove through the Midwest and saw what the crops looked like now 5 weeks later.  This  drought is rivaling the Dust Bowl and it is evident in the fields.  I prayed for the farmers and their families as they go through this and know that it will also touch us in many ways.  My parents actually had their well dry up while we were on our trip and they are hoping for rain to replenish it!  We had joked on our trip that we seemed to bring rain to every desert, so we figured that it would rain once we got to Iowa.  Would you not know it, but it stormed that night and they finally got some rain, not much but some. 

Let me tell you....were we glad to see their house!  We arrived around 8pm and they had a wonderful meal waiting for us.  The best pizza in the world, chicken, fruit, veggies & dip....mmmmm, so delicious!!!!  Thank you mom and dad for taking such good care of us. We love being here!!!! 



Having a wonderful meal with Grandpa
and Grandma!





My parent's dog, Traxx

In fact, the kids were begging to stay longer.  This was to be a very short stop as we still had 21 hours to go to get home.  Dave wanted to leave at 3am, (he was hoping to get home while it was still dark, so we could all get more sleep).  I wanted to leave around noon...so we compromised and slept until 6am, had a yummy breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa and were then on the road around 7:30am.  Even Traxx was begging for us to stay longer- or was it for us to leave.  We were not quite sure!  :)

Annika also had a birthday present from Aunt Denise and Uncle Terry which she had a lot of fun opening up.  It will be fun having new things to play with on the last leg of the trip home.

I am so thankful as I think about this incredible trip of all the people we have met and been blessed by, the amazing places that we have seen and just the experiences that we have had as a family.  We are so much closer and I am just so thankful for this time.  I am sad that it needs to end but so glad that we have this gift of time.  Thank you mom and dad for being a wonderful rest stop for us and thanks for the many ways that you show us your love!!!  We love you both so much!!!