Week Eleven

Spring Creek Camping

 

We have one week until the "Rod Run" comes through town with all the amazing cars. It also brings a lot of people through town so we decided to hit up the lake to get some relaxing in before another crazy week at work. Instead of going to our usual spot on Hebgen we went to a place our friends suggested called Spring Creek. You have to take the same dirt road that we normally do except we have to go about 12 miles farther down. Destiny doesn't like this road too much because there are so many rivets and bumps from the weather and the snow mobilers. It took us almost 45 minutes to get there but we finally made it. Our friends were going to meet us out there later that night so we just enjoyed a quiet afternoon reading books and exploring a new part of the lake. It doesn't have a beach like our other spot does but there are lots of plants and trees around.  We were supposed to get another storm that night but for the afternoon it was clear so we just posted up in our chairs and soaked up some of the sun. This summer has been much different than last- we have had at least one or two good storms a week. It's rained more and been much chillier. I am a little bummed because I miss wearing shorts all the time but on the other hand it is nice to know that we will not be having a bad fire season like last year. At one point in August of last year we had ten fires within 30 miles of us and they kind of made a perfect circle around our little town. The smoke filled the sky with an everlasting gloomy gray and you could smell forest fire for weeks. So if we have to have a colder summer to avoid that I guess I am ok with that!

 

Luke met us out there after he got off work and shared a delicious trout that Jordan caught! They are huge in this lake and you need at least 3-5 people to eat all of the meat they have. So we are always grateful for campfire visitors to help us enjoy the day's catch. Around 10 or 11pm Luke had to take off but Lauren and Mckelle showed up in their new motorhome. It's a class c like ours just a little older. It's been fun having friends our own age who own a motor home and share this lifestyle with us! We also just love having friends in general.... this summer is so different than last. We actually get to do life with people and it makes it all so much more enjoyable.

 

After spending a couple of days at this new campsite we decided that it is pretty and quiet but we do enjoy our other spot better. We like the beach, the closeness, and of course the fishing!

Week Ten

Bozeman Adventure

 

After one good weekend of rest and a full week of work we decided to hit up Bozeman on our next days off together. We of course, stopped for fishing and then hit up a movie and dinner. It's not often we get to do this kind of things anymore but when we do- we REALLY enjoy it! We spent the next day getting Jordan new glasses, going to the grocery store and going to the chiropractor. It was nice to get out of our small little town for a night get some much needed errands ran!

 

On our way home we stopped for some more fishing- Jordan is obsessed! But i enjoy it too... even if I don't fish all the time I love to sit on the banks and soak in the scenes or do little chores in the motor home and peak out at the man I love enjoying nature so much. It's the little moments like this that really make me appreciate our life and little home on wheels!

Brandon turned 18 this week- kind of made me a little emotional!

 

this chair ripped open while I was sitting in it! Haha can't beat it though- a $6 chair lasted us two and half years!

Week Nine

Lazy Weekend

 

Work was good this week but we kind of had those "vacation blues." Even though we can't complain about our daily life- vacations are just always more fun! But between our three past weekends and all of our fun I was pretty ready for a lazy weekend at home. Destiny was also VERY ready for it! All this playing we have been doing means there is no time for chores, cleaning, writing or anything!!! So we just enjoyed our days at home with scattered storms and lazy days. We spent an evening with Luke in Destiny just learning more about him and hanging out! He's incredible and we love that we got to meet him this summer!

TRIP STATS

Starting Mileage: 67,688.3

Current Mileage: 87,885.4

Total Mileage Traveled: 20,197.1

State Count: 16

National Parks: 9 (Joshua Tree National Park, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Guadalupe Mountain National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Painted Desert National Park, Grand Tetons National Park, Redwood National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park)

Juli's Favorite Places: Montana and basically the whole Northwest side of the country, Lincoln MT, Nashville TN, Royal AR

Jordan's Favorite Places: West Yellowstone MT, Lincoln MT, Coeur'D'Alene ID, The Northwest in general, Nashville TN, Royal AR

Destiny Update: Well Destiny has been a champ taking us over 20,000 miles across the country and back. We have pushed all four of her cylinders harder than they were ever meant to! We mostly fixed her leaking roof but we still add the tarp for cautionary purposes. The fridge is still broken but it is a trusty little ice box that really has just become part of life to us. Though I still dream of the day I will be able to shop in bulk to save money and go shopping less. We have been having a little problem with the shower these days. It's been leaking out of the handles- but this fix is going to be quite expensive because they will have to cut a hole in our wall and then patch it up. So we are just kind of dealing with the low pressure. The major thing lately that is making us weary is that the engine has been doing this thing where are soon as it heats up to running temperature it will just cut out every time we come to a stop or put it into any gear. It was only doing it sometimes but it is happening a lot more often now. We have taken it to a couple of mechanics up this way but basically they just take our money and give us no answers in return. We are just praying we can make it home so we can take it to our mechanics in So Cal that we trust. Other than ALL of that we love our girl so much. This 21 foot home has changed us and grown us more than we ever imagined.

Funds: The Lord always provides. We have learned to trust in that and repeat it constantly. We have truly been blessed over the past two years of traveling and never ever gone hungry. Sometimes we have just enough manna to make it through, other times we are in plenty. Regardless we think we live in abundance.... at least in the way we would want to. This summer has been one of those times of plenty, where we are trying to use the money wisely and catch up on things and prepare for the months of uncertainty ahead. We are grateful for Jordan's amazing job and completely humbled by the way the Lord provides for us.

People: These are a few of the people we have met and/or visited along the way

Darren

Mr. Anderson

Cote's (unrelated)

"Mountain Right" guy

Mikey

Debbie

Steve

PJ

Shelby

Cole

Mr and Mrs Dunbar

Aunt Wendy

Richard

Justin

Donnie and Roger

Kim and Deedee

Rocky

Cody

Brett, Chelsea and Callie

The three gypsies from the River (another couple and their dog who travel and work full time in their RV)
Brenda
Cody
Bill and Deb
Rhett
Dave (the Lord of Winterfell)
Dave
Irish

Jeremy
Kuntal
Damien- security guard
Charlene
Britany- turf
Britany- turf
Danny
Abby
Sotos
Tim
Patrick- the wanderer
Luke
Jessica
Jen
Kyle
Carlos
Franchies- Max
Mia and Teddy
Casey
Devynn
Grace
Shaun
Wendy
Katja
Charlotte and Gerald
Jim
Lauren and Mckelle
Jake
Everette
Josh
Said
Aunty Becky and Frank
Jackson and Jill
Ty and Chels
Mitch
Timmy and Terri
Ian and Richelle
Murder

Sanity: This has really been our year, I feel like we are finally over the initial learning curve of "life on the road" and have really been able to embrace it. We have our routines. The set backs that come are handled with more grace. Little things get to us sometimes but overall we are embracing it! Although I think Jordan could live in Destiny forever I am getting closer to wanting that upgrade. Nothing too crazy but just a little bit bigger rig with a few more amenities.

Favorite Part: Of course we love the places that we have been able to see and the people that we have met. But one thing we have been really loving lately is that in Destiny we can live life at our own pace. We sometimes take that for granted but lately we have definitely been really grateful for that.

Cities We have Stayed In:
Rialto, CA

Joshua Tree, CA

Parker, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Las Cruces, NM

Carlsbad, NM

Junction, TX

Copperas Cove, TX

San Antonio, TX

Austin, TX (Jordan only)

Texarkana, TX

Royal, AR

Bartlett, TN

Campbellsville, KY

Nashville, TN

Forrest City, AR

Hot Springs, AR

Benton, IL

Wheatland, MO

Tulsa, OK

Amarillo, TX
Las Vegas, NV
St. George UT
Pocatello, ID
West Yellowstone, MT
Bozeman, MT
Idaho Falls, ID

Boise, ID
Bayside, CA
Morro Bay, CA
Salinas, CA
Bakersfield, CA
Fallbrook, CA
San Onofre, CA
Abilene, TX
Dallas, TX
Oklahoma City, OK
Albuquerque, NM
Rio Rancho, NM
Hollbrook, AZ
Showlow, AZ
Phoenix, AZ
Havasu City, AZ
Williams, AZ
Page, AZ
Salt Lake City, UT
Jackson, WY
Great Falls, MT
Missoula, MT
Coeur'D'Alene, ID
Hermiston, OR
Coos Bay, CA
Big Sur, CA
Santa Barbara, CA
Newport Beach, CA
Julian, CA