Everything and the kitchen sink: How does an RV stack up to driving a plain old car?

This article about someone who took a trip similar to ours was interesting. They drove 2700 and we have driven 11,000 so far, but still, we feel like we saved a lot of money by traveling the way we did. We tracked every cent we spent, and our cost ended up averaging about $120 a day including the groceries, diesel fuel, RV parks, new tires all around and repairs as we went along. We counted every expense, including the $2000 for the Alaskan Marine Ferry. We even counted snacks and souveniers. Of course we bought a fifth wheel and truck, so you have to factor that cost in, but the biggest advantage to me is having my own space, own things, own bed. Also, we could stop pretty much where we wanted. In Alaska and British Columbia we often stayed in places that cost us nothing for overnight. We cooked most nights, and ate out rarely. Also, many of the people we met who were staying in hotels or renting cars and motorhomes had to see everything in two weeks! We enjoyed taking our time and seeing what we wanted to see. Read the article

Waiting in Houston

We arrived in Houston Friday, July 25. It was great to see Carrie and Dali, and also great to be stopped for a while. We are parked in a nice RV Park not too far from Carrie and Dali's house, and we have been helping them get some things done, like painting the wall in the baby room and painting a dresser to move into their room. It is hot and humid here, but we have managed to get in our walk early in the morning, and stay out of the heat.
Today is our 41st anniversary, so we are going out to eat with Carrie and Dali.
Hopefully, the next blog update will be the arrival of our grandbaby!

Georgetown, TX

Thursday afternoon, we arrived in Georgetown and found an RV park. We met our friend Nancy and her husband Frank at their home and went boating, eating barbecue on the boat. It was a beautiful night, although Hurricane Dolly had turned to a tropical storm and threatened to ruin the evening. Ellen was home from Texas Tech, and Nancy's sister Melinda from Vail was there also. When Ellen was born in Tucson, Carrie held her before her own daddy did! Ellen is trying to get to Houston and hold our new baby Sophie before Dali does. (No, she hasn't been born yet!)
We had a relaxing and fun time.
Friday morning we went for a tour of ROCK (Ride On Center For Kids). Nancy was the founder of this non-profit organization that provides therapy for handicapped children, at risk youth, and injured veterans. We especially enjoyed hearing the story of a young boy named Logan. You can read more about ROCK here.

Visiting Cousins in Decatur, TX

We were delighted to see Don and Barbara for the first time in 16 years. Barbara and Denny are cousins (their mothers were sisters). Don and Barbara have served God faithfully for many years. they met many years ago through mutual friends at a Christian youth endeavor in Los Angeles, California. We had visited their home when they still lived in Bellevue, WA. and they had visited us in Ohio and Tucson. Now they live on a beautifully wooded 12 1/2 acres in Decatur, TX. They cleared land and built their own log house. It is just a wonderful place with birds, hawks, and other wildlife in the area. They have a stocked fishing pond, goats, chickens, and they run an organic produce coop from their home. They loaded us up with organic fruits and vegetables before we left. We so enjoyed sitting around their kitchen table and catching up.

Why Denny Doesn't Like Driveways with Trees

Denny's cousin Don Vanderbecken says to us on the phone, "Oh, you will have no trouble coming in our driveway. Even semi trucks have come in here. Just avoid the pond." So, Denny avoided the pond and ended up totally stuck in the trees. Don got up on a ladder and cut down a large limb to rescue us.

On the Road Again

We left Franktown, Colorado Monday mnorning and headed toward Colorado Springs. We got stopped in awful traffic south of Colorado Springs and sat for about an hour. we went through Pueblo, then on to Lamar, CO where we spent the night. Next morning we headed toward Texas. We only went through a little bit of Oklahoma and then drove and drove3 in Texas. We spent the night in Amarillo, and are now headed toward Decatur, TX to visit Denny's cousins, Don and Barbara Vanderbecken.

Catching Up With Long Time Friends

Jim and Susie Efaw

Larry and Chris Hill

We were able to attend Beth Eden Baptist Church in Denver, Co where our good friends Jim and Susie Efaw have been for 18 years. We went out for some authentic Mexican food, and then headed to see another friend, Chris, who we knew from Tucson many years ago. She and her husband Larry live in the beautiful hill country south of Denver. Although it was 102 in Denver, it was quite a bit cooler at their house, and we opened our windows and had pleasant sleeping weather in their driveway. We explored the farm, enjoyed seeing the horses, cows and chickens, and even rode quads around their 80 acres in the cool of the evening.