THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE~IDAHO & NUGGET RV RESORT~MONTANA

July 22nd: We were up bright and early this morning, anxious to be on our way - and putting the smoky wildfire haze behind us.

Wal*Mart parking lot. 3 AM - most of these RV's showed up while we were catching some zzz's; Post Falls-ID

Post Falls, Idaho from Rainier, Oregon - 6 hr. 23 mins.

Holland got coffee across the street, around 6 AM; mine was iced Hazelnut.

When we passed over Silver Mountain at 7:33 AM, I spotted a road sign that said, "Wallace" … and squealed with excitement, like a little girl: Wallace has been on my Bucket List for 2 years while I worked up my nerve to get there ;-)

When I explained to Holland that Wallace has laid claim to (and been legally documented) as being "the center of the Universe", he gamely turned in that direction.

What a guy!

I loved the feel of Wallace's quirkiness; I like the old-time-Historical mining town architecture - I like that Wallace is hidden in the mountains :-)

Holland had made good plans, and I was excited to see places he'd lived in.

We had thought to get to Bonner's Ferry - but wildfire smoke haze had us turning back.

Holland decided to reroute to Flagstaff-AZ; heat is better than wildfire smoke.

Wallace, Idaho was on a road sign, and I got excited - so Holland turned in that direction. YAY!

It was literally 'right up the street' :-)

I got my 'rural America' moment :-) AND I got to scratch Wallace of my Bucket List ;-)

Wallace-ID from Post Falls-ID; 1 hr.3 mins, via I-90 E

I ENJOYED THIS! This is what I hope to see more of, most of our trip across America.

Wallace-ID: https://visitidaho.org/things-to-do/roadside-attractions/center-of-the-universe-wallace/ & https://visitnorthidaho.com/community/wallace-idaho/

We parked the truck and RV here, at this curbside.

A Junk Shop with interesting junk …

Geiger counter's. We would have bought one, but the shop didn't open until around lunchtime. We just couldn't swing the late hours.

I went looking for the 'Center of The Universe' marker.

Found it!

Holland & Bleu patiently waiting for me …

Leaving downtown Wallace-ID; main street is a looping 1-Way road.

Throw-back humor. This is the kind of stuff that I hope to see more of; off the freeways.

Wallace RV Park - too 'outdated' for Holland, but perfectly 'rural America', for me ;-) It was too small, and too tight for us - most RV's here are 35 feet, and even that is too long for the parking slots.

Wallace is worth the side trip - no place for big rigs to park, but worth a visit.

Another 'Wallace Curiosity'.

This whole town is cool.

A retro RV.

Holland and I both laughed when we saw this saddled elk - and I sent a pic of it to Chrystal; family humor.

After leaving Wallace, we looked for an RV Space to rent for a few days: NO LUCK for HOURS. It was a hot day (90-degrees). We hadn't sleep much the night before. Holland's shoulder was paining him, plans had to constantly be rerouted, and neither of us were in agreement with each other's suggestions for a rest break. We were sticky, and wearing yesterday's clothes. We were both getting cranky.

I finally said, "Holland, let's stop being snippy with each other, and just pray about it - Elohim will lead us to the perfect RV space for us."

So, we prayed; and kept seeking a place to park for the night. At the last place we checked in at, the lady said she didn't have space for us … but an RV Resort down the road did: boy, was that music to our ears. We called, were conformed a spot, and immediately drove straight there.

Holland signed us up here, until Monday :-)

Tonight, we will all get a relaxing good night's rest, and hopefully Holland's shoulder will relax and settle down, too.

Finding an RV spot for the night was nearly impossible, and Holland was getting cranky with his sore shoulder. And neither of us got much sleep the previous night. I was praying we would not have to weather an emotional thunderstorm.

FINALLY! A place to park our RV for a few days - ((((THANK YOU, LORD))))!

St. Regis-ID from Wallace-ID; via I-90 E

Entrance is set up like a pioneering town.

It's a KOA RV Park that partners with the Good Sam Memberships. It's hokey … but, I like it. Holland got his "nice Park", and I got my 'Old West' feels :-)

YES! We booked a space until Monday afternoon. Elohim is faithful.

We were stationed kitty-corner from the Office-Store, near the Park entrance.

QUIET CHALLENGE & WILDFIRES ALL AROUND US

July 21st: We decided to try to "hit the road" one more time: I hope we can keep traveling, but everything depends on Holland's medical issues - he is retired on disability. He is giving my dream a gung-ho effort, and I love him for it; but our marriage is more important than a trip across America.

Traveling under tension when the pain is overwhelming, is not fun.

Only Elohim knows if the two can be satisfactorily dove-tailed.

We pulled stakes in Castle Rock-WA around 1:30 PM this afternoon, outran wildfire smoke across eastern oregon, and reached Post Falls around midnight. We couldn't find an RV spot, so we hunkered down in a Wal*Mart parking lot overnight.

We were bone tired, and struggling a little bit with the smoky haze - but Elohim was faithful and neither one of us suffered lung distress, though my chest did hurt; but I did not have even a little asthma complication.

Elohim is good :-)

Furbaby is growing up; I found a baby tooth found on the inside steps this morning.

Holland getting Bleu 'dressed'.

Leaving Castle Rock; my 'Quiet Challenge' has officially begun.

Oh Snap! Sandal blowout around Woodland-WA

Holland nipped into the Gee Greek Rest Area this side of Ridgefield-WA. I changed sandals … and Holland waited out the back-to-back freeway traffic; every truck slot was taken, so we parked here - there was no where else to park.

Busy, busy, busy - and WA wants to make this bridge a Toll Bridge, a.g.a.i.n.!

Holland couldn't stand the quietness; LOL. 3:30 PM

We passed 'Oxbow State Park' in the Oregon Gorge, and got a surprise … we both thought the Oxbow was in Montana (3010 SE Oxbow Pkwy, Gresham, OR 97080).

We saw a huge smoke cloud across the Columbia River, as we drove through Arlington-OR (https://www.cityofarlingtonoregon.com/).

Bickleton, Washington Wildfire: https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/wildfire/6000-acre-brush-fire-burning-klickitat-county/281-82e52b9b-f6dd-4c0c-8370-4fb59e9b2a0d

We had debated driving the WA Gorge side, or the OR Gorge side - I'm glad Holland decided to skip the Washington side, watching the BIG smoke cloud. Our lungs could not have handled that.

Holland decided to take Hwy. #730 to cross the River on our way to Montana.

We're going to try to stay ahead of the smoke cloud - but the drift is extensive.

RV Parks couldn't be found along the route, but there were RV Parks e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e. in Irrigon-OR, and we couldn't stop!

Harvest Foods Big Cowboy; Umatilla-OR

 (https://findyournorthwest.com/columbia-harvest-foods/ & https://www.harvestfoodsnw.com/)

Back in Washington … despite the round-about-2 State Route, this really is the quickest route; with or without the wildfires breaking out.

Aiming for Hwy. #395 … hoping to escape the worst of the drifting smoke cloud.

The smoke odor was very strong - it could be tasted on the tongue. My chest was tightening up as it seeped into the pickup, and I was concerned about Holland's "ify" lungs, too.

Thankfully we are moving further away from the wildfires. The smoke is thinning out some.

Bleu isn't liking the smoky odor-taste, either.

Getting closer to the Pasco-Richland area, the sun was looking pretty normal. The atmosphere is still smoky, but it's a lot clearer than what was behind us.

Traveling the route to Coeur d'Alene (pronounced core-da-lane)-ID

BACK ON TRACK~Elohim's Faithfulness

Well … 

Holland called his nephew, and requested prayer last night for our situation.

I talked with a friend at breakfast in town, this morning.

And when I got back home, Holland said, "How about we get back on the road - and instead of setting up and tearing down every other day, we set up for a week or two … working our way down south for the Winter. I don't want my shoulder issue to keep us from enjoying Life, Baby. I'll get that X-Ray in September, and we can deal with what happens after that. But let's get back on the road, until then."

I was all over that … and, ((((THANK YOU, YESHUA))))!

I even suggested we sit the RV in a Resort lot slot, in various places along the route for as long as a month if necessary; when his shoulder aches too much. I am comfortable driving the Beast 4x - and I can get out and about in new locations - to see the sights and explore the little communities by myself, if Holland wants to kick back and chill at home with Bleu, when the pain is elevated. A month stay will help ease the inflammation.

AND, I'm going to learn to haul the 5th wheel, too, to take some of the pressure off Holland's shoulders. That thing is heavy behind the Beast … and hauling it pulls on the shoulders no matter how smooth the 4x drives: I know I am capable of carrying my weight in this situation. Holland is a patient teacher - he's a perfectionist, but he doesn't crowd me when I am learning to do new things: he patiently explains what I need to do, then wisely gives me the time I need/space that allows me to "do it my way" 😉

He wants to get up early tomorrow morning, and head towards Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, and then cut into a corner of California to visit his relatives on his mother's side of the family before his doctor appointment in September. Following that (depending on what happens with his shoulder diagnosis), we will drive to Courtside-AZ, to spend the Winter there, where the warmth will be a comfort to bones, alleviating some of the pain.

I know this is all confusing, but yu'all know by now that my Life NEVER runs to script, and more times that not - it is a tangled mess of changing plans. Thankfully, Holland is like a cat landing on it's feet after a leap of faith 😉

I am thankful that Elohim is faithful, and always has a Backup Plan on standby for our lives 😇👍 I'm glad Holland is game to run with that Backup Plan 🥰😘 I am thankful we are being given this chance to get back on track 😁👏

And Holland and I have a running bet on a challenge I placed on myself this morning; David brought it up, and I accepted.

Challenge to be quiet.

I've never been a quiet woman, but I think I can win this challenge, even though Holland just about choked on his laughter: he is still laughing 😉

HARD TIMES

 

TRIP CANCELLED

The trip across America has been canceled - Holland's shoulder was on fire last night and this morning …. and we came back home from Sunnyside, WA. Things got a little sideways around Rochester, and it is obvious the trip will not be happening.

I'll get back to doing what I was doing before I got married (loop road trips around local WA & some OR roads/a weekly luncheon with my gal pals). Holland needs to stay in WA for his shoulder surgery - and that process will take 2 years - and he's not too keen on long road trips that bounce his shoulder, so he'll be sitting comfortably in Cal's fancy speed boat while Cal and Marcella fish.

He has also been asked by several people to go back to Oak Point Grange Meetings … and I'm pretty sure he will. He feels at home there, and his mindset is the same as theirs.

I'm going MIA for quite a while: I'm still trying to process that everything has changed. My heart was set on everything. But life happens, and change happens. I don't have to like it.

WEEK'S WORK

We've been enjoying ourselves, while also being busy between trips to the North Beach Peninsula beaches :-)

Wednesday - We drove to Rainier-OR to get Holland's teeth tended to; they look great, but they need another adjusting … so, we'll be calling tomorrow to set up another appointment. Hopefully they can get him in tomorrow (or Wednesday), and we'll be pulling stakes here and head towards North Dakota via White Pass-WA.

Interesting loop drive under the Lewis & Clark Bridge - Holland used to fish off the Port of Longview docks, so he knew this route.

David has been more than generous in extending a friendly "stay as long as you want to" on his beach property, and we truly appreciate it - but we don't want to wear out our welcome … and my itchy feet are wanting to get on the road again.

There are plenty of straight roadways between Yakima and North Dakota, with sparse traffic, so I am hoping to get some RV driving time in; so Holland can give his shoulder a rest now and then: he's grousing, but I am determined. It's necessary. And we are a Team - that means I will learn to carry my weight and take some of the pressure off my loving husband's shoulders ;-)

Then, we drove over to Longview-WA, to visit with Holland's cousin, Crystal - so much fun and laughter. And … she sent a bag of books home with me :-)

A very welcome gift, from Chrystal.

Thursday - Back to Longview for a Birthday Supper with Pam (her 68th), and her family. Also lots of fun and laughter.

Friday - Holland finally found the time to fix the upper bathroom door that was jarred out of it's place when we came over that Hell road from Denver months ago. It isn't flopping around anymore, and it looks a lot better too.

Sliding farmhouse door fixed - thanks Luv!

Then, I shooed him and Bleu outside while I mopped the floors and shampooed the doggie odor out of the carpet; Holland cooked Supper in the smoker-grill, so it wasn't a hardship for him to be outside for a while.

Saturday - We helped clear some of the debris off David's beach property; he had rototilled it earlier in the week before leaving for home again - and it's the least we could do to help him, since he is helping us tremendously by letting us spend this honeymoon time on his quiet, secluded, lot.

Property debris; David's beach lot.

Small limb refuge place din the burn pit … larger bits placed off to the side to be cut down to size.

Clearer; still some debris left, but the pile is down considerably.

Today - Holland is relaxing, and resting his shoulder … and I am working on completing the project item I started a few days ago: it's a love gift of my own design, in Holland's favorite color :-)

Working on a project - for Holland, to keep his knees warm in the early morning and late evening chill.

And we had a good long talk - sharing, discovering, making plans, and encouraging one another in the Lord's teachings.

Building a strong foundation for our marriage to grow upon: if Elohim be for us, who can be against us (including ourselves when the flesh steps in and tries to take over).

It is good to have Elohim on our side.

We are blessed in so many ways.

THREE MEN