June 7th Wenatchee to Wilbur, Washington

Up and out at 7:45 this morning! The park we stayed in had a sewer port that you couldn’t fasten down to so my help was required to hold the hose in place with my foot. A very interesting scent to start the day off with! LOL!

Then it was back to our routine of washing up, packing up, and making sure everything is secure. On our way! The local sheriff recommended that we drive through all the road construction and the uphill side of the pass because the lane for bicycles was practically non-existent. Bill sure enjoyed the bike ride down though! We passed through Waterville where there is a pretty church that I took a photo of 27 years ago.

Got another shot of it today.

Through Douglas and then forward on the high plateau. So here I am on the rolling hills of eastern Washington.

The mountains are behind us and Bill should have another 40 miles done by noon today. I’m parked on the side of the road with the awning partially out to keep the sun out of the windows. It’s 88 degrees on the highway, but since I keep all the blinds closed in the camper while I drive along, it’s not too bad in here yet. Except for the occasional car or truck driving past, all you can hear is the breeze blowing through the grass and wildflowers along the side of the road.

I spend this time finishing up morning chores, keeping this journal up-to-date, and praying for strength and endurance for Bill. He’s doing well so far today; he has a slight tailwind which really helps out here. I’m not sure, but it looks like the town of Wilbur is up ahead. Maybe we’ll break for lunch and see how many more miles Bill can put down this afternoon. Turns out it was Coulee City. I found a nice pull off on the left and waited for my Bill. It wasn’t long before he cycled up and we made some lunch. We waited a little while before starting off again.

I passed a sign that said 19 miles to Wilbur and then drove a few more miles. There was a small pull off so I squeezed the little beach house on wheels in there to wait. Whew! It’s up to 92 degrees now and sure glad I have this awning! I’m looking out over acres and acres of grain fields, an occasional butterfly, and a dust devil or two where a farmer has plowed his field.

About 15 more miles and we’ll be in Wilbur to stop for the night. It’s been hot today but is supposed to gradually cool near the end of the week. The miles have rolled away and I pulled into the Wilbur Campground, RV Park & Pizza! :) I had never pulled into an RV spot with the camper before, but the owner assured me I could do it. And I did! So when Bill rode up about 45 minutes later, I was all set up and had the air on. Good thing too, it was 98 degrees by that time. Since we were both fried, we ordered a pizza and the owner delivered it right to the camper! His wife makes them from scratch. So we had hookups, wi-fi, and friendly folks running this campground, all for $29! After supper, we were both so exhausted from the day that we went to bed at 7:30. Bill did 70 miles today, another amazing accomplishment. Spokane tomorrow!

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Wenatchee Police Station

We hauled ourselves down to the station...LOL! We wanted to be sure and introduce ourselves to the Wenatchee Police while we were here and tell them "Thank-you" in person. We met Captain Doug Jones and Tracy Valdez while we were there.

The Captain gave us a patch

and we had given one to a person we met earlier that we cannot name here.  Tracy told us how she had been injured in the line of duty and how long it has taken to recover. Please remember these people that face tough things so that we can live our lives in peace. After pictures and a little more chatting, we said "Thank-you" again to them both and were on our way. We've been staying at Wenatchee Confluence Park in downtown Wenatchee over the weekend. It is a pretty, peaceful place with full hookups and you are not crammed in like sardines. There was no wi-fi, but now with my little hotspot, it's all good. :)  It was $40 a night which is reasonable compared to other RV parks. We came back to the little beach house on wheels and cooked up some of the amazing chicken that our niece Lisa gave us.

About 99% of our meals are cooked right here in our little camper. We can make healthier choices, and it's way more affordable. We also know exactly where the food came from and what kind of conditions it was cooked under. Our thanks go out to all the people who have kindly supported us so far. We want to use this money wisely and take your donations very seriously. When I start to be concerned, I remember that I have enough for today and trust God to continue to take care of us. Thank-you for reading.

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The police came by...

Well, it's finally happened, the police came by the camper this morning....but no worries, we invited him yesterday! :) It was a morning I chose to sleep in until 7:30 so of course was still in my robe. Seems like we meet the most people when I have no makeup on or are in my robe! LOL! Anyway, that's why I stay on the this side of the camera. ;) We chatted for awhile and told him what we were doing and why and he told us his hopes and dreams. It was funny that while he was here outside the camper, quite a few people walked or bicycled by trying not to look. LOL! We should have asked him to slap some cuffs on Bill just for fun! He gave us patches from Chelan County

and we gave him one from London, Kentucky. He chose one of Bill's pens and we took pictures.

Please remember dear readers that these men and women stand between us and chaos and are human beings like you and I with families, friends, and loved ones they care about. Find a police officer, firefighter, or military person today and thank them. Take a picture with them and send it to me or post it on our Facebook page, Twice Across America. Bill's cleaning up his bike to get ready to start again tomorrow. Thank-you for your prayers and for reading my blog.

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Washington State Fire Fighters' Association Conference, Wenatchee, WA

Remember how I told you about hearing about a fire fighters' conference? Well of course there's a story to tell...As Bill was having a great ride down the other side of Stevens Pass, I pulled into the rest area at the bottom. I started working on photos and typing up some of my journal when he came zipping up. Instead of using the camper's facilities, he used the men's room at the rest area. When he came out, he saw some volunteers with cookies. He thought, "Hmm, I could really use a cookie". He told the lady there he'd be right back with a donation. He brought one of our cards with him and told her about what we are doing. She mentioned the conference and since we were headed that way, decided to see if we could get to meet everyone and say, "Thank-you!" When we got to Wenatchee, Bill called and found out where it was being held...about 2 miles away from where we were camped. It was called the Washington State Fire Fighters' Association conference.

So today we brought patches, coins, and new testaments to share with the people we met. When we got there, we met a very special lady and shared who we were.

She had everyone in the lobby come together for pictures

and then surprised us by asking us to come back in about an hour when everyone was on break. We went for a quick lunch and came back just as they were getting out. Again, this special lady got everyone together and we got some great pictures.

Bill got a chance to talk to them about what we are doing and that we are doing it to say Thank-you to all of them. We gave coins and patches to the longest in service, shortest in service, youngest, and oldest.

We received T-shirts, patches and coins in return!

It was our honor meeting all of these fine men and women who risk it all for you and me. THANK-YOU! So many what ifs we thought about later..what if Bill used our bathroom in the camper...what if he didn't want a cookie...what if we had stopped somewhere else? But none of these things happened and we were privileged to meet these great people, most of whom were volunteer firefighters. Getting groceries at Walmart was next and then we took a much needed nap! God continues to bring these "chance meetings" into our life as we go forward with this journey. Thank-you for reading.

Skykomish to Wenatchee, WA

We left the campground at 8:45 this morning after making ourselves a good breakfast.

Finally figured out a way to make coffee without electricity….Yay! Coffee!

It was a beautiful sunny morning and 54 degrees. And I think it was 23 trains last night! LOL! Turned out the track was only about 50 feet away. Fortunately, we slept through most of them. I said to Bill this morning, “I’m glad you didn’t want to tent across America; otherwise, as John Pinette says, I’d lose my cherub-like demeanor!" We’re headed towards Stevens Pass

and the road is a slow, steady climb. I’m stopping every 5 or 6 miles to see how our cyclist is doing. Took more pictures of the amazing trees before leaving this morning.

Bill researched them on his phone and they are hundreds of years old! Sitting in a pulloff waiting for Bill – hope he’s handling the slow hills okay. When I saw him, he was taking pictures of something. When I stopped, I could hear a chainsaw but didn't see anyone. This man was way up in the tree trimming branches!

Yikes!  After we met up, I drove another six miles and when I pulled over, there was a funny smell like I was overheating a bit. Engine temp is at 210, so I’m letting the truck cool down. The poor thing hasn’t had to pull a trailer up a mountain much back in Tennessee, but only one more pass near Helena and that will be it.  While I was waiting by the side of the road, I had my flashers on. I went to the camper to check on a few things and when I looked out my little kitchen window, I noticed a state trooper pull up. I went out to greet him and he asked if we were okay. I assured him we were and asked if it was alright to be parked here and he said, "Sure". I gave him one of our cards and shared the story of our trip. He had seen Bill back a little bit and in a few minutes Bill pedaled up. Trooper Walter gave us a patch

and we gave him one from Kentucky, He picked out one of Bill's pens and we took pictures too.

Thank-you Trooper Walter! I appreciated how you stayed until Bill showed up. We appreciate you! After he left, Bill took off once again to do the last 2 miles to the top of Stevens pass!

So proud of him! He made it to the top!

We met a hiker up at the top who will be hiking the trails for 6 days with everything he needs on his back.

I wanted pictures of Leavenworth on the way back but the place was packed with people. Follow the link here to see this very pretty tourist trap. ;) So I ended up at Smallwood's Harvest in Peshastin, WA to wait for Bill.

We heard about a meeting in Wenatchee of the firefighter commissioners so we might go there to see if we can be a part of it. When we arrived in Wenatchee at last, we found a spot at the state park with full hook-ups but no Wi-Fi. Since we have all kinds of things we upload about this trip on the blog and Facebook, we decided to pick up an inexpensive hotspot at Walmart. That way, we'll have great internet almost anywhere we go! No more waiting 2 hours to download 12 pictures from my camera! Yay! Long day, we are going to hit the hay. Thank-you for reading! 

Issaquah to Skykomish

Playing catch-up today! Broke down and bought a hotspot. Wi-Fi has been so spotty and the last campground we called for their rates wanted $80! Now we can stay at a $20-$30 state park and have Wi-Fi too. I bet this thing pays for itself in just a couple of weeks. 

June 2, 2016

Today is the first official day! Back in October, this day seemed like a far off distant place. This morning, Bill was at last able to get in for an oil change and our niece Lisa drove all the way from her home to come and visit us in the campground. We talked and talked trying to catch up on all the years that have sped by. She brought us some of her farm-raised chicken, a beautiful olive wood cross, a cool towel for Bill, and a couple of Starbucks coupons for us to give away. All too soon, it was time for us to go and we bid each other safe journey and were each on our way. Lisa, you are a gift from God and you were a great encouragement to us. Love you! Bill hooked us up

and we drove over to the office to say goodbye to our hostess.

He drove out of the campground for me since it was a little tight and after a couple of miles down the road, got out and changed and prepared to start his ride. We prayed together and he was off!

I got a little misty but climbed behind the wheel to start this long journey. At the moment, I’m parked in front of the Carnation Café. Lovely place, lovely hostess. If you are ever in Carnation, Washington, stop on in. I bought Bill a personal size strawberry rhubarb pie to surprise him at lunch. It is one of his favorites.

We stopped and had lunch in a pull off and putzed around the camper to let lunch settle a little. Then he was off once again.

He’ll have 50 miles at least by the end of today, which is the most miles he’s done on a ride so far. The traffic seems a little crazier than I remember but again, there are thousands more people here this time. Bill has done over 50 miles at this point and it was after 5:00 so we decided to drive the 10 miles to Money Creek Campground to spend the night. There were no hookups available, but it was beautiful and had a stream running by. Very large trees, the biggest I’ve ever seen.

Not redwoods, but the people who ran the campground didn’t know what they were. (Just found out they are Douglas Fir) Got some pictures

and then ran back to the little beach house on wheels swatting at swarms of hummingbird size mosquitoes! (Well, almost) ;) Off to bed and we fell asleep to the sound of the rushing stream….and the occasional train! LOL! So after a long exhausting first day, it was nice to rest….in between the 5 or 6 or 12 trains that went by….

Big day for this little country girl.....

We drove into Seattle this morning to have lunch and meet with the Police Commissioner. It was an amazing and amazingly busy place! Bill researched online and found that it has grown by 150,000 people since we were last here 27 years ago. There were fun public art pieces

and overpasses lined with trees, bushes, and vines.

Very green looking city. We took a shot of Pier 59 where Bill started yesterday

and also 27 years ago. (Look at that! A real phone booth!)

Now there is a huge ferris wheel there too.

Bill offered to take me up in it, but I graciously declined, a polite way of saying, "Are you nuts?" We enjoyed a little seafood near the Pier (sticker shock again!) and then worked our way through winding streets and construction to Police Headquarters. We met 2 officers outside from the Police Bicycle Patrol and chatted a bit since we were a little early.

Bill met with Kathleen O'Toole, the Police Commissioner, and we took photos and had them laughing too.

Bill gave her the patch and coin from Boston and she in turn gave him a patch, coin, and hat for the Chief in Boston.

We even got goodie bags ourselves! Commissioner O'Toole was having a little fun with the Boston patch

and we made sure everyone picked out one of Bill's pens.

We gave one of our coins to Assistant Chief Merner and he received a pen also.

We handed out some of the New Testaments we brought and I even managed a shot of the police photographer! :)

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