A Quiet Place

One of the reasons I am so far behind blogging this trip is the privilege Marcia and I enjoyed to spend four days at A Quiet Place. A Quiet Place is a ministry of our new friends, Rick & Teresa Jenkins (pictured below). We couldn't do the "three C's" while we were there: no Children, no Cell phone, and no Computer. It turned out to be a sweet blessing. We had time with the Lord and time with each other like we hadn't had in a long time.

Louisville

We enjoyed our visit with the Searls in Louisville. We saw the city, the Louisville Slugger plant, and then crossed the Ohio River and saw a fossil bed on the falls, then we toured Southern Seminary with Cousin Joel Amunrud.

Land of Lincoln

When I was a boy I have a vague recollection of my parents taking me to Lincoln's birthplace and boyhood home. So I took my kids. It's been over 95 everyday we've been here. But we found a cool spot for a picnic. Kentucky is proud of Abraham Lincoln even though he left here when he was seven.

South Dakota & Missouri

You'd think I was amazingly busy as infrequently as we post pictures. Sorry. After we left Wibaux we went to DeSmet, SD and enjoyed the Little Town on the Prairie and Laura Ingalls Wilder's Homestead.


The next night we spent in Independence, MO. We saw where the wagons left on the Oregon Trail. We didn't go through the museum because, when I told the person at the desk she said, "Oh, you have way better things out there!" We took our picture at an old Railroad depot. We saw Harry Truman's Home before he was president. And then, as we left the state, we saw the St. Louis Arch.

Wibaux reprise #2

Wibaux reprise

In Wibaux, we did something we had never done before. In fact we did something no one had done for over a hundred years. We walked down into a "buffalo jump." We couldn't really figure out where the indians used to run buffalo off the cliff, but we found extraordinary rock formations in miniature canyons. We found petrified wood and a (what we think is) a dinosaur bone.

World's Largest. . .

In the Dakotas we discovered that some towns have better claims to fame than others!

Jamestown, ND -- World's Largest Buffalo

New Salem, ND -- World's Largest Holstein Cow

Huron, SD -- World's Largest Pheasant

Jamestown is also the hometown for Louis L'Amour. There actually are an extremely high number of pheasants near Huron SD, like grasshoppers on the side of the road. But, New Salem is clearly hurting for claim to fame.

Days Are Done

In Wibaux, the best part of most days is the end of the day. Here are some of the hightlights:

Day 2-7 -- Wibaux, Montana

We've spent the past week with virtually no technology. Oh, I don't mean to be ungrateful. We had electric lights and running water. There is a lot of this country, Wibaux of course, and much of North Dakota, that doesn't have cell phone coverage. Much less of the country has wireless internet.

We are heading for a part of the country that should be better. . . and is supposed to be over 100 degrees. Oh, well. You can't have everything.

We branded calves. My father-in-law finally admitted that he saves this for us every summer!

Marcia's mom is doing well. We enjoyed our visit with her.
I was the uncle who took the kids driving. The older girls, Leslie, Lauren, and Kara went driving with a stick shift. I don't have any pictures of that because of the shaking. The little kids drove in the van. Below is nephew Seth. You can tell he's a farmer by his big hands.

Day 2 -- Harlowton

For the first time in our 22 years of making the trip to Wibaux, we drove through Harlowton. The bustling (ha!) mainstreet tells the story. I'd love to say a lot has changed. . . I'd love to say that.
Here is the house where we lived when I was in High School.

Home of the Engineers!

Marcia thinks its funny that I've gotten much stronger on vacation!

Day One

Day One, 750 Miles, Bozeman, MT

We drove through a forest fire that has covered the state with smoke. The visibility in Bozeman, 200 miles away is very limited. We can't even see the mountains.

You've heard of a "deer-in-the-headlights" look -- this is it.

T-1 -- Sweet Sixteen

Today Leslie turned 16. Her present is a trip across the United States. Hopefully she'll enjoy it as much as the rest of us.

T-2 -- Leslie's Birthday

Yesterday we celebrated Leslie's B'day with friends. It was a nice afternoon. We didn't give much thought to the trip except that we told a lot of people good-bye today!

Catfish Friday

Friday night I ate my first catfish at Shaw's Fish house. It was out in the middle of "Bubba Country" according to my host. I'm not making this up. On the way there we drove by Persimmon Hill Baptist Church. We drove by three signs offering DNA paternity testing. But. . . much to my surprise. . . the catfish was very good. I suppose you might say it tasted more like cat than fish!

Wrong Number

Try this next time someone calls with a wrong number: Say, "I'm sorry you have a wrong number. May I please take a message."

Marcia did almost that very thing yesterday. At about 7:00 a.m. at home the phone rang. The person asked if this was West Linn Baptist Church. She said, "No".

He then said very quickly, "I'm looking for Brian Janssen."

She calmly replied, "He doesn't work here anymore."

Hmmmm. This isn't West Linn Baptist Church AND he doesn't work here anymore.

You never know what kind of information you'll get next time you say, "I'm sorry you must have a wrong number. May I take a message."

My Favorite Video!

Some of you check this blog but it has been pretty inactive. This video will make it worth your while to come here.

Next Weekend

Next week Leslie will go to a Girls of Grace conference to be an alternate in their IT girl contest. Marcia, Lauren are going with Leslie and will meet Point of Grace. Leslie auditioned with Alas And Did My Savior Bleed and Strong Enough. I am excited for them.

Counseling

I may not be the best counselor. . .maybe I should take a lesson from Bob Newhart.

New Life Church in the 50's