Mov'n to Montana...Jump in the Snow (Part VII)

Day 8

This is the final Mov'n to Montana blog...I'll have plenty of other things to blog about but we are officially moved. 

It is 9:22 p.m. and the sun is setting as we look out of the City Brew window (Port City Java of Billings for my friends in ILM) I won't get internet until Monday so I'll have to hang here a few minutes each day. 

Today started early as we began to unload the truck around 8 a.m. Mountain Standard Time. The work went quickly and we were excited to learn we had minimal damage to our stuff. A few broken plastic tubs and a scratch or two on the furniture, nothing major. We finished unloading around 3 p.m. and Court got busy unpacking. The men, argh, we put the beds together and made an errand run or two.

We do have a few issues, our bedroom furniture doesn't really fit the bedroom, but other than that it is good. 

A friend from Billings named Jonas came by and helped with the last few heaviest items, but more importantly introduced us to the Golden Phoenix, a delicoussssssss, Chinese restaurant.

I'll drop Donald at the airport around 5 a.m. in the morning and sometime tomorrow afternoon Donald's big adventure will be over. "THANX! I couldn't have done it without you."

If you are interested in my new contact info feel free to send me an e-mail. (Phone, Address, E-mail) If you don't know my e-mail you can find it on the www.montanamc.org website.

Prayer Request: Please keep Court, Avery and I in your prayers, pray for spiritual protection. Also, pray for our first church meeting this Sunday night. I believe there will be 3 other couples from Billings present that have some level of interest in helping to plant this church. Finally, pray for God to develop our leadership team.

The highlights today were Golden Phoenix and Court was extremely excited to find out that we have a strawberry patch in our back yard. Oh yea, Avery picks and eats them without washing them. So we'll have to keep an eye on that...

Text Message Competition Up Date:

Donald 301

Ryan 12 (Personal Best)

Court 1

Police Report:

0 Traffic Stops

Mov'n to Montana...Jump in the Snow (Part VI)

Day 7

This morning we woke up early and headed to Mount Rushmore. We didn't have long to visit, it was more of an opportunity for Court, Avery, Mom and Dad to see it. After a short visit we were on the road again.

The first couple of hours of our drive this morning were breath taking. Starting in the Black Hills of Rapid City, SD until we hit Sundance, Wyoming I was in awe! It was awesome!

Our drive today seemed slow and we were showing signs of being on the road for one week. We were tired! Our stop at a Subway took well over an hour thanks to less than speedy service. It did provide us with our first Grandma or to be more exact Granny E neck, when my mom attempted to walk into the guys restroom. 

Finally, at 5:55 p.m. Mountain Standard Time we arrived at our new home and unloaded most of our gear from the vehicles. We had enough time for a short meet and greet with our new neighbors to the north and then we went for a celebratory dinner at Olive Garden. Avery, of course, imitates everything she sees and attempted to enter the guys restroom at the Olive Garden. 

The highlights today were Mount Rushmore and the drive from Rapid City, SD to Sundance, WY. A side note: Sundance is much smaller than I thought it might be.

The total travel distance for our trip was 2355 miles. It took seven days including one day of rest. After all we are planting a church we figured we should stay biblical...

Day 1 486 miles

Day 2 331 miles

Day 3 Rest

Day 4 347 miles

Day 5 519 miles

Day 6 348 miles (plus 35 miles for The Badlands loop)

Day 7 380 miles (plus 30 miles to Mount Rushmore and back)

Text Message Competition Up Date:

Donald 341

Ryan 5

Court 2

Police Report:

1 Traffic Stop

Mov'n to Montana...Jump in the Snow (Part V)

Day 6

This morning started off bright and early and a bit uncomfortable. Donald and electronic TomTom were a bit close for my own comfort levels...

After a quick breakfast we hit the road. We didn't have a long drive today, only 7 hours, but we had some sight seeing to accomplish. 

Driving through South Dakota on Interstate 90W is best described this way...

hhhhhheeee (throat clear)

"This is a bunch of rolling grassy hills and every time we reach the top of a rolling grassy hill we see rolling grassy hills as far as our eyes can see. Repeat for the next 6 hours." 

THE END

After two hours we stopped at the Chamberlain, South Dakota Rest Area... This is more than your normal rest area. We took about 45 minutes to check out the info and enjoy the view. For the WPBCer's who braved the mission trip to Rosebud several years ago it was the same Rest Area we stopped at minus the 14 inches of snow and 50 mile an hour minus 10 degree winds.

We trekked another two hours down the road and stopped at 1880 Town, that is actually the name. 1880 Town are you kidding me...

We swapped the vehicle arrangement. Mom, Dad and Timber in the Nissan and Me, Court, Avery and Donald in the Honda with Donald working the Avery Entertainer seat. He did well! 

My first visit to The Badlands was in 2000 and I remember wishing Court was with me. I was excited to have the opportunity to share this with her. We made the hour drive through The Badlands loop. Words really can't describe this place! It is special and you feel like you momentarily leave earth. Court also earned her first neck of the trip...when a grasshopper jumped up out of nowhere and almost made her eat a face full of Badlands dirt.

Side Note: TomTom threw a fit today, I mean a hissy fit. When we first detoured off Interstate 90W to take The Badlands loop TomTom began to tell us to "turn around", to "immediately turn around" and to "look for a place to turn around". We didn't realize TomTom was going to spend the next 30 minutes insisting, no, imploring, nay, begging us about these 3 requests over and over and over again. It was almost as if you knew somewhere, someplace there was a single micro chip personally vested in this journey with us. Tear!

Finally, he got on board and rerouted new directions faithfully leading us out of The Badlands back onto Interstate 90W. The Badlands loop ends up in the small town of Wall. Home of Wall Drug! We counted 81 BILLBOARDS on the interstate reminding you Wall Drug was down the road. It is the South of the Border of the west, although it is somewhat interesting and not quite so trashy.

The day finished with the final hour drive to Rapid City, South Dakota. It was good to spend some time in the car with Court today. I have missed her, even though we have been on the same trip. We are enjoying a light afternoon in Rapid City. Donald is lobbying for a Taco Bell dinner which my parents are counter lobbying for something else. Court only wants a salad. We'll head to Mount Rushmore tomorrow morning before making the final leg of the journey to Billings. 

The highlights today were seeing a Hen Pheasant with about 15 poults, they looked like they were less than a day old. We also learned that life is truly a circular journey. On two different occasions Avery made a jail break from Granny E and Grandpa. We found out that a 2 year old is much faster than a 62 year old. Much, much faster! Much, much, much faster! Those little alligator legs were just gett'n it as she pulled away from them each time. Thankfully we have Timber trained to run her down and bring her back by picking her up with his teeth and carrying her by the skin of her neck. 

A side note: It seems a bit dangerous that she thinks it is fun to run away from us. Any ideas of how to break this habit?

Text Message Competition Up Date:

Donald 281 (He actually lost a signal at points during The Badlands drive)

Ryan 0

Court 0

Police Report:

2 Traffic Stops