On The Road Again

We were in Michigan for a month hanging out with family and friends...and it was wonderful! Besides boat rides, meals with family and friends and celebrating b-days (Jim is 40 now...ouch!), we've also been on a few adventures. We went to Warren Dunes State Park in the southwest part of the state with Kristi's sister and her family. The dunes are huge and they overlook beautiful Lake Michigan. When we went to the beach to go swimming, we quickly decided against that idea. After seeing about a 1000 kids splashing around in the water in a small confined area, it looked as though the water might be used for something other than swimming pleasures. But we did tackle the dunes. The best thing about the dunes, after you trudge up the hill, is running down. You feel like you're going at mach speed. But there is a downside to running down the dunes at mach speed.....gravity. After my nephew Andrew took me up a really steep dune, I (Jim) would find out soon enough what gravity does to a man running down a dune at this incredible speed. About halfway down I proceeded to fall forward and face plant into the sand. But that's not all I did. After my face plant, my momentum launched me into a flip and I landed on my back. Let's just say I still feel that flip everyday in my back when I get out of bed. After I recovered and made it down the hill, I spent the next five days trying to get the sand out of my ears.

After Warren Sand Dunes, it was time for the 4-H Fair. The 4-H is set up for kids to showcase their talents in showing sheep, cows, horses, pigs, chickens, rabbits, etc. Not being big barnyard type of people, we were in for a real experience. On one occasion, my nephew Andrew (the one that I blame for my back ailments) wanted to spend the night in the sheep barn. Why, I don't know. I'd never actually met anyone that had chosen to sleep in the same accommodations as animals. I think that usually happens when people have hit rock bottom or you're Lord of heaven and earth. My understanding is that someone has to stay the night in the barn at the fair to make sure animals don't get out of their pens or get stolen or something. So, I accepted with great pleasure to accommodate him one Monday evening. As we laid there on our cots, smelling sheep urine, listening to them baaaahhhh all night, the roosters crowing from 3:30 to 6:30am, it was then and there that I decided I never want to be a farmer. I will also never complain about any sleeping conditions for the rest of my life. If my nephew asks me to sleep in a sheep barn again, I'll have to say, naaaahhht this time! But, it was a good experience being around the FFA's (Future Farmers of America) that we'll never forget. Oh, I almost forgot. On the morning after we slept in the barn, all of the owners of the animals came in to feed them and do farm stuff. I watched as this guy put ointment on his hand and rubbed it on the sheep's fleshy part of it's behind.....bare handed. I never did see him wash his hands afterwards. Just a normal day on the farm I guess.

After a month in Michigan it was time to hit the road again. My parents were visiting family and friends in Massachusetts, so we packed the Saturn one more time (without tents) and hit the highways and turnpikes. Our first stop was in Pennsylvania to visit my Aunt Carol, cousins and their families. I don't know if you remember, but when we were on our trip out west my Uncle Pete passed away. Please pray for my Aunt Carol as she continues to go through this trial in her life. After an awesome visit with family, we headed onto Massachusetts to hang out with my mom, dad, Aunt Brenda, Paula, Janice, Oscar, a.k.a. The Big "O", and other folk. We had such a great time! We went to Martha's Vineyard (island off the coast of Mass...infamous for the Ted Kennedy Chappaquiddick incident), golfing, visiting Lexington and Concord, Mass. (where the revolutionary war started), and playing cards late into the night. I did the revolutionary war visit with my friend Dave (he lives in Boston) as Kristi didn't have interest in seeing how America became a free country. The craziest part of the trip was probably my mom and her cronies as they wanted to do a photo shoot to make a calendar. I mean, these ladies are like 60+ and they're posing like it's for Victoria Secret or something. It actually looked like some kind of reality t.v. show. But hey, whatever floats their boat. They had fun. After Kristi's photo shoot with the old ladies and a week in Mass., we started our way back home to Mich. We stopped in Philly on the way as I wanted to see a little more history and run the Rocky steps. Kristi of course was really excited about this stop because it was about America and freedom. After Philly we ended up back in Michigan.

Our next stop is next week as we fly to L.A. for the L.A. Shorts Fest. As mentioned a few weeks ago, our film Burying Daniel has been accepted and we'll be there for the screening. We also received tickets in the mail the other day to see Jay Leno on Sept. 7. I think we're more pumped about that then to see our film on the big screen. Should be a good time!

And then after that, it's Michigan for a few more days. We actually talked today after we looked at our finances and we've both decided that we can't stay in retirement forever. Kind of a bummer, but it's time to get back to Atlanta so we can become gainfully employed once again. We should be there between the 15th and 20th of Sept. I guess this leads me into expressing our need for housing when we return. We're looking to rent, so if anyone knows of some cheap housing (basement apartment, guest house or condo) in the Atlanta vicinity, please pass it along to us.

Once again, thanks for reading!



Peace & Love,
Jim and Kristi

44 days

From Nacogdoches, TX to Michigan Center, MI and all the cities in between, 44 days have passed and we are very thankful...what a trip! And the best thing is...we ain't done yet. After we spend a month in Michigan hanging out with family and friends, we'll embark on a short journey out east to visit relatives and friends.

Our travels of late. When we left San Luis Obispo, CA, we headed to the coast to check out Morro Bay. Way cool! We had a chance to see sea otters in their natural environment and then hit a restaurant in the marina for some fresh fish. I have no idea what I ate but it was good! After that we headed up the coast to check out Hearst Castle. Beautiful castle up on a mountain overlooking the ocean. The home was owned by the Hearst family (newspaper folk) for many years and then given to the state for tourism. Then we headed up the coast to check out the elephant seals. They smell a lot like the smell that comes out of Kristi's butt. What a day! Then we set up camp in Big Sur and I (Jim) layed awake until after midnight as the drunk annoying girls near us carried on until they passed out.

We then made our way up the coast from Big Sur to Monterey. I would have to say this was the most awesome and spectacular views on our drive yet. Driving high up on the cliff and looking out into the ocean at the rock formations as the waves crashed into the coast...incredible!!! Then of course came our nightly scouting for a location to sleep. The state park was full and the attendant handed us a list of other possibilities in the area. On the list was a hostel. Not knowing what in the world a hostel was, we called and found out. For those of you who don't know what a hostel is, it's basically a few buildings where you share a room, bathroom, kitchen and living room with other travelers. It's a cheaper way of traveling...$25 per person at the one where we stayed. The coolest thing about this hostel is that it sits right next to a lighthouse on top of a cliff looking down at the ocean. So beautiful! We were very fortunate this night as Kristi and I ended up with our own room. The sleeping quarters had bunk beds...I was on top.

We then headed into San Francisco...very cool city! The coolest thing for me was Alcatraz. We met one of the ex-inmates who was there signing his book. I asked him what it was like coming back to Alcatraz and his response with his non-expressive face was, "bad memories." I left the place very obsessed! After our ferry ride back, we walked into the city to North Beach. It's the part of San Fran that consists mostly of Italian restaurants and shops. Probably one of the best pizza's I've ever sunk my teeth into. After lunch and a gelato, we made our way back to the car so we could drive around the rest of the city. After our long day, we made our way over the Golden Gate bridge and found another hostel. The thing about big city's is that campgrounds aren't as available as they are in the rural areas, understandably. So, we checked in one more time for only $20 a person this time. I was on top again.

The next morning we made our way up the coast and we took in more incredible beauty. The Pacific coast has just blown us away! We drove through one of those little towns that you wonder how their making it, and stopped in a little burrito place. Very oddly placed in this town and we have to say we had one of the best burritos ever. We made our way to the redwoods and found this awesome, awesome state park. We had this huge site in the midst of trees and more trees, and right behind us was a river. It's the best sleeping when you're listening to the river at night. It's like one of those sleep machines. Wait, or are sleep machines like rivers? Anyway, it was wonderful and we were very thankful for this site...especially because of what we encountered the following night.

We got up, did a really cool hike and hit the road. More beautiful driving and then we found a state park to set up camp. Unfortunately it was full so we had to move to Plan B. We found this campground that was nice but we would be sleeping practically on top of the other campers. Plus, the lady that owned it or ran it was very stiff and crotchety. So, in our infinite wisdom, we decided to check out another campground a mile down the road. It was full of redwoods and the owner was really cool. Plus, it was only 16 bucks compared to the 30 bucks down the road...so I said, where do I sign big guy? Well, not exactly like that, but you get the picture. We set up camp and there was no one around our tent...it should be another great night! After we had set up, we drove a few miles down the road to this awesome little beach in Trinidad. A beach with the beautiful rocks in the water, 4 other people on the beach, water crashing into the shoreline and a few seals resting on a rock. After hanging out on the beach for a few hours and watching an incredible sunset, we made our way to our campsite. Man, when we showed up, our faces just dropped. Tents were set up all around our tent, kids running everywhere with flashlights and screaming, crying babies, drunk people cussing up a storm and dogs a barking. We were in hell! Sleep was non-existent that night. The only thing that got us through the night was just laughing about the situation. We awoke the next morning early, packed up our tent and got outta that place.

We stopped in some cool little town for some breakfast. Little dives always have the best food! As everyone in the restaurant was a local and talking about the big rodeo happening that night and mud wrestling, we were definitely out of place. I think our waitress wasn't too thrilled we were taking up one of her tables. It didn't matter, the food was good. As we made our way through the red forest, we stopped at Trees of Mystery. This place is just a tourist trap but it is so Griswold I had to stop. There was a Paul Bunyan statue about 40' tall. Blue was there as well with every detail if you know what I mean. We then ended up at Crater Lake in Oregon. We were overdue for a rest so we took a day off the next day. On Monday, we made our way to the lake and it was the most beautiful blue lake we've ever seen! The deal with Crater Lake is that it was once a volcano. During one of it's massive eruptions, the top of the mountain caved in on itself and over time filled up with water from melting snow. We hung out there for a bit and then we started on our trek home.

On our way home, we stayed in Idaho, Wyoming and then Nebraska. Omaha baby! Omaha, where our buddy Kenny Revoy lives. We stayed at his place for the night. He showed us around, had a little dinner and we were also privileged to meet his parents and one of his brothers. Great folk and we had a great time catching up with Kenny. I guess I should also mention of our visit with the Oregon police. 75 in a 55 on a rural road in the desert probably wasn't the smartest thing to do. After our conversation and my promise to never, ever, speed again, he let me off the hook.

Then our last leg of the trip home to Michigan. I use the word home because we're both from MI and it will always be home. We're set up in an apartment that Kristi's parents have on their property right next to their home on a lake. It is so awesome! They have made this place feel so much like a home that I don't think we're ever leaving! (Just don't tell her parents) If we do decided to leave, we'll take off around the middle of August to visit some of my family out east and then head back to Atlanta around Sept. 1. So, I guess this is the last blog until then.

It was, or is, an incredible journey seeing a big chunk of America. So much beauty!!! We are very thankful and blessed to have been able to do this and we've also learned so much. So much about America, people, ourselves and most importantly, God's faithfulness.

Until next time, Peace and a lotta Love baby! Jim and Kristi

California

We drove from Vail, AZ to San Diego...well, 21 miles east of San Diego, to a beautiful campsite on Lake Jennings. We set up camp and went to the beach in SD. The weather was amazing...big change from the desert. We spent most of the next day at the Zoo and Balboa Park. The zoo was huge, but we think they ran out of animals so they stocked a lot of the pens with different kinds of pigs (we didn't know there were that many). Not to go on a rant about caging up wild animals, but I (Jim) have decided I'm not a big fan of the zoo in general. I mean, a 40 x 40 foot square for a rhino? Let the thing breath for crying out loud. Anyway, it was a good day. The day after that we hung out on the beautiful island of Coronado on the beach and walked around town. It's just a bridge drive from San Diego and we loved this place more than SD.

The next morning we started up the coast to Laguna Beach where we hung out until my (Jim) friend Tony was finished working. We then headed to his place which is right on Newport Beach...wow! We had an awesome weekend hanging out on the beach, eating gelato, walking on the boardwalk, people watching (the boardwalk is 3 feet from the window!), and I played roller hockey. The highlight for Kristi was renting bikes (with a basket) and riding around all day. We were even able to ride to the grocery store and we filled her basket. For those who know her best know that her dream is to live where she can ride a bike with a basket and fill the basket with fresh produce and bread every day. It's the little things! We had a great time with Tony and his daughter Alayna who gave up her bunk beds for us (the ceiling was a lot closer than I thought...ouch!).

Next stop...Hollywood! Well, for a few minutes. We drove around a bit in Hollywood, Santa Monica and Venice...each with their own character of course. After our 3 hour stint in LA, it was onto wherever we felt like stopping for the night and that was Malibu. Beautiful area...loved the beach! We had a beautiful view of the ocean from our campsite and went for an awesome run on the beach in the morning.

Our next destination was Sequoia (beautiful mountains and Sequoia trees)...we decided this the night before. The beauty of flying by the seat of your pants! Now, this is where our trip gets exciting. We set up camp and stored our food in the brown locker at our site. In black bear country, you have to do this so the bears don't come to your site and steal your food from the camping area, car, etc. Helps protect wildlife and for your own safety. About 2:30 in the morning, Kristi heard a noise outside. Kristi looked out her little window and saw a bear on his hind legs and it looked like he was pressing on our next door neighbors passenger car window. He broke the window and we watched him climb in. Our hearts started to beat a little faster and we felt something needed to be done. Or, maybe Kristi felt something needed to be done. I was actually pretty content staying in the tent. As we exited the tent to tell our other neighbors across the little road about the visitor next door, Kristi hid in the car (I'm sure that would've stopped the bear from getting her). They honked their horn and we believe the bear then vacated the car. We flashed the light into the woods and watched the bear eat tortilla's that he had stolen. You would not believe what the bear did to this guy's car. He bent the window frame of the door toward him about a foot. That's what caused the window to break so he could climb into the car to get a late night snack. Pretty wild and a valuable lesson learned.

We woke up the next morning and did a very short walk near our campsite. We ended up at this amazing river in the mountains and there were kids jumping off the bridge into the river. The bridge was about 35' above the water and the space to jump in was narrow as there was plenty of rock. I've never done anything like it before, so of course I had to try it...twice! Good times!!! We then drove up the mountain to check out these trees that everyone keeps talking about and we found out why they've been talking about them...unbelievably huge! You could drive a mack truck through some of these Sequoia's...seriously. Pretty amazing!

We then drove north and set up camp and hunkered down for a night in Kings Canyon...well, we thought we were in Kings Canyon but we didn't drive all the way into it. We found out that the extra distance would mean we would have to drive an extra 30 miles through the mountain to get to it. Which means, we would have to drive 30 miles to get out. I know it doesn't sound like much, but mountain driving is different than just driving down the road and we've been through a lot of mountains...the Saturn is feeling the effects! When we woke up the next morning, Kristi was feeling led to Kings Canyon...the extra 30 miles. I on the other hand was ready to start making our way to Yosemite. I'm thinking, another canyon and mountain...been there, done that. Since she felt prompted by the Lord to make this extra trek for whatever reason, we did. Well, let me tell you, it was one of the prettiest mountain, canyon, waterfall, meadow, rivers we've ever seen!!! We were even able to swim near a water fall at the end of the hike. So glad we made the extra trek, especially after our next stop.

Now, I would have to say, Kings Canyon is probably not one of the most visited places as Yosemite and the Sequoia's next door. So, when we got to Yosemite, we hit the mother load of tourists. Yosemite is beautiful and all, but, it's so blasted big. It takes you a week just to get through the whole park. So, with our two days that we had for the park, we visited a few awesome views and went hiking. The hiking trail that we were on was okay, nothing special. Well, that's what we thought. As we were making our way back, we looked up as we heard this noise and we saw a bear running away from us...so cool! Now, if we hadn't had our experience with the bear in the car, we probably would've been a little freaked out. But, since we're wilderness people now, they're kind of like pets.

We left Yosemite and really didn't know our next destination. We just knew we wanted to get back near the ocean. We were also in the need for some good rest and a shower. After four days without a shower, you really start to dream about one. I thought Kristi had tan lines when she took her socks off....but it was just dirt. After checking hotel prices ($150 -$230), we found this awesome B&B in San Luis Obispo, CA for 85 bucks! It's so awesome, we've decided to stay two nights so we can get some rest, wash some clothes, do a blog and have two cooked breakfasts. We also went to church this morning. First time since we left Texas a month ago and it was so great to get back into fellowship with other brothers and sisters. We've gotten so used to not taking showers that we went to church without one and bed hair...so liberating. Monday we'll start our trek up the coast toward San Francisco...we have tickets for Alcatraz on Wednesday! We've also been told the elephant seals are giving birth and mating right now and we'll have a chance to see them along the coast.

Till next time, peace and love, J&K

Zion, Grand Canyon, Sedona, Tucson...more desert!

Zion National Park in Utah was amazing! Very beautiful as you drive the 12 miles through the park. No room in the Inn (campground) in the park so we found ourselves in a family RV/Tent park surrounded by kids and more kids. It was fine though. As we go through this trip we're just happy to have a place to lay our head. We spent the whole day at Zion in the Narrows. The Narrows is a slot canyon (thin canyon) that you hike through water that is sometimes up to the middle of your thigh. The morning started by us getting gear from a local outdoor shop. We met a girl named Lauren at their sister shop the night before and she gave us all the info we needed for the trip. She said it would cost about 34 bucks for the both of us to get outfitted with shoes, walking stick, etc. Well, we showed up at the shop and we met Ryan. He outfitted us with all the gear and all the extras....and it was all free! Ryan is Lauren's boyfriend and she told him about us and they hooked us up with 43 dollars worth of stuff...so cool!!! Then the Narrows. Well, lets just say we went a little too far into the Narrows. After our 7 mile hike through water, we were so spent! It was probably one of the more grueling hikes we've ever experienced, but it was pretty cool. Beautiful scenery. If Kristi was ever going to kill me, it would of been right after this hike.

After Zion and the kids, we went to the Grand Canyon...North Rim. The reason we picked the north rim was because it's less crowded. Once again, no room in the Inn inside the park, so we set up our tent in the campground just outside of the park and it was really awesome! We hiked some of the Kaibab Trail and it was very interesting. Mules use this trail and let me tell you, everything revolves around the mules. When the mules approach, you better move out of the way or you'll disturb God's chosen little creatures. I guess some have died because people have gotten a little too close to them...probably fell off the cliff or something. I don't know. All I know is that they leave treats behind...nice smelly treats. Once again, we've never experienced a hike like this before. It was straight down and then straight back up. Only 3 1/2 miles this time. Now, our take on the Grand Canyon...well, it's nice. I think we've seen so much red rock and different types of formations and canyons, that it all starts to lose it's glamour. Now, we are thankful that we are able to experience all of this cool stuff, I just think we're ready for the ocean. New scenery I guess.
We then went to Sedona and once again, no room in the Inn anywhere. We found this lodge that had an opening. Our very first motel/hotel since we've been on the road. Kristi wasn't feeling well so it was probably better for her to be in a motel room instead of a tent in 100 degree heat. It was really cool. We found out during the night that the air conditioner wasn't working...minor details.

We then hit the road for Tucson as I (Jim) have family there that I haven't seen since I was four...which means I've never met them. It's been fun hanging out with my dad's Aunt Carol, his cousin Maureen and her husband Walt. I would label them as my Aunt and cousin but I don't know how all that works. You know, 2nd, 3rd, etc. We're really staying in the desert this time and it's very educational. We have to keep our hood up on our car so the kangaroo rats don't get into the engine and chew on our hoses. I also got to touch my first rattlesnake skin yesterday...it was almost 6 feet long. It even still had the rattle...pretty wild! Kristi got really close to it and then I scared her and she jumped and it was pretty funny. We also just met my dad's other cousin Barry and his wife Betsy as we all went out to dinner. We talked about the time my dad dropped me on my head at Aunt Carol's and other fun stuff...good times!

Tuesday morning we're heading to San Diego. Yes, no more desert! We'll spend a few days there hanging out on the beach, the zoo and the city. We'll then head to Newport Beach where my buddy from HS lives on the beach. We'll stay there for a few days.

Thanks for all the prayers and if there's anything we can be praying for you about, please shoot us an email (we have a lot of time on our hands).

Peace and love,

Jim & Kristi

Camping Tip From Jim:

Using a Tempur Pedic pillow in a tent is not recommended, especially if the temperature drops below 50 degrees. It reminds me of an old Charlie Brown saying, "I got a rock."

One word for the desert...HOT!

After our last blog in Santa Fe, we drove to Taos, NM. It was raining and cold and almost dark when we arrived at the campground, so we didn't feel like setting up a tent. We called a few B&B's looking for a rainy night discount, but it just wasn't happening. We bit the bullet and set up in the rain. I met a girl (Elena) in the bathroom who had quit her job and was traveling for 6 months with her boyfriend who had also quit his job. We shared some similar stories.

The next morning I woke up with a sore shoulder. I prayed all day that it wouldn't last long or that God would bring me a Massage Therapist(MT). (I had had the same pain for 4 months at one time)

We found Jonathon and Elena at their campsite and shared more similar stories. We went into town for lunch and to check out a Pueblo. Jim was impressed with the history and the simple living of the Taos Indians. I wanted to buy some bread that had been baked in adobe mounds called hornos, but they didn't have a credit card machine.



Later that evening we went out for pizza with Jonathon and Elena and had a great time. We showed them Jim's movie, "Burying Daniel", in the laundry room. We didn't hear any laughing over the washers and dryers...we're pretty sure there wasn't any.





The next morning, Jim made friends with a guy walking by named Evan. He just happened to be a MT. He worked on by back/shoulder and did some adjusting of my spine. I was a new woman. Praise the Lord! I was completely healed by the next day. He worked on Jim, Jonathan and Elena too. We never checked his credentials, but I'm sure he had them handy.



We then drove to the Great Sand Dunes in CO and hiked the dunes. We hiked the mountains the next day. It's been my favorite hike so far...finally some trees!






We then drove to Denver, CO to stay with Jim's friend Beth and her husband Doc. They made us an awesome meal and we hung out late enjoying fellowship with them and their family. It was an incredible time to be refreshed. We did laundry and dishes and slept in a real bed. They were incredibly gracious to us!




We then went to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. We got some great pictures/video of elk...it was amazing to be so close to wildlife! On one scenic stop, we passed a guy walking with a crutch/cane on each arm. I knew he had been in some sort of accident, and I wanted to stop and get his story, but I didn't. When we walked back by him, I told Jim to strike up conversation. (He is awesome at that!) A little into the
conversation, he (Mathew) told us his story without us asking. He had an incredible testimony of Jesus saving him after a car
accident that put him into a coma for 30 days. God has been healing him physically and spiritually for the past 7 years. He was there with his friend Mary and we had an awesome time of fellowship and prayer on the mountain. Matthew told me that he knew I wanted to know his story.

It was late when we got to the bottom of the mountain, so we drove West knowing we wanted to make our way to Utah. By midnight we had enough, so we stopped in Frisco, CO hoping there would be a Walmart where we could sleep. Wouldn't you know it, there it was! We brushed our teeth at the 7-11 and hunkered down in the car in the Walmart parking lot. I woke up laughing histerically when Jim stood in the parking lot with his sleeping bag wrapped around him asking me to take his picture.

We stopped in Vail, CO for a hike (so far Jim's favorite hike and he wants to move to CO). We then made our way to Arches National Park. After sleeping in the desert, we hiked the next day and then drove to Bryce Canyon, UT. On our drive, I looked for a campground with a shower. (It had been a couple of days) Jim wasn't quite ready for a shower and didn't think I needed one either. He doesn't like to pay extra for the better accommodations (hence, the Walmart). We compromised and stayed at a campground with 8 minute showers for 8 quarters. (8 minutes is a lot longer than you think)

The next day, we hiked Bryce Canyon and Red Canyon (red rock is beautiful, but enough already).

We woke up this morning and went rollerblading on a paved trail by our campground. Let me just say, it was not the Silver Comet Trail! Rollerblading in the mountains, I do not recommend. We are at the library in Panguitch on our way to Zion National Park and then the Grand Canyon in a few days.

Prayer Request: Along with some great God stories, there have also been some failures as well. Jim saw this older man and his wife on top of a mountain in Utah filling up their radiator with water in the extreme heat. He didn't stop and felt very convicted afterwards. Please pray that we will be more obedient in this area...to be available and to help people.

Peace and Love,

Jim & Kristi

Northern New Mexico...WOW!!!

Hey all-

Here is a quick update on our travels (bullet points for you quick readers wanting to get back to work).

* My (Jim) bronchitis is gone...thank the Lord! Travels are much nicer now.

* Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico...really cool! We hiked a little through the caverns and the formations were awesome! Saw the bat flight one evening. (Thank you Dr. Stansbury for the recommendation) There's seating and everyone sits around as 200, 000 bats come out of the cave to feed. The one thing that comes with bats is guano (bat crap). There's two places that we know of that you can smell this indescribable smell - Carlsbad Caverns and our car.

* When we checked in at the campsite near the Caverns, I (Jim) asked the lady if there were anything we should be concerned about like rattlesnakes, scorpions, etc. She said there were rattlesnakes. I said, "what do I do when I see one, run?" "Kill it" she said. Kill it?...it's not like we're carrying a shovel. She said I was bigger, so I should be fine.

* We drove through western Texas and southern New Mexico...have no idea why anyone would live there. We would see a few homes in the middle of nowhere with 100 degree heat and then not see another home for 25 more miles. Very baffling! A lot of ghost towns as well. Wish I had gotten some photos as this really intrigues me.



* On our way to Elephant Butte(recommendation from some cool people we met at the campground at the Caverns) we stopped to fill up the ION and saw this homeless guy named Bruce hanging out. We hung out with him for about a half hour under the overpass and prayed with him. I think he was intoxicated.

* Stayed at Elephant Butte. Beautiful lake in the desert...man made of course. I (Jim) talked with our next door neighbor at the campsite....well I listened to him anyway. I found that the best time to talk to him was in the morning. The afternoon and especially in the evening were a bit difficult as he really liked his beer.



* Then we headed up to Santa Fe and here we are. This town is so cool...we definitely could live here! Artsy and very Spanish looking. The park we stayed in is about 7 miles up the mountain and WOW, so beautiful! The people here are very laid back and the filming industry is picking up around here. So much beautiful scenery. We met this guy named Winston who is from Oregon and he's hanging out with his mom at the campground this week. He gave us his number for when we get up there we can give him a call. We took showers at a Japanese Spa on our way into town since there weren't any showers at the campground. It was the best $7.00 we have spent as there were no showers at the campground. Kristi had the opportunity to pray with a volunteer at the campground (Nina) that she saw again at the Spa. Her dad has recently had a stroke.

* We're headed to Taos (sp?), New Mexico. A guy we just met here in the restaurant said it's a must see and is better than Santa Fe. So, that's where we're going next.

* Also, just found out that my (Jim) Uncle Pete passed away Saturday. Please pray for my Aunt Carol and the rest of the family during this time.

* Things are good, but also please pray for unity as the ION is very small!

See ya-

Jim & Kristi

Where in the world are Jim & Kristi?

I'll try to make a long story short.

We closed on our house on May 17th. All went well.

Both Jim and I finished at our jobs on May 18th. I picked Jim up from work as we were down to one vehicle. I'll just say, it was a long process for him to say all of his goodbyes as his coworkers became like family to him after 10 years. (Huge thanks to Jim's coworkers for praying for us before we left)

On May 19th, we moved our stuff into Jim's ex-bosses house as he had a couple of rooms available for storage.

We stayed at our friends, Phillip and Cara's, and hogged their computer looking for a vehicle as mine was not reliable for our long journey. We took a day of rest on Sunday and went to a night of fellowship at our Sunday School teachers house. On our way home, we noticed a car for sale in a front yard. We stopped and called the # on the car and the owner came out to show us his car. It was a five speed, so it wouldn't work for me, so instead, God had brought us there to meet and chit chat with Reubins. He invited us in and we met his son and we think his nephew. They had just bought a trampoline, so Jim and I went out back and jumped on it for a while. An hour and a half after arriving we had the opportunity to pray with Reubins and some of his family. It's always awesome to be reminded that God's plan is much better than ours and that it is not about getting tasks accomplished. We soon forgot that, as you'll see in the next story.

After 3 nights at Phil and Cara's, we moved to Alison's as we still had not found a vehicle within our budget. We spent five more days extremely focused on finding a vehicle so that we could leave for our trip. We hit one dead end after another and we were both exhausted, confused, irritated, and doubtful. Basically, we had no peace. As we prayed, begging God to reveal his will, He made it very clear that we were so focused on the task of finding a car, that we missed out on several ministering opportunities. Jim knew that God was telling us that we had unfinished business in Atlanta. We committed the next day to hanging out with some friends that we had told we would hang out with before we left. It was an awesome day of fellowship and rest. God gave us incredible peace which only comes from Him!

We left the next day (Memorial Day) to Nacogdoches, Tx, in my car, knowing that God would either provide a vehicle somewhere along the way or that my car would make it across America. I was only pulled over once in Texas for speeding. The very tall officer with chew all over his teeth, looked down at my license and said with a very thick Texan accent, "Mrs. Sutton, are you on vacation?" I said, "Yes, Sir." He said, "Slow down", and gave me my license back. I high tailed it back to the car to Jim in his straw cowboy hat, looking like Crawl from the movie Son-in-Law as he laughed at me. After a few days of hanging out with my brother, sister-in-law, and niece, we drove to Lufkin, Tx to meet a car salesman that my brother had met the week before. We got a great deal on a car and were able to trade in my car. It was an exciting day in many ways, but most importantly, God gave us the opportunity to pray for the financial guy and our salesman, who are both going through trials.

We have been at Marc and Lisa's for over a week now, because Jim has been sick with bronchitis for the past two weeks. We thought it was just a cold, so we waited to got to the doctor. He's been on some good drugs for the past 4 days and is feeling much better. We are leaving tomorrow (Wed) morning for Carlsbad, NM to do some hiking at Carlsbad Cavern and see the bats. We are just going with the flow from there. We'll write more when we know.

Jim & Kristi

P.S. Never hold a deer by the legs!