June 2025 – RVing With a Purpose

Constructors for Christ 2025 Project

As noted in our previous post, we arrived in Johnston, SC on June 8, giving us just four days to “rest”, do all the laundry, move everything back into FRED, get both of us haircuts, wash BB, and probably other things we have forgotten, and be ready to roll in FRED Friday morning June 13. Randy led the way for us to make a rather long, slow trip to Barbourville, KY. There is so much construction going on from Helene and now I-40 is closed again due to mud slides making for a hard drive. We arrived at our campground Friday afternoon in time to get set up and then go to the church to see the job site and meet up with friends. It was such a joy to see friends we haven’t seen since this time last year. This year Constructors for Christ summer project will have teams in Barbourville for five weeks. There will be people from over 17 churches from many states. This year is also the 50^th Anniversary of CFC. Fifty years of building churches, worship centers, and fellowship halls each summer. It is an honor to be a small part of this work. We have been with the group since 2015.

Our RV sites for this project were at Thompson RV Park in Barbourville. It is a very nice city owned park.

This map of Constructors for Christ projects was made for this year’s 50th Anniversary.

Saturday morning we got to sleep in – 7:00am – because we didn’t have to be at work until 9:00. Anne and Debra worked, along with some other ladies, moving cooking equipment from the trailer into the church and setting up the kitchen and doing some general cleanup, before everyone arrived on Sunday. Anne and Debra were also responsible for the merchandise table again this year so they spent a good deal of time working on that. Randy and Max along with some other guys began working in the old sanctuary, leveling the floor and readying the site for the rest of the crew. This year we actually have two job sites that are next to each other. The old sanctuary is being converted into classrooms, and the new sanctuary is being built next door. Unfortunately, due to way too much rain this spring, the concrete had not yet been poured nor the metal building erected for the new sanctuary. Sunday morning we worshiped with the members of East Barbourville Baptist . Such a welcoming community! We then returned to our campground to ready ourselves for a busy work week – gathering up tools etc. Sunday evening we had our opening meeting and were able to reconnect with more friends.

Reorganizing the kitchen equipment trailer

The church members had done a lot of work getting the old sanctuary ready for us.

The laser level was used to make sure the new floor would be flat and level.

Monday morning and every other morning we were on the job site working by 6:00am. We had breakfast at 7:30, Lunch at 12:30 and Dinner at 6:00 pm. All the job site work was in the old sanctuary this week. As always, we were very blessed to spent a week in service with our friends and family. God is good!

As always, each morning started with prayer.

It took several team members to get it all up.

The first pieces of sub-floor were at the door ramp.

Once the joists were finished the crew started on the rest of the sub-floor installation.

When not involved inside, the crew members cut studs …

In addition to a lot of sweat, some people left their blood on the project.

When the youngsters weren’t working they taught themselves new skills.

The last piece of sub-floor being installed

The sub-floor was finished Friday morning

Since we didn’t put up any walls this time we wrote scripture on the floor joists.

Anne and Debra worked with the kitchen crew preparing delicious meals. (This is only part of the kitchen crew.)

This year several boxes of peaches were brought for the crew.

Randy addressing the crew after our evening meal.

The great news is that the concrete for the new sanctuary was poured Friday and should be ready for the erection crew to begin work on Monday. That means that our CFC crew may be able to start work on the new sanctuary sometime next week.

The concrete contractors were already at work when we arrived Friday morning.

The contractors had a lot of finishing equipment.

On Friday we finished work a little early so we went with Randy and Debra to see Cumberland Falls. It was a nice break from work.

2025 Spring Road Trip – 3 New States in 3 Nights and More

Thursday, June 12, 2025

We left the Switch It Up Huddle in Roseburg, Oregon mid-morning on June 2^nd and started a quick cross-country trip. We only had a few days to get back to South Carolina to prepare for our next mission project. We did, however, deviate from the quickest route a little to add three new states to our RV’d in map. By dropping down to I-70 from I-80, we were able to pick up Nevada, Utah and Colorado and yes, we spent the night in all three.

This is what we saw for several slow miles shortly after we left Roseburg.

Our drive allowed us to see many more snow-capped mountains …

After driving in mountains the next section of the country looked really flat.

The Eisenhower Tunnel was the highest point on our route at 11,158 feet (3,401 meters) and is also the highest vehicular tunnel in the United States.

That route also made it possible for us to visit a few iconic tourist spots such as Diamond Lake in Oregon, Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah and, of course, Buzzard Belly General Store in Cisco, Utah.

We had not studied the route very much, so we were a little surprised when we topped a hill entering Utah and saw all this white.

But we took time to stop and take a couple of pictures.

The rest of the trip was state after state of Interstate highways and construction. We overnighted at 4 rest areas, 1 Walmart, and 1 Bass Pro Shop.

We were entertained by prairie dogs at one of our stops.

One of the rest areas we stopped at was infested with these giant Mormon crickets.

And a little ways dow the road they were all over the shoulders.

We arrived in Johnston, SC around 4:30 pm on June 8^thafter driving 2,940 miles in 7 days.

Our RVing map at the end of the trip. Only two states left. (We have been to all 50 states, just haven’t spent the night in an RV in New Mexico and Arizona. We probably won’t take our RV to Hawaii.)

2025 Spring Road Trip – Oregon Huddle

Thursday, June 6, 2025

After spending close to half the day at Home Depot making repairs to BB and trying to clean the glass out of the couch and floor without cutting ourselves, our hearts were not in any more touring in California. On the afternoon of May 26, we decided to return to Oregon where we had planned to be on Wednesday anyway. It was a beautiful drive through the mountains and was a good time for us to wind down from the events of the day. We arrived in Roseburg late afternoon and were able to check into the site we had reserved for the Huddle, 3 days early, so we wouldn’t have to move again. Since we had been moving almost daily, we were looking forward to being stationary for a few days.

We were told that the person who designed and built this gate used to work for Disney.

Tuesday, May 27 we began the process of scheduling the repair of BB. We emailed Paul, one of our friends at Coachman and explained what happened. He was very helpful and by Wednesday we had an estimate for the repair and a time tentatively planned to get the work done. The folks at Coachman Class B Division are always so helpful. We also had to make a claim with the insurance company, Progressive, and get that process started. They have always been good to work with and we trust that this time will be no different. The rest of the day on Tuesday we just rested and visited with friends. The rest was definitely needed.

The Switch It Up Huddle began Thursday afternoon and it was great to see old friends and make some new ones. Friday was our give back day when we always do some work to leave the community better than when we arrived. This time we worked at a children’s center, improving the play areas and some landscaping on the front of their building. We had a great group of workers and we accomplished everything the agency had planned for us by lunchtime.

Adding the sand to one of the two sandboxes

Cleaning out one of the raised planting beds

Spreading gravel around one of the buildings

Raking and cleaning one of the playgrounds

The kids and staff presented our crew with this “thank you” banner.

Friday afternoon there was a painting class. There was a lot of laughter and visiting with friends along with learning more about painting. Anne says that she still has a lot to learn.

Saturday was a very busy day. We drove the Waterfall Highway to hike to some great waterfalls as you will see below. We would have loved to have more time at the waterfalls but we barely managed to get our deviled eggs ready for our potluck dinner that night.

Like many of the trails in the area, the trail to Susan Creek Falls goes through a burned area.

As always, the potluck was one of the highlights of the huddle.

Sunday we had a worship service with Todd and Shelia, always one of the highlights of the weekend. We had a wonderful catered dinner at a winery Sunday night. The setting was so peaceful, landscaping beautiful and food delicious. This was a smaller than usual Huddle, but because of that, we were able to get to know more new friends. It was very good. Monday morning is the hard day at a Huddle. We will probably never see some of the people again. Sad! It’s when we have to say “see you down the road” to our friends. We will see some of these friends at Talona Ridge (Georgia) in the fall but until then we will keep them in our prayers for safe travels.

2025 Spring Road Trip – Redwoods National and State Parks

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

May 25 was a drive day for us. We were up early, made a trip to Fred Meyers for some supplies, returned to the Blue Heron for breakfast and were on the road. We followed Highway 101 down the remainder of the Oregon coastline and drove about five miles into California to spend the night. The drive was beautiful. The azaleas and most of the other flowers were in full bloom so we couldn’t resist taking more pictures even though we already had plenty. There were also a lot of coastline pictures since the Oregon and California coasts as so different from the Gulf coast.

We just couldn’t stop taking pictures of them.

There are so many beautiful flowers along the Oregon coast.

Monday morning, May 26, Memorial Day, we were up and rolling toward the Redwoods National and State Parks at 6:00am. We knew there would be holiday crowds later in the day and we wanted to avoid that if possible. The last portion of the road was unpaved, narrow, and sort of rough, but BB was fine. When we arrived at the trail head for the Grove of Titans there were very few cars. We were amazed as we hiked up the mountains enjoying the beautiful, huge redwoods and all the other foliage. We sure live in a beautiful country. We feel so blessed to be able to travel and see the wonderful places that God has provided. We only saw one other couple on our way into the forest and four people on the way out. Such a peaceful, amazing hike. When we returned to BB the parking lot was getting tight. So glad we gave up a little sleep this morning.

Hiking among the titans

The road out from the trail head was even more narrow and winding than the one in.

This fern covered log beside the trail …

Pictures cannot begin to show how enormous the redwoods are.

This trillium beside the trail looks a little different from the ones we see in Alabama.

The last few miles were a narrow dirt road through the trees. We had to pull over and stop if we met another vehicle.

From the Titans, we drove to the National Park Headquarters to get our Passport stamped and get suggestions for what to do the rest of the day. As recommended by the staff, we headed a little further down the 101 to a spot where we should have been able to see some whales and their babies. Unfortunately, we didn’t get very far. As we were driving, a man ran out from the side of the road toward BB, acting strangely. He stopped just before entering the road and threw a rock at the van. Fortunately, it did not hit the front side window. It did hit the back passenger side glass and destroyed the window. Glass everywhere including the bed. It could have been much worse because the rock (we still have it) could have severely injured Anne. We of course pulled off the road. The police said there was nothing they could do for us or the man unless we made a citizen’s arrest, and would agree to return to California whenever the case goes to court. The police did tell us how to get to Home Depot to get what we needed to make some temporary repairs to BB and we decided we didn’t need to be in California any longer. It is very sad that in this country we cannot get mentally ill people the help they need. Police said it would take probably 4 more incidents such as ours before they could do anything. We pray that the man is not injured or killed or hurts someone else before he gets the help he needs.