We returned to the US from Antarctica on Tuesday, January 29. We made the drive back to South Carolina and pretty much just collapsed. So very thankful for our sweet Debra who fed us the next few days while we recouped, washed clothes and reorganized everything in Fred. After about 3 nights of sleep we felt like we were back among the living. We still aren’t caught up on everything but we rarely are. The great news is that Randy is feeling better and once we had rested, we were able to help him and Debra with cutting down some additional trees.
Lots of chainsaw work the few days we were in SC
We took down several more trees that were too close to the buildings.
February 6 the four of us visited Congaree National Park. It’s the only National Park in South Carolina and none of us had ever visited. It’s located close to Columbia and is basically a day use park with no RV parking or camping. Congaree has the largest intact expanse of old growth bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the southeastern US. There are some really huge trees in the park. There are several nice hiking trails. We chose the boardwalk trail and enjoyed our time in the park. Interesting how we travel such distances and sometimes miss gems so close to home. Congaree is a little known gem. We would recommend a visit.
The boardwalk through the park
Much of the area is covered by cypress trees
Congaree NP is home to several champion trees
Pileated Woodpecker in the park
Over the next few days, we spent most of our time preparing Fred and ourselves for our next NOMADS project. We departed SC on Valentine’s Day in route to LeBlanc, Louisianna. We stopped in Atmore, AL to do some shopping at Warehouse Market and Bakery. It’s one of our favorite Amish stores and we stocked up on some goodies. (Recommend a stop if you are driving by Exit 54 on I-65 in Alabama.) We will enjoy them while we are working at Uskichitto Retreat Center helping them make some repairs to their facilities and prepare for camping season.
In addition to delicious baked goods, Warehouse Market and Bakery has many varieties of products that you don’t usually find at grocery stores.
Some of our goodies from the Amish store. The Conecuh rolls are sections of Conecuh sausage wrapped in a light dough and baked. We buy them by the dozen and freeze them.
Back in Louisiana for another project
Driving across Louisiana again
Where we will be volunteering the next couple of weeks.
January 12, 2023 brought 15 tornadoes to the state of Alabama, including one tornado that tracked right through the heart of Selma, with top winds of 130 MPH. Monday, September 30 marked the official start to the NOMADS efforts to assist in the long term recovery of the city of Selma. As team leaders for the beginning of the project we first visited the site in June of 2024 to meet with Bud, the construction coordinator. We returned September 24th to prepare for the arrival of our teams and visit job sites.
Before the team arrived we spent some time helping Bud finish the electrical installation …
… trimming low limbs …
… and a little landscaping.
Friday, our first team members arrived, Carolyn and Gene. Unfortunately, our next couple, Herman and Janis had to cancel to return to their home which had been damaged by Hurricane Helene. On Sunday Bill and Becky arrived after having to delay travel due to the effects of Helene. We were very excited when we received a call that Bob and Leone were joining us Monday afternoon due to their NC project being cancelled. In the mist of all the tragedy caused by Helene, we remind ourselves that places like Selma are now off the TV news and masses of volunteers are no longer arriving. There is still much work to be done in Selma and we are so proud to have NOMADS as part of the long term recovery efforts.
We had to hold one of the low hanging communications cables for some of the RVs to get into the parking.
Monday morning, the team began work on our first house. Tommy’s home suffered wind and water damage and was further damaged and emptied by looters. The first priority was to replace the exterior doors so the house would be secure. While that was being done, the rest of the team then began demo work, removing damaged drywall and paneling and flooring. Then began the repairs to the wall framing and drywall. That continued through Tuesday and Wednesday.
Installing one of the new doors
Preparing to patch a large hole in a ceiling
As usual, when you open up a damaged wall you find more than you planned for.
The team filled up this trailer a few times.
Thursday began a new adventure for our NOMADS team. We began working alongside some employees of Fannie Mae, a government lending agency, that came to Selma to volunteer in the recovery. Fannie Mae encourages their employees to volunteer to serve in communities and allows them some time off to do so. There were about 30 people, most with minimal construction experience, that volunteered to help make a difference for the people of Selma. They came with their own team leaders and our four NOMADS couples became the “expert” advisors. We really were Bud’s (construction coordinator) eyes and ears at each of the five homes where we worked on Thursday and Friday. Team one continued our work at Tommy’s home, continuing the demo work we had begun and began hanging drywall. Team 2 worked at a home that had ceiling and wall drywall work. Team 2 moved to a house needing exterior painting on Friday. The third team worked on windows, and drywall at house 3.
Thursday morning meeting with Fannie Mae volunteers
Team 1’s crew installing ceiling drywall
Team 2’s crew repainting a house
Removing a broken window at house 3
We were at the fourth house both Thursday and Friday. It needed exterior siding to be replaced and bathroom flooring and ceiling repairs. The house next door had burned, and the fire damaged the siding on about half the right side of our house. We had two volunteers that had some experience with siding and after we helped them get started, they moved right along, mostly completing that job by Thursday afternoon. The two ladies working on the floor in the small bathroom seemed to really enjoy learning new skills. They had never used the tools we used to removed three layers of subfloor to repair damage from a leaking toilet. They worked hard on a dirty job and we got most of the subfloor and the toilet reinstalled before the end of the day so our homeowner had a working bathroom. Friday we assisted the team in installing the last of the subfloor, installing a ceiling fan and removing the ceiling tiles and replacing them with drywall. Anne even taught a beginning class on taping and mudding the ceiling.
Our crew taking down the old siding. They finished installing the new siding but we forgot to take a picture of it.
Adding a brace under the toilet
Our crew got enough of the new sub-floor in by Thursday afternoon to reinstall the toilet for the night.
Teaching taping and mudding to one of our Fannie Mae volunteers
It was a very busy week, and yes, we NOMADS worked on Friday. We will be taking an extra day off next week and all the team members were in agreement that it was the right thing to do. It was a great experience for us too. New friends were made, faith discussions took place, and we have two people interested in NOMADS membership. Great way to start our DR in Selma.
We have been attending Church Street Methodist Church which has some beautiful stained glass windows.
These little fellows frequent the edge of the lake where we are parked.
RVing With a Purpose 