Update 9/23/24: Trip Part 2

Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.”

The beauty of Washington and Oregon left us breathless. We saw the most amazing sunrise as we drove the gorge in Oregon on our way home. We saw waterfalls along the road and were quickly reminded of how beautiful the west coast is. Wayne and I realized that growing up in California we took this beauty for granted. I’m thankful we still have family out west so we can take trips like this and enjoy God’s beautiful creation. Don’t get me wrong, Kentucky is beautiful too, but the mountains out west are stunning!

As we continued our drive that first day, we drove from Washington into Oregon, and then through the tip of Idaho into Montana. This whole day of driving was gorgeous. I was so tempted to turn off the freeway and head up to Glacier, my favorite National Park, when I saw the sign. Wayne and I agree that once we got east of the Rockies, it wasn’t as pretty. It quickly became flat for many miles…pretty much the rest of our drive home. 

We saw some beautiful sunrises on this trip. We managed to travel 2,600 miles in 4 days: 9 states, 1 new state (North Dakota), 1 new national park (Theodore Roosevelt NP), and lots of wild animals (prairie dogs, wild horses, buffalo, bald eagles). We kept track of license plates for the kids and we saw all the states but Hawaii and Delaware. 

My co-Pilot did a lot of this. He was patient with me and listened to two crime podcasts and a book. I miss the days of us being able to switch off driving. Wayne loved to drive on long road trips, so I know it was hard on him too. I also missed all our long talks on the road. It’s hard for him to talk for hours now, so our conversations were limited. Some days it’s hard to not mourn what we have lost, but I choose to celebrate the fact that he’s still here and doing well.

Prairie dogs…hundreds of them. They were hilarious to watch and listen to.

Our review of this Theodore Roosevelt National park: 👎. Save your time and go to the Badlands instead. Some review online I read said it was the man’s top 5 NP, and he had been to almost all of them. I would argue this was one of our least favorite NP, but at least we can say we’ve been there and to North Dakota…I’m in no rush to repeat either experience. 

While we were in Montana and North Dakota, I managed to complete my races in the evenings. I only have 8 states left to race in and 1 more state to see all 50 states (Alaska)!! It was exhausting to exercise after long days of driving, but I couldn’t miss this opportunity to race in the states I don’t have yet. Plus, after sitting all day, it felt good to move…just not 2.5 hours worth of moving.

We stopped in Chicago on our way home and were able to see our friends. 

You can tell that I was exhausted. I had driven for 15 hours the day before. 

On our way home from Chicago, we stopped by and visited DJ.

We were blessed to be able to stop in Wisconsin and visit our friends Lisa and Mary. Mary has GBM and we have been talking with them for a few years. Unfortunately, Mary is on hospice. We felt privileged to meet in person and pray with them. Please pray for Mary and Lisa during this difficult time.

Update: Wayne

Wayne has his pulmonologist appointment tomorrow. We hope to get some answers about the spots they have found in his lungs. He kicked butt today at therapy. He continues to amaze the doctors.

Update: Rebecca

It’s crazy that last week marked the one year mark from my surgery that revealed that I had an extra tumor in my pelvis that needed to be treated, along with bad cells that required chemo. It has been a wild ride for sure the last year! 

I had my immunotherapy on Friday. Wayne went with me and amazed all the nurses with how well he has done given his diagnosis. I was thankful for his company since I had to have two IVs placed because the first one blocked. I was done with being poked. The only bright side besides Wayne was that I had my favorite nurse! 

Prayer Requests:

- Wayne: for his appointment tomorrow and that what was seen in the CT scan is nothing big to worry about.

- Rebecca: that I continue to not have any side effects from my treatment and that my veins hang in there for the next two years. 

- please pray for Lisa and Mary

- Pray for our kids as they navigate everything: school, work, their parents health, and all the wedding prep.

Once again, we are so thankful for all of you and all your faithful prayers over the years! God uses all of you to keep us going. 🩷