Our First Weekend

Our first night and day on the project site was quite different than anything else we had experienced. The weather in the afternoon was beautiful but as evening set in, the television started broadcasting weather alerts, high winds and torrential rain was in the forecast. The wind gusts were strong enough that we did feel the trailer shake several times, but we did escape hail and tornadoes. The rain was very heavy throught the night and the next morning I was surprised at how much water was around the site.

We had planned a very peaceful day of doing laundry and grocery shopping, but Greta upset that plan early in the day. She had nausea all during the night and we though it might be best if we took her to a veterinarian. After doing a Google search we found a veterinarian clinic in Farmersville that was open and would see her. So we proceeded to travel to a town that was 30 miles away to get her checked out. Luckily it was nothing serious and with a couple of shots and some special food she recovered completely. We did manage to get some grocery shopping done, but he laundry had to wait. With all the rain, I was not able to do much outside until the ground dried a little more. Hopefully by Monday I can finsih setting up the trailer.

Saturday afternoon we traveled west to the town of Homer where we had a very nice visit with Nelson and Doris Philpot. I have been friends of the family for many years and it was great to catch up and have some interesting discussions. The four of us had a wonderful dinner at Port a Prince. The dinner consisted of catfish, fried potatoes, coleslaw, hushpuppies, and pickles. Following the dinner we enjoyed Boston Cream Pie at the Philpot home before we started back to the camp site.

At the end of the day we were worn out and the bed looked very good?

Our campsite is on the grounds of the Center. We all the amenities we need for a comfortable stay. The only distractions is the noise of the pumps on the gas wells int he area and the motors at the drilling rig. 

On Sunday morning we attended church at the Antioch Methodist Church near the campsite. It is always interesting to visit the different churches as we travel with NOMADS.  Following the service we had lunch together in the nearby town of Ruston. 

The pavilion is near where we are camped so we meet for devotionals and meetings. We also enjoy our breaks there. The facility has a kitchen, meeting area, and is near the sports field. 

The group met to become acquainted and to get their assignments on Sunday afternoon. A team picture will be taken later. The team members are from Alabama, Louisiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. We are all looking forward to a productive time at OWL. 

We Arrived

After our short stay in Metropolis to enjoy some time with my parents, we continued our journey south. Our travels took us across the Mississippi River at the point where the Ohio River ends. the flat land of bootheel of Missouri was a welcome sight, except for the high winds that we encountered. The wind gusts were in excess of 30 mph so the driving was difficult. The route took us to West Memphis, Arkansas and the west on I-40 to Little Rock. It was on that stretch of road that we encountered torrential rains...made driving difficult, but it washed the salt off the trailer and truck.

We spent the night at Willow Beach Recreational Area. It is a site operated by the Corps of Engineers. The site was fantastic, water and electric connections, and the parking area was paved so the truck and trailer were so level I did not even need to unhitch the trailer. The site was on the Arkansas river and Willow Slough. It was a very peaceful and restful place to stop, and as luck would have it the rain stopped just as we arrived! Too bad it was cloudy perhaps we could have seen a beautiful sunset if only the sun had been shining!

The route from Willow Beach to Dubach was largely through rural areas and not on the interstate highway. We certainly traveled through many miles of forested areas but did see how folks in the soth part of Arkansas live. It was a very interesting drive, but not many good stopping and resting places along the way. We arrived at our final destination shortly after lunchtime. Our first project was to unhook the trailer and go find lunch...which we found was not an easy task, but when we saw a shopping center, McDonalds and Walmart Linda realized that civilization existed in the south. The challenge with traveling in Louisiana is when I enter a destination, it always tries to send me to Los Angeles instead of the location selected in Louisiana (LA).

The OWL (Outdoor Wilderness Living Center)  is a part of the United Methodist Childrens Home of Louisiana. The center was donated by a family to the Childrens Home. The size of the property is 800 acres and it has many facilities on it now. It is used as a retreat center and a recreational area for the children, who stay at the home in Ruston. The site is sitting on a large pool of natural gas so at night we hear the hum of the drills and pumps. Unfortunately the center does not own the mineral rights so they are not benefiting from the gas drilling that is going on.

Tomorrow we will start exploring the area more and will continue to update you on the happenings at OWL.

Leaving Wisconsin

This is why we leave Wisconsin! It is March 25, should be springtime, but instead it is snowing. The low temperatures and the wind made us long for warmer days! Our day's drive ended some 422 miles south. We arrived at Fort Massac State Park (Metropolis, Illinois) where we set up camp and plan on staying a two nights so we can have a day with my parents. Dad, now 99 had a recent health scare so we thought it was a good time to take a break and visit them. Mom asked if they could come to the park for lunch tomorrow, our prayer now is that it is warm enough for them to come out.

The drive was very difficult today. High winds and snow showers generated some real challenges, not to mention the increased fuel consumption.

We are certainly looking forward to the rest of the trip and the opportunity to do some work at the United Methodist Children 's Home in Louisiana.

Off for Another Adventure!

Today Linda and I are preparing to leave on another venture. Our NOMADS adventure this time will take us to Dubach, Louisiana where we will be working at the Outdoor Wilderness Center of the United Methodist Children's Home. We do not have job assignments yet, but are certainly looking forward to the opportunity to serve others and use some of skills to make life better for others.

The trip will take us south through Illinois, crossing to the west of the Mississippi at Cario, Illinois, then traveling through the bootheel of Missouri, into Arkansas and on to Louisiana.  Dubach is located north east of Shreveport. We are hoping for some warm sunny days so we can thaw out from the cold Wisconsin winter.

As we travel south, we do plan on spending a day with my parents in Metropolis before venturing on south. Our goal is to be in Louisiana by Friday morning.

I will continue to blog as we travel and as are working at the site.

Traveling Home

The weather was nice when we left Florida and the first day we made it to Perry, GA. We made 400 miles trouble free. The night was spent at the Lighthouse Harbor RV park and we even had cable TV for a change. The temperatures dropped to 19  over night, but warmed up nicely on Saturday. Lunch was at the top of Monteagle, TN and the traveling went smooth, even through Atlanta and Nashville. As we traveled the winds picked up and we had our challenges so we decided to put the trailer in storage in Paducah, Ky and get it later.

Sunday, we spent some time with my parents and enjoyed lunch together before packing the truck to head north. We treated ourselves to a night in Drury Inn, before heading north.

We are expecting some cold weather and bad driving conditions tomorrow, but hopefully God will give us a safe and trouble free trip home!

Community Service Projects

This week has been an interesting week and I have had the opportunity to work with several different people in the community. The people I have worked for have ranged from single mothers to elderly people who have needed a little job around their home done. Some of the team have been doing interior painting, but I have been on several jobs that can be done by one person. My first project was to make a materials list for an elderly gentleman who needed doors in his home repaired. This included the replacement of the doors, repair of locks where someone had tried to break into his home, and  the repair of a pump house. I gave him the list and the team that will be here next week will be able to complete the task. The next project was to replace a light fixture at an elderly lady's home. While there she also asked me to repair her electric range (she had the parts) and I learned it is best to turn off the electricity to the appliance before working on it! On to the next project of changing some electrical receptacles in another home and to change the filter in a vent fan over the cooking stove. That was followed by a visit to a single mother who has been unemployed for quite some time. The repairs involved some exterior repair in the cement walls and to replace some of the tile in the bathroom that was loose. Tomorrow I have to install baseboards in a house and that will be my last project.

All of the visits left me with a wonderful feeling, not that I could just do the job, but that I had really done something that brightened someone's day.

Thursday evening Linda and I will start packing for our trip north. We plan on staying in a RV park in Perry, Georgia on Friday night, a RV park in Paducah, Kentucky on Saturday night, and then on Sunday make the final leg of our trip home.....weather permitting. Oh the temptation to stay in Florida is great given the weather reports we are seeing from Wisconsin!

More Projects

The Youth Room is nearing completion and the painting is in progress, so my work turned to other projects. The projects included repairing the drains on the church kitchen sinks, trying to fix a set of faucets for one of the sinks in the kitchen, insulating the ceiling near the windows in the office. Today I should be working on small projects at the Parsonage.

The story of the faucets is a very interesting story. To repair the faucets, new stems were needed since the old ones were stripped and would not stop turning. I took the entire faucet assembly and started to one plumbing supply store. They looked at the markings and determined the faucet was made by Chicago Brass so it should not be a problem, but after searching his inventory, no luck, so he sent me to another supplier, same story, no parts, and this process was repeated two more times before someone scrapped a little deeper on the assembly and discovered "China" so now we had to assume the CHB marking (which is the trademark for Chicago Brass) actually was China Brass. So after an afternoon of chasing parts, the only solution was to put the old assembly back on the pipes and tell the Trustees they would need to get an entire new assembly.

The day was finally beautiful, so at the end of the work day, Linda, Greta and I headed out to a wildlife area for a long walk. Several people were fishing and having some luck. Made me wish I had spent the afternoon fishing instead of chasing parts.

This was Martin Luther King's Birthday and there was a parade in town, the church office was closed, but we worked.

After another frustrating day of trying to use the WiFi the church is suppose to be providing, Linda and I gave up and made a trip to McDonalds for a milk shake and internet service!

Weather is to cool down, just hope it is not too cool to camp on the way home!