Sue's Roadtrip Highlights and Lowlights...

Thirty-five days on the road is a unique opportunity to cover miles of terrain and wide, open spaces together on a bike. Yet, life can also seem confined to a very small space: the limited area of a small bag, a bike seat, and the voice in your headset. This time together has been filled with wonderful delights and a few irritations.

Highlights

• Loving the time with my husband
• Praying together in our headsets (eyes open at all times!)
• Reconnecting with significant people in our life
• Meeting amazing new people and kind, interesting strangers
• Viewing beautiful, grand vistas
• Seeing the multitudes of crops growing across the country
• Chatting with other bikers
• Enjoying a stream, viewing a flower, watching a hawk
• Experiencing the variety of color, hue and texture in creation
• Chuckling at billboards
• Experiencing a glorious thunderstorm
• Hearing “I love being with you” in my headset
• Eating a good piece of pie

Lowlights

• Sweating in the 100+ desert heat in a black helmet, boots and jeans
• Taking blurry pictures of precious scenery
• Getting Tim to slow down so I can take a picture or see the herd of bison
• Being on the go...not enough time to linger
• Always being the last one to put my helmet on (Who do you think this really bothers?)
• Ignoring antique stores and art/sculpture galleries
• Eating a blah piece of pie
• Stopping at another roadside bathroom (Tim drinks a LOT of liquid!)
• Having the trip end

I cannot truly express how humble and grateful I am to have this opportunity. I adore being with Tim, and traveling on the back of a bike is thrilling. We are already dreaming of the next adventure…..

Sue

Little things make me happy...like "lane splitting"

We're back in California, I LOVE California, but it's the little things, like "lane splitting." It seems so logical to me. California is a bit more advanced than the "rest" of this country of ours, in some areas, that may not be all that good, if you know what I mean, but in the area of "lane splitting" I think it's very good.

I love "lane splitting." I wish other states we visited on this trip had it. I introduced it in some of those states. I can't remember everywhere this happened, Sue probably does, in fact, there's probably a mark on the back of my helmet where Sue whacked me upside the head for doing it!!!

"Lane splitting" is most appropriate on city streets, where one can anticipate the light as you move between cars, which means you never really have to stop...again this is a good thing...cause who wants to stop.

This is a particularly nice occurrence when you're in Barstow, Baker, Palm Desert or Indio and the temperature reads 110 degrees, which doesn't include the heat of the engine, the heat of the pavement, the heat inside the helmet, in this case stopping really #+%^#'s (you fill in the word). So "lane splitting" helps with the heat factor cause you keep moving...

Sometimes it's the little things in life that make somebody like me happy. I'm very glad to be back in So. Cal., we're not all the way home yet, but I'm glad to be back in a state that allows "lane splitting."

So here's to the advanced state of California!!! We have NO money in our state budget, but who cares when you have "lane splitting."

Soon to be in OC,

Tim

Barstow...

Well over 13,000 miles on the bike now...I'd love to put another 10,000 miles on before Labor Day, but reality calls...believe me, yesterday, we were watching TONS of bikes head toward Sturgis...and more than once I said to Sue, "Why don't we make a U-turn and just go on back..."

There's stuff I wanted to do on this trip but didn't have the time, like...

• Blue Ridge Parkway from North Carolina to Virgina
• The Skyline drive through Northern Virgina
• Tail of the Dragon in Tennessee/North Carolina
• Northwest Arkansas
• Glacier National Park in Montana
• Northern Idaho

Oh well, all for another day...for now we'll finish out with Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park and Barstow, yep, Barstow...I think every motorcycle trip ought to go through Barstow...it's been a long time, is the train car McDonalds still there? Gotta stop and have Fillet o'Fish with Cheese and EXTRA Large fries :-)

By the way, Barstow and Kansas (south western/lower middle) are on my same list...I won't tell you the list, but for now, just know their on my list...

See you VERY soon, have a great weekend,

Tim

P.S. I've got some exciting news as it relates to our upcoming Building Project...I can't wait to share it.

Nearing the finish line...not wanting to stop

What a day! Yesterday! Cody, Wyoming...to Red Lodge, Montana...look it up on google maps...from Red Lodge to Yellowstone National Park is the Beartooth Mountain range and the Beartooth highway...pretty amazing stuff...

Then there was Yellowstone, tall lodge pole pines, BIG open ranges, buffalo, deer, pronghorn, sulfur springs, muddy lava stuff spewing and CONSTRUCTION...it's called govt. stimulus package. But it took us nearly an HOUR to go 5 miles...and for our Harley it was like an OFF road experience, so we even did that yesterday.

Then we moved into the Teton National Park and more CONSTRUCTION...yours and my stimulus dollars at work, another HOUR to go 8 miles...but at least what you had to look at was awesome. I've never seen the Teton range and WOW...just rise up out of the earth and BIG, I mean, BIG!!!

It was a good day! Literally the best yet...today is a LONG road day...we're trying to get down to the Bryce Canyon/Zion National Park area, so we'll be putting about 550 miles on the bike today. We've heard great stuff about these two parks and like everything else on this trip, never been there...so we'd like to spend some time in each park...

I'll let you know more over the next couple of days, just what it's like.

We feel really blessed, thanks for your prayers and for reading.

Tim


PS. Today's staff highlight is Lilly Moscoso. Lilly is the Creative Arts Coordinator who can't juggle 12 tasks at once!! She is on it!! Serving Hero Ryan Walton is part of The Crossing's Security Team. He helps provide a safe environment for all of us on the weekend. Thank you Ryan!! Read about Marty Whitecotton's life change story to see how God is working in his life!!

Phoning this in...that is a good thing!

Sue and I left Cody, Wyoming this morning for Red Lodge, Montana and the Beartooth Highway (Rt. 212). We just came through a pass that was 10, 000 to 12,000 feet high!!

Don't misunderstand, I love the mountains of Colorado, the Black Hills of South Dakota and the various canyons we have seen along the way. But the 60 mile stretch of highway to the northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park has got to encompass the most beautiful scenery known to human kind. Charles Kuralt calls this highway the most scenic highway in the United States. And I would have to agree.

We are making our way through Yellowstone National Park at the moment, on our way to Jackson, Wyoming. Our day is half done and I think it will only continue to get better. How can it not when you have Old Faithful and the Grand Teton National Park yet to see?

May God bless your day as He is ours.

Tim

PS. Dale Winson is our staff highlight today. Dale works very much behind the scenes but plays a HUGE role here at The Crossing. Serving Hero, Wanda Garro is a Children's Ministry superstar. And read all about how The Crossing helped bring Dan & Laurie Walsh back to Jesus. Thanks to all of these folks for everything they do!

He said...it only GETS BETTER...!!!

I made contact with the person who is hosting us in Jackson, WY and I made the comment, "Wow, the Black Hills of SD and the ride to Cody were astoundingly amazing." He commented back to m, "You're only seeing a preamble to what will get even BETTER..."

Given my personality...as soon as he said that, I wanted to get on our Harley and ride out, RIGHT THEN! However, I'll have to cool my jets, cause today is what I'll call a "Sue" day, we're going to see the Buffalo Bill Center and Museum. I guess it's 5 museums under one roof.

And just so I don't get any comments on this being a "Sue" day, an acquaintance of mine who rides told me before we left to take every 7th day or so off from riding, so for the most part that's what we planned to do on this day before we left, but it's still a "Sue" day, cause I want to ride :-).

Particularly after yesterday's ride, I didn't want to get off the bike. There's been a perpetual smile on my face over the past three days, ride to and around the Black Hills, then the ride to Cody...across hills, through a canyon, windy up and down roads, spectacular waterfalls, rushing rivers. Phenomenal, Spectacular, Amazing, Beautiful, Wonderful, Super, Awesome...I'm buying a dictionary today, I'm running out of adjectives.

Also, I'd appreciate your prayers, I had planned to take a good bit of time today to prepare for stuff coming up in the fall in and around The Crossing. I've had TONS of time to think while riding and little to no time to download it from my brain. Today is download day!

Thanks for reading,

Tim

P.S. Read all about Liliana Sanchez and the many areas she works in on staff at The Crossing!! She has the amazing ability to stay on top of everything all at once. I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate Serving Hero, Gary Resnick. Gary shows up each weekend willing to serve wherever needed. Thank you Gary for your servant's heart. Jesus is now in Debra DiMicelli's driver's seat. Read about her incredible life change story.