Yosemite to ??????

Yep! You read that right..... we headed out of Yosemite and are heading somewhere between here and Phoenix, AZ, which basically means middle of nowhere, desert, somewhere. Yosemite to Phoenix is 12 hours and no way do we try to do THOSE long days! lol ;) That's just crazy talk! So we go back to our original road tripping skill..... by the seat of our pants. {aka. no reservations, just go till the driver is tired} Some of us don't mind the uncertainty that brings and others get a little uncomfortable not knowing where the nights stay will be. Where I put my foot down, is when it comes to staying at these.... lol 😝

In moments of desperation, you'll see from past blogs that we've stayed at a Walmart before. But honestly it was out of SERIOUS desperation from literally every hotel and RV park being booked in an area. The one we stayed at in Colorado last time was like an RV park with everyone and their dog who was in our position and couldn't find anywhere else to stay. It was a party! But other than that, I pull up RV Park Reviews and do my best to co-pilot us to a normal RV park. When the driver starts saying "where are we going to stay tonight?" I know that's my cue to get into gear!

But I digress.... in the meantime we still have a 5-6 hour drive to get through, I mean, enjoy! 😉
So we eat lunch...

Some people are always looking for something to eat {nothing changes from being at home}... However, this position is a very dangerous proposition on the road! You have to always be on guard for sliding objects that will meet their demise in your face or on the floor - a previous trip had a full half gallon jar slamming into my toe from the fridge open while driving. So you open slowly and have your hands free to catch any forthcoming items. Btw... left hand turns are the best time to open the fridge.

We've seen some pretty cool landscapes full of amazingly large windmills.

 

And of course, I came through with a KOA we could stay at for the night. In fact, they had ONE spot left when I called about 30 minutes out. But before pulling in we stopped at one of our trusted regulars for dinner...

We finally made it to our camp spot at the KOA, put our jacks down, put the slide out and got settled for the night. As we often do, the littles went to bed and we stayed up playing games with the bigs. Here's a quick rundown of our game of Speed UNO.... 

Our plan was to get on the road first thing in the morning. Our estimated travel time was about 5 1/2 - 6 hours and we knew the closer we got to Phoenix, the higher the temps were going to rise. Thus, up and ready to put the slide in and close everything up about 8am. But there was one slight problem... the slide wouldn't budge. I mean, we could get one side to go in a bit, but the other side wasn't moving an inch. Hmmm...... well we've had some slide issues before but a little finagling and we could usually get it. BUT NOT THIS TIME!!!! 😟 

Just so you know, if the slide (which runs almost the entire length of the tin can) doesn't come in, there be.... NO DRIVING. What is important to know is that we had just replaced 1 of the 2 slide motors before we left. So our amazing driver pulled up his trusty assistant... YOUTUBE. And there he went attempting every suggestion he could find to retract the slide. 

You can see in this photo - the wall that his arm is crossing, is the amount of space the slide still needs to come in.

And we began making phone calls....

 - Beaver Coach in Bend (who just replaced the first motor)

 - KOA front desk.... any mobile RV service companies you know about?

 - the motorhome manufacturer emergency technician line

 - the mobile RV service guy the KOA lady recommended

 - RV service place in Phoenix

 - now... GOOGLE! 

 - an RV place in Barstow, CA (where we were stuck)

 - 2 more guys the above recommended

All we got was MESSAGES all the way around! Huh! And so we wait, the driver fiddles more and more, and we wait for a call back and we pray. Right then the phone rang and it was the motorhome manufacturer's emergency tech returning our call. YIPPEEEE! I mean they are in Indiana but maybe they are going to say - 'oh ya - just do this in that instance and it will come back in.' Ya - nice thinking! He was a very nice gentleman and talked our amazing driver through the issue for awhile. The consensus was to use the one good motor we had and pull one side in with it a little bit and then switch it to the other side and pull that side in a little bit. And little by little, perhaps we could get it in enough to drive. By the way, the eldest in the family originally came up with this idea! <3

It's now just after 12pm. The KOA has asked us to switch to another spot which could be a sketchy proposition driving slowly with the slide out. The chauffeur has worked on it for 4 hours now. And we are no closer to getting the slide to retract let alone get on the road. 

And so I stared at the chicken scratch of 2 names that the driver had scribbled down, two local guys that might be able to help. How do you pick between between a "Tim" and a "Richard?" We'd already left messages with both of them. But you know, maybe they didn't hear it ring originally and don't know they have a message!?! Which name would you pick? Hmmm.......... okay, Tim sounds like a guy that would have a nice personality. lol And so I punched his number into my phone and held my breath.... ring, ring, ring..... HE ANSWERED!!!!!!!!! 😁Yahooo! I explained our situation to him and that we didn't need the slide repaired, just retracted. We'd work out the repair when we made it to Phoenix! 

And he says....

OH WE CAN DEFINITELY GET YOU ON THE ROAD. I'LL BE THERE IN AN HOUR!!!!!!!!!! 

Please meet Tim! 😀 He arrived, came in and assessed the situation with the driver. He agreed with the plan to just keep switching the motors back and forth. There were a couple of hiccups in the plan but they figured those out and kept working. And when they were stuck they'd keep thinking, keep trying and do something different. 

Can I add that it was 95* out and we had our AC on as much as possible but sometimes it was too loud to be able to communicate with one person on the outside and one person on the inside. 

Oh ya - let's not forget the 4 kiddos that need occupying during this time! lol The two oldest were a huge help with the littles. And so they watched a movie, played tackle football (carefully on the gravel - lol), got ice cream from the little store, played at the park and swam in the KOA pool. We were trying to stay out of the way of the two hard workers but that was hard with a small space inside and no shade outside but we made the best of it.

And so, 4 hours later..... the SLIDE was IN! 😍 One side was out about 2 inches but overall that was not bad and very drive-able given the circumstances. And so after the driver worked 4 hours in the morning and 4 hours in the afternoon with Tim, we were done! It was a long day for everyone but oh so thankful we could move on! 

Tim was gracious enough to grant us a photo - he was our HERO! 

And wouldn't you know it, somewhere towards the end of the day, Tim told us he was actually a PLUMBER! lol 

Now on to Phoenix, where we have already called ahead to an RV place there and they are expecting us. The story is not quite over yet...

Yosemite to .... HUME LAKE!

Yep! We are headed to see very dear friends up at Hume Lake Christian Camp in the Sequoia National Forest, Art & Beckie Melli. Art was our youth pastor in high school and they have mentored us through the vast ups and downs of life. But wait, before we get there, or to that, we are loading up and putting everything in it's place so we can put in the slide and drive without injury by falling and sliding items.

However, we had one small problem.... the SHOWER won't drain! This shower has a small short lip on it, not enough to be considered a tub, but tall enough to hold a few inches of water - standing water, that's not supposed to be standing but swirling down the drain. So much water that there's no way we could drive down the road without it all swishing out and splashing all over the bathroom. Now I will admit, I'm taking full responsibility since...

A) I was the only one to take a shower that morning

B) I, I mean, my hair, regularly clogs the shower drain at home

As you can see, we started scooping out the water with a large glass measuring bowl but that wasn't cutting it. So we resorted to the mini shop vac we carry with us on board. Our brilliant idea was to use the 'blow' function to hopefully push the clog through the drain pipe. But we knew this was potentially hazardous to the brave person that took on the task. So son #1 put on the required uniform and showed up for work. It was a fine line between hitting the 'ON' switch and having the tube positioned down in the drain just right or it was going to end up being a water storm. lol Fortunately, I had the 'on' switch job, not the tube in the drain job. ;)

I know you are all on pins and needles so I will get to the end of the story.... our attempt to 'blow' the clog through was not successful so we just emptied the tub by sucking all the water out with the shop vac - emptying it several times in between.

We solved the problem temporarily just so we could get on the road and son #1 helped save the day! He's hired! 😍




While the chauffeur buttoned everything up to his satisfaction, I took the littles to the park to run off some energy before being cooped up in the tin can.

If you are curious, some of our driving time is passed with a favorite activity... 

This doesn't show it, but it's a team effort. One in the back watching for the upcoming semi's, one on the side to do the 'honk pull' and everyone to remind that person to wave or thumbs up a 'thank you' to the semi driver. Oh ya - and another to put a tally mark on the chalkboard for another score. I believe they are up to 18 so far. 😉 

So after some yummy In n' Out and shopping in Fresno, we headed up the hill to Hume Lake Christian Camp.

If you have never heard of Hume Lake Christian Camp, please do look them up. It's an incredible camp with a rich history of God's hand at work from it's inception. Our boys attended their summer camp last year for the first time and had the time of their life. It's a very well done camp professionally yet not lacking in spiritual depth at all! And the testimonies of God's miraculous works there, even as recent as saving the camp from fire last year, are amazing and faith stretching to say the least.

However, Hume Lake has one itsy bitsy, minor detail...

You can choose to purchase some wifi time at the general store but it only works there, which was a bit of aways from where we were staying. And honestly, after wanting to refer to your phone just a few times to reference something, you do actually come to enjoy it. Have you heard the saying, 'be where you are!' Well that easily happens when you don't have the distractions of electronic devices. And you don't have the opportunity to share your time with people who are not right in front of you. It's quite refreshing! 😊😊😊 

The drive up and back down to Hume Lake is quite interesting in a rattling, long, tin can, to say the least. Here's one perspective about half way up....

So we just keep reminding the driver to keep his eyes on the road! :O And he can look when we get to the top... 6000 feet in elevation!

Our time with the Melli's was short, sweet and precious but well worth the drive up the mountains! You see, they are full time missionaries in the Black Forest of Germany. They were only back for a short time to prep their home for summer renters. However, they were made aware a couple weeks before returning that the bottom floor of their home had flooded. What's ironic about this, is that when we were visiting with them at this same house the end of 2014, we received a call (land line phone call) that our house was found in water also. I'm not sure if we should start avoiding each other, or unite together!?! lol At any rate, we knew their pain and frustration, to some extent. So we helped out how we could... 

Kevin and the boys helped Art rake up pine needles and clean up the landscaping while I helped Beckie reorganize displaced bedding and try to bring some sense of orderliness to the parts of the house still in working order. And #4, well she was somewhere in between inside and outside, 'helping' a little here and a little there.

We went on some walks up and down the big hills, met some friends, road skateboards (uh, excuse me... LONGboards), enjoyed the sunshine, ate yummy food, played some games and chatted deeply and honestly about life and Jesus. 

And so, until next time, hugs & kisses Art & Beckie! 

🎔🎔🎔🎔🎔

Sacramento to YOSEMITE!

It was a relatively short drive to Yosemite and a KOA outside of the park that we were to stay at. We had to catch a shuttle bus to take us into the actual park, which was SUPPOSED to be only about 40-45 minutes away. Okay, let's even round up to an hour bus ride. So we waited at the bus stop and hopped on the shuttle within a few minutes of taking our photos. Not so bad, off to a great start! :)

The littles were amazing on the bus ride and when one finally asked how much longer, I looked at the time and honestly answered, 'maybe only another 15-20 minutes at the most!' lol

So we made the most of the bus ride and enjoyed the beautiful scenery on the way...

YA - RIGHT! Let's just say TWO hours after we boarded the bus, we were finally exiting the shuttle, after numerous traffic and construction stops. Luckily there was a bathroom on board in case of emergency but EWWWWWW - we were definitely not in enough of an 'emergency state' to use it. lol Because you know a public restroom at a national park is going to be WAAAAAY better! {insert sarcasm!}

Anyway, we were thrilled to finally be there and explore this National Park we had never been to but heard so much about! We toured the Visitor's Center and learned about the park first off.

Yes, we are working on our turn our frown-upside-down abilities! ;)

I had no idea that Yosemite is where the famous Ansel Adams began, along with a lot of other photographers! Always learning something new!

Identical, right?

And then we came out to begin our exploring and the rain started to come down! Not a problem though, a few sprinkles never hurt anyone, unless you are the wicked witch that is! So we dawned our coats and rain jackets (except for the one kid that forgot his) and continued our exploration.

Not quite sure what #2 is doing with his nose there - but we are going to look at positive side and be happy for the smile! :)

BFF's always watching out for each other! <3

And when it's not raining, we jump and jump and jump, while the big bros try to climb an impossibly large rock.

So we explored as much as possible given the crowds and rain and then we did the next logical thing.... 

Sadly, there's no photo to document our extraordinary meal because we ate at the only dining establishment open before 5pm (because we had to catch our shuttle back at 6pm) and it was an outside diner where we luckily found a table with an umbrella. So we ate quick and moved onto the next logical activity...

Do a little souvenir shopping and wait for the early bus! We were calling it a day! 

But still take a moment to enjoy the beautiful creation all around us, even if it was raining! <3

We stayed an extra day in Sacramento with Kevin's family so we cut our Yosemite stay short by a day. But we'd love to come back sometime and spend more time, hopefully in the SUN! :D Tomorrow it's packing up and heading to somewhere in the desert between Yosemite and Phoenix, AZ! 

PS. Never too busy to stop and have a kiss in the rain in front of Yosemite Falls with the chauffeur! ;)

Bend to Sacramento!

Bend to SACRAMENTO!

First off, if you aren't following us on Instagram, you should! ;) You'll get a lot more up to date photos as we go. But here's a quick recap for you....

Bye, bye home sweet home! <3 

Our first day on the road was 10am - 7pm. That's a considerably long day of driving for us. We learned on our first road trip that long driving days and little ones do NOT go hand in hand. lol Plus the whole driving at night/dusk (possibly animal hitting time) is something we try to avoid in the tin can. But being that we were all jazzed to get on the road, the first day being long wasn't so bad at all. We made good use of the time with some coloring, books and legos....

Oh and we can't forget the infamous gas stops and the handsome chauffeur that takes care of us oh so well! <3

 

With a quick stop at Trader Joes for some groceries {where Esther and I were oddly followed around by a strange man - 'mom, just ignore this part'} we then arrived at our first destination, Kevin's brother's house. It was all good until we went to put our slide out. Hmmm............ ya - that didn't go as planned - DOES AnYtHiNg???? lol We had just replaced the slide motor before leaving Bend but it decided to give us fits yet again. Thanks to the chauffeur, brother and eldest we did finally get it. But the key would be getting it back IN upon our departure. Kevin made a few calls Monday morning to have a local Sacramento RV place look at it, but guess what...... everyone is booked out till like 2025! No emergency appointment slots? Guess not..... okay don't get me started. lol Short version - our amazing chauffeur got it back in and we'll attempt to have someone look at it in Phoenix, where it should be a little slower at the RV places. ;)

Everyone had a fabulous time there with swimming, pool (yes - those are two different activities), scootering, ping pong and fabulous cooking! It was all too short but sweet to see beloved family. <3

The photographer thinks he's funny setting up his shot!

Off to Yosemite we head....