Eastward Bound

Well, we are starting to wrap it all down. Sorry that we have not posted the last couple of days. On Saturday, July 10, we left Sedona and drove to Kingman AZ. It was so stinking hot there! I bet it was 110 degrees. The desert Southwest is not fun in the middle of summer!

I had worked out a webcam appearance to our church on Sunday morning. So, I got up at 6:00 a.m. and Kent Davis met me online and we started working out the kinks and issues of doing the live webcam. It was pretty fun and very enjoyable to drop in on our church and send our greetings to them. I even watched the second worship set via their webcam link to me. Very cool!!!

Later that morning, we went to worship at the Praise Chapel in Kingman AZ. As a visitor, I always watch for little things that make me feel welcomed or not. As we walked in, the door greeter did his job and welcomed us to church. No one else spoke to us the rest of the morning. In fact, as we were sitting down (pre-service), Bailee said, "It's funny that no one comes us and says hello to us." The people in front of us had to have heard her. She spoke pretty loud and without much tact :) But, I thought, they will hear her and turn around and say something to us. Nope... no one. Dear reader, do we all realize how far a simple, "Hello" goes with people. I think it makes the difference. The Pastor did a great job teaching that morning. Jen and I both enjoyed the teaching. Without being weird, I just want to say, the music was good - but odd. All the instruments came through the less than adequate speakers. So, there was no ambient sound to the band. They didn't use 18" speakers, so there was no punch. It felt like we were listening to a Maranatha Band on an AM radio. That's my critical eye for the day, but we really did enjoy the service.

Nearly 100 miles later, across the desert and Hoover Dam, we were 10 miles from Las Vegas and our transmission said, "I'm done". We had it towed to a service center and we rented a car and went into Vegas. Monday was spent figuring out what we were going to do with the van. The mechanic said it was totally shot and would cost us $3,500 to replace. Needless to say, we have left our van in the desert (at the Ford dealer). Through it all, God has really spoken to us about trust, faith and provision. We had taken the backseat out of our mini-van and loaded it down. How were we going to get everything back home? What are we going to do with the van? What will we do with the stuff we have to leave behind? No rental company rents cross country mini-vans without a weeks notice. I settled for a large car and told the family that we would leave behind whatever wouldn't fit. We got to the airport and God hooked us up with an SUV. The only thing we ended up leaving behind was a cooler. Everything else squeezed in to the SUV...(Thanks God, You are SO Good!)

Vegas wasn't our thing. We are at the end of this trip and with the car problems and travel weariness just didn't allow us to enjoy Vegas. So, we got up early this morning (Tuesday) got the SUV and headed out. We drove 500 miles today and are putting our heads down in Grand Junction, CO.

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts, prayers, concern and even offers to come pick us up. We have come to appreciate our precious family and church family. We are safe and sound and are looking forward to arriving home this weekend. We will update the blog with photos in the next day or two. Oh...I should mention. We stayed at the Tropicana in Las Vegas. It was a beautiful hotel, but this poor pastor can't afford $13 internet charges per day...ain't no way!!! That's why we haven't posted in a few days.

Our love to all...
Mark, Jen, Bailee, Brekyn and Gloria Payton Stewart (our GPS)

Sedona July 7-8

John McCain once said, "I believe in evolution. But I also believe, when I hike the Grand Canyon, and see it at sunset, that the hand of God is there also."

I don't believe in evolution, I'm spiritually firm in my belief that God created the earth as it is now, but for sure, the hand of God was certainly creative on the fabric of the Grand Canyon. It's been a couple days since we visited the Grand Canyon, but it is still fresh on our minds.

"I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works. They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds. They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. All you have made will praise you, O Lord; your saints will extol you. They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is faithful to all his promises and love toward all he has made. The Lord uphold all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every live thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and love toward all he has made. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever." Psalms 145

I'm sure that I can't say anything more about the Grand Canyon that hasn't already been said. The only thing that I can think of is, "Jen, what the heck were you thinking letting our child out there?" Good thing I didn't see that.

I don't think you can leave the Grand Canyon without being spiritually moved.

Yesterday, we hopped aboard the Verde Canyon Tour Train. This is a slow moving train that takes you about 25 miles from Clarkdale AZ. The train takes you to Perkinville AZ, a small active cattle ranch. There is nothing like meandering on a slow moving train in God's beautiful country side. Honestly, if God needed a play ground, or a place to rest, this would be the place for Him to go.

Today, Friday, we spent the day touring Uptown Sedona. It's actually been a very warm day. It was about 93 degrees today and 35% humidity. The locals have been telling us all day how hot and humid it is. We have been walking around feeling pretty comfortable. Outside many of the shops they have cooling mist spraying out. It is almost humorous to us because we are enjoying the warmth without the high humidity. Jen and the girls enjoyed shopping for a while today, and I bought transmission fluid and had the windshield wiper changed (whoohooo).

This evening, we spent an hour in the resort swimming pool. It is our last hurrah here in Sedona. Tomorrow morning, we head to Kingman AZ and then into Vegas on Sunday. We are on the second half of our trip starting today. It's been good, but I'm not sure I'm ready for it to be over yet.

Our love to all...thanks for your thoughts and your precious prayers.

July 6 - Sedona AZ

It's been a great day in Sedona. The high temp today was about 91, but it felt like the low 80's all day. The resort we are staying at is a very beautiful place called Los Abrigados. My interesting fact for the day is, the reason why the rock in Sedona is red is because of the heavy rust deposits. That's it, rust in the Wild West! I was hoping for something more elaborate like, "it's the spilled blood of the many Cowboys and Indians." Nope, just rust. Do you see Snoopy sleeping? ---------------------------------->





This morning we slept in a little. It's not fun waking up at 4 a.m. here, because our bodies are still on Central time. Yesterday, I think we wore out hiking and playing, so we were pretty tired last night. This morning, we were able to stay in bed until.... the folks upstairs started moving tables, chairs, beds and an ELEPHANT (so it seemed). That all happened about 8:30 Pacific time. So, thank you, Lord, for the good night's rest and thank you for the earthquake that happened in the room upstairs from us :)

After tempting Jen with a do-nut, we left for Slide Rock State Park. It was a beautiful drive up the mountain. The glistening red of the Sedona Red Rock cliffs, the beautiful trees that line the valleys and the abundance of sunshine. Eight miles up the mountain and merging into the turn lane of the parking lot of the above mentioned park, we were met by a Park Ranger putting out a nice large sign that said, "Parking Lot Full". She kindly told us that we would be waiting until Jesus comes back in order to find parking. A little frustrated, we resolved to mend our wounds with Dairy Queen. The talkative older lady, who was serving us soft served delights, told us about Grasshopper Point, which was about 6 miles back down the mountain, where we originally started from. After getting to the Grasshopper, we had to walk about a 1/4 mile through large rocks and pitted terrain. At last, we made it to a beautiful creek with only about 40 people hanging out. We had the time of our life. (A reminder to self, catching minnows for 3 1/2 hours, with daughters, is not a waste of time. Do it often!) Bailee was our adventerous one...she is the spot in the middle of the photo jumping off a 10 foot high cliff. Way to go, Bailee!!!

























We really had a great and relaxing day hanging out at a creek bed.







Later in the evening, we went on the Lil' Wrangler Jeep tour of the canyons. Our host Joe was quite a guy. He is a retired geologist and obviously a fan of nature. He told us about bushes, trees, rock formations and history. At one point in the tour, I mentioned how odd it was that there were telephone poles out in the middle of the canyon and yet there were no lines on the poles. He told us that Elvis filmed a movie called, "Stay away Joe". Joe, our guide, said that Elvis was such a momma's boy that he wanted a telephone line ran out to the movie site so he can call his mom whenever he wanted. Joe loved to share stories and give us "pop quizzes". At one point in the tour, it got a little dicey. The jeep is nice and stout, but it was obvious at one rock cliff, Joe got himself into a pickle. We kindly offered to get out of the jeep and walk up the road while he backed down some rocks and evenutally back up the road to pick us up.
















Thanks again to everyone who is praying for us and keeping us in your thoughts. We love you all!

Day 7: Wolf Sanctuary and Sedona arrival!

Hello!

Day 7 was a long day of mostly driving, again. We drove through several Indian Reservations and saw lots of DUST! LOL! We did come upon a Wolf Sanctuary which was quite interesting. The tour guide walked us through the sanctuary where she introduced us to about 40 different wolves that have been "rescued". These wolves varied from wolf-dogs to Pure Bred Wolves. Some were tame enough to come up to the fence so we could see them up close....others were very much "wild" and feared us. We met one wolf who has recently been labeled "un-approachable"...to even the caretakers because he recently almost bit his caretaker's led off! This was a fun and educational "pit-stop" on our long journey to Sedona.

Around 5:30pm, we finally made it to Flagstaff. Only 30 more minutes to go!! Wait, what was that?? A puff of black smoke and a lurch of the van.... Yep, you guessed it- the transmission. We decided to try and make it to our Resort...about 30 minutes away. Little did we realize it would be 30 minutes of driving down the steepest, most winding mountain I (Jen) have ever seen! It was quite a nervous experience! We did make it and got checked into our resort. We grabbed a quick dinner at the "Red Planet Diner" (totally decked out in outer space deco), and then settled in for the night. In the morning we will have AAA tow our van and see about getting us a rental car. More on that tomorrow.

Day 6 Santa Fe, NM~Gallup, NM

Good evening blog mates. This morning we woke up at a very comfortable hotel in Santa Fe, NM. After a "Super Start" breakfast (that again lasted about one hour), we drove to Albuquerque, NM. Honestly, I think we enjoyed the drive more today than most of our stops.

In Albuquerque, we went to the Old Town area and walked around a very cool part of town. This is a picture of an old church that the Old Town area is built around.




We went into shops for a few hours. Jen and the girls all bought handmade jewlery. Brekyn even had a piece made especially for her. Ask her to see it next time you see her. I'm sure she'll be wearing it. I should also mention that the temperature is probably 80 degrees with about 15 % humidity. This is a beautiful area. We have some friends who just left their church in Southern Indiana and moved out here to plant a new one. We can now see what the draw was for them.



From Albuquerque we started to wander toward Gallup, New Mexico. While on I-40 heading West, we stopped at a road side observation spot. There, set up on the side of the road, were several native Americans who were selling handmade goods. One of the ladies took time to tell us about the matriarchal culture of the Indians. Apparently, when a couple marries, it is common for the man to join the woman's tribe or village. For various reasons, her mother had to move to her dad's village. This took an act of approval by tribal leaders. There was a tribal meeting, when they got married, that eventually granted approval for this highly unusual act. It was amazing to hear the story. She also told us about Indian pottery. Indians believe that the clay that they use (which comes from the earth), has a spirit. So, in order to not "capture" that spirit, all pottery has a "break" in the art work. The art scroll does not fully attach to itself. You can see an example of this at the top of this piece of pottery that she made:


After visiting with this very kind lady, we traveled Route 66 for about 40 miles. Again, the surroundings were absolutely spectacular.

Our internet connection at the hotel seems to be slow, so I will update this post tomorrow evening. I'll put pictures of some landscape up when I get a better connection.

Tomorrow, we head toward Sedona AZ where we will settle in for almost a week. I think we are all ready to "land" somewhere for a while. It has been a good trip thus far, but the loading and unloading and new beds each evening, has made the Van Meters a tad bit grumpy :) We're all doing well, we're just ready to get to our destination. (Jen is not grumpy)<---edited by Jen.

Day 5...Amarillo, Texas ~ Santa Fe, New Mexico

Posted: Mark

Today was a fairly casual day of driving and site seeing. We left Amarillo Texas heading toward Oklahoma City, OK. (Yes, that's the wrong way)...Thankfully, Jen remembered that the sun rises in the East and it was shining bright at 9 a.m.

Our first stop was at the Cadillac Ranch between miles 60-62 heading west out of Amarillo. I had actually been looking forward to this stop. I had heard about the Cadillac Ranch for several years and had great expectations. As we pulled up on the "art exhibit", it looked small. The "painting" against the "canvas" of miles and miles of Texas ranch land, just looked dwarfed. As we approached the Cadillacs through a gate, the "project" came alive. It really was very cheeky, quirky and fun. There were spray cans littered everywhere - and they were all empty. So, we pulled out the trusty, Sharpie! Here is a panoramic picture of the Cadillac Ranch...

From the Ranch we started our four hour drive toward Santa Rosa and Santa Fe.

Our first stop was at the Mid-Point Cafe. This place inspired the Disney movie "Cars". When we went into the restaurant, we were pretty awe struck, but that faded quickly. We sat at a table..............for about 15 minutes before we got water and menus. Then when we looked at the menu, it was way over priced. A cheeseburger was about $8 each. That did not even include fries. They gave you a bag of chips to go with the sandwich. Jen and Bailee ordered "homemade chicken noodle soup". It was most definitely Campbell's Chicken noodle soup. Their "can" of soup was about $4 per bowl. The neat thing was meeting "Mator". There is an actual pick-up truck that inspired the character in "Cars".

Mator

From Mid-Point we headed toward Santa Rosa, New Mexico. In Santa Rosa, we went to the Blue Hole. The Blue Hole is an 81 foot deep, 60 foot diameter, natural crater. The crater is totally filled with naturally fed spring water. It is amazingly clear and blue. All around the perimeter wall, sat teenagers and families, who just jumped in and out of the pool. There were a couple brave guys who were climbing about 12-15 feet above the water and jumping into the pool. I said to Jennifer, wouldn't it be cool to live next to water like this where you can just get off work or school and run and jump in the water?She looked at me and said, "We do, it's called Lake Michigan." Oh yea....duh...

I'm going to hand the baton to Jen and she is going to share the second half of today's adventures.

...As we left Texas and entered New Mexico, the landscape began to drastically change. Texas was mainly flat, dry plains. In New Mexico we began to see a gradual increase in hills, and ultimately mountains. I call them "speckled mountains", because of the small clusters of grass spread throughout the otherwise brown/red soil. The further west we drove, the more speckles and the higher the mountains. It was an absolutely gorgeous drive. What a majestic and awesome Creator God we have!

Our destination tonight was Santa Fe, New Mexico. Not for any other reason than to find a specific Pizza joint. Brekyn saw an episode of "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" which aired in Santa Fe about a year ago. They highlighted a Pizza place here called "Back Road Pizza", where they serve Green Chili Pizza. Brekyn has been waiting for a year to eat this Pizza. She (and We) were not disappointed. It was very Yummy! Surprisingly Spicy-hot, though. I (Jen) could not take much of it, but Brekyn had no problem with it!

As we ready ourselves for bed, we listen to the rolling thunder of an approaching storm. We are experiencing the remnants of Hurricane Alex. Good night, Santa Fe.

Oklahoma City~Amarillo Texas

Wal-Marts:3
"How much further?": 1 (not doing to bad)
Posted: Mark
7/1/10

I think Bailee did an excellent job, writing last nights blog, sharing about the Oklahoma City bombing site. Please make sure you read her blog and not miss her tender words.







Today, July 1, we are in Amarillo Texas. One of the things that we struggle with, in our family, as we travel together, is everyone;s sleep schedule. I usually get up around 5:30-6:00 a.m., do my devotions, read the paper and catch the news. Brekyn usually wanders downstairs around 6:30 and Jen and Bailee are like undetonated time bombs - they could "go off" at anytime. They usually get up anywhere between 8:30 and 10 (I'm talking about lazy days when nothing is going on). So, here I sit on the floor in the hotel room. It is completely dark in the room and I am listening to the melodic trio of Zzzzz's .

Yesterday was pretty much all about the Bombing site. Around 1 p.m., we left OK. City and headed further west toward Amarillo. I have made only ONE mistake in my life (ha), and yesterday was it. Somehow, we didn't get the confirmation for our hotel room in Amarillo. I had made it online, Tuesday night, but I don't think it came through. So, I spent an hour on the phone, calling all of the Comfort Inn, Quality Inn, Sleep Inn, Baymont Inn, motels to see if I had a reservation with them. It was very frustrating on my part. I never did find our reservation. Thankfully, the west Texas highways are flat and lonely, so it wasn't hard to stay focused on the road and make phone calls.

About 60 miles east of Amarillo, we decided, at the last minute, to pull into a nice little rest stop. The view from this rest stop was amazing. You could see so far, that it seemed like you could see the universe. We were setting up our camera to take a family photo, when I hear the voice of a lady ask if they could snap the shot for us. Of course we said, "Yes." After taking our picture, in front of this beautiful landscape, we took theirs for them. After a few seconds of friendly banter, I asked where they were from, where they are going, how long they have been on the road. She said they were from Pittsburgh PA and left Sunday after church. Well, that caught our attention - awww, brothers and sisters in Christ! Well, we soon discover that he is a Pastor of a church, a little smaller than ours, and she is a worship leader and plays keyboards. We talked for about 20 minutes about our churches and the joy, and struggles, of ministry. As we got ready to leave, I asked if we could pray for them. So there we were, gathered, looking over the biggest view of land that we have seen thus far, six brothers and sisters in Christ, blessing each other. I loved that moment. One day, in heaven, we will know Paul and Karen Bear better. What a great reunion that will be. Pray for the Bear Family today (yes, that is their name). I wish my last name were Bear. I would have named my kids Grizzly, Teddy and Cuddly!

My final thought this morning: If you ever pass at Hoffbrau Steakhouse, it is a MUST. Very good and yummy food. I guess there are about 8 restaurants around Texas. So, you guys who live in Dallas (Mike and Nathan) - look it up and take your wives. You'll get BIG points for that one.

I know you spell Moron with an "o" at the end, but this last picture was just too good to pass up. This was back in Kansas. And yes, it is pronounced, "Moron Manor". Wouldn't you hate to have to tell people you live at "Moron Manor" :)



Tonight, we shall be in Santa Fe, NM. Brekyn wants to eat at a pizza joint that has "Green Chili" Pizza. She saw this place on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives". We'll post pictures this evening.