Tires, Tents, and Tootsie Toes

We have been taking trips to the eastern part of the state quite often lately. If you've been following the blog for any length of time at all, you'll have noticed that we have been gone nearly every weekend since July ~ sometimes even a week or more at a time ~ either to different churches or to our land. Quite a bit has been accomplished. We are purchasing a 50' strip of land to the rear of the property so we can put a driveway to the back half without having to cross the creek. (It would cost about 5 times more to cross the creek than to buy the little strip of land!) The DOT has approved the placement of the driveway, and all we're waiting for right now is the survey on the new property and the signing of the deed. After that is taken care of, everything should run fairly smoothly.

This past weekend (Thurs. thru Sat.), we decided to give the apartment complex a test run. It was wonderful weather to test whether something leaks or not. It passed although we found about 14 places (all of them right below the zippers) that we need to use sealant on. Not bad leaks, but leaks nonetheless. : )

Thursday, we took Allison to her doctor in Charlotte and then headed straight to the campground. About halfway there, we began discussing a few things we needed to get. It "just so happened" we were passing a Wal-Mart. There was a short debate as to whether we should stop there or not, but since it had a gas station with cheap gas, we decided to stop. We picked up the few things we needed, but when Dad picked us up at the door, he notified us that one of the trailer tires was having some problems and would need to be changed. He pulled to the other end of the parking lot, and there they began the grueling task of changing a tire in the rain.

Our Pit Crew

Our Pitted Tire

This summer, a good friend of ours gave us a Michelin emergency tire kit. What a blessing! Way back in the hot summer months, God knew about this cold, wet October day, and had prepared us beforehand. It came with several very handy gadgets, including...

...a small air compressor...

...and VERY specific instructions. : )


Dad thought it was just the one tire, but upon closer inspection, he found the other tire to be in just as bad of shape. Here goes tire #2! The only problem was that we only had one spare tire. That's where Wal-Mart came into play. There are so many "just-so-happened"s that you might begin to wonder if it really did "just-so-happen". Even though it is not pleasant changing tires in the rain, we could have been stuck along the side of the road changing tires (with only one spare, mind you), but we "just-so-happened" to decide to stop in at Wal-Mart because it had cheaper gas. Praise the Lord! He guides us each step of the way! Dad ran in and bought a tire, and soon they were changing the second tire.

The official umbrella holder...

...was a blessing!

Finishing up....

Thankfully, we didn't have any more delays. When we got to the campground, everyone jumped out and got busy setting up camp.

It looks like they're doing the two-step, but they're actually leveling out the sand and getting everything ready to set up the tent.

Putting the poles together...

Ready?

One...

Two...

Three!

But wait!...there's more!

That's better! : )

Now it's time for a late-night game of Trouble!
Some were a little more intelligent, and opted out. : )

Friday morning, we had breakfast catered in.

~The Chef~

It was fun doing the cooking outside, washing the dishes outside,...and even taking the long hike to the bath house in the freezing cold! : )

Saturday morning, most of the girls went to a class about bears. The park ranger shared some interesting facts (such as the cubs are born hairless and weigh only 8-12 ounces!) as well as some safety precautions to avoid bear attacks (such as don't feed them and don't sleep in your tent with a candy bar under your pillow). He taught us about all 8 species of bear, ending with the American Black Bear ~ the only species of bear that lives in that area......the kind of bear that lives on our land. We're gonna have to find some way to lock up our trash because they're gonna be a worse problem than the kitty cats!

We started home at about 5:30, but not before getting some shots of the mushrooms!

This is Mom's mushroom. She wanted to see how hardy a mushroom really is, so...

...she fried it with hot bacon grease, boiled it with boiling water, poured ice water on it and as you can see, it stood strong! We too, as Christians, should stand strong as we go through the fiery trials of this life, knowing that "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble". (Psalm 46:1)

"Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might."

Jeremiah 11:4

The dark crept up on us as we made our way home. Everyone was exhausted. Dad was driving, and most of the passengers in the back were asleep. All was quiet as we passed through town after town. Dad saw Mom's hand lying on the cooler that was positioned between the two front seats for easy access when someone got thirsty. He reached over to hold her hand, but let out a startled laugh when it jerked. What he thought was Mom's hand turned out to be Ray's foot! What a surprise! : )