Loving our New Life

I know it must seem that all we do is goof off. . .and while that is true some of the time. . .we are also very busy, planning our work, and working our plan.

When we retired, we knew that we were too young to touch our savings without paying a huge penalty. . .and hello, I've handed over enough already, thank you very much. . .so, we ventured forth with a plan to become Workampers, which would allow us to park our RV for free, in awesome spots around the country, in exchange for performing a few duties.

Now there have been folks who have been doing this for years, and years, volunteering at State and National Parks. . .or working in tourist areas during high season.  The more we read and studied, the more we knew we were cut out for this type of lifestyle. . .we never meet a stranger. . .we've always jumped in and helped out. . .and we naturally seem to be put in charge of projects whether we choose to be in charge or not.

Wow, what a fantastic year it has been. . .and now we are on to the next step in our journey.

I have been writing my own Sunday School lessons for years and years, so now I am working on a website for Sunday School teachers.  It is a work in progress, but eventually, I will post ready to teach lessons, tips, and ideas for how to conduct an interactive class.  Our kids have so many exciting things at their fingertips, if we think they are going to sit, and listen to us drone on, we have another think coming.  We need to be ready to step into a new age of teaching, and figure out a way to quit just telling stories, and instead start planting seeds.  If a child meets their parents at the door of the classroom, and cannot tell the parent what their Sunday School lesson was about, it is time to make some changes, big changes!

In addition, I have ordered 100 copies of the Bible Study, Into His Marvelous Light, and we have been sharing it at every campground we stay at.  Sometimes, we just leave it in the social networking area, with our contact info. . .and sometimes, as we are having a conversation with folks, the opportunity arises, and I am able to share a copy with them.  I have finally learned, in my old age, that I am not required to save anyone, I am only required to share the marvelous gospel of Jesus Christ with them. . .and then each person must make their own decisions concerning their salvation, so I am making it my business to share.

Dave has taught classes for Texas A&M for years and years. . .so he is now converting that teaching knowledge into RV Training and Maintenance Presentations.  Through Workamping, we have made contact with the most fabulous folks, Terry and Evada Cooper, owners of Mobile RV Academy.  We are thrilled that they are sponsoring us in this new endeavor. . .and we are excited to be presenting their classes and information to the RV'ing community.  We are gearing up, and plan to hit the ground running when we arrive in Arizona in September.

We are enjoying every moment of our new life. . .along with God's many, many blessings!

Stay tuned for our next post about hiking in Yellowstone. . .we have some marvelous pics. . .we even saw our first grizzly. . .she was a long ways away. . .which is the best way to see them in my opinion.

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YELLOWSTONE! YES!

We made it, we made it, we made it. . .I am so excited!

I have been dreaming of seeing Yellowstone since I was in the fourth grade, when my teacher told us about boiling water coming out of the ground. . .

She said it was so hot you could boil an egg, or heat a baby's bottle. . .wow, what a great mental picture she painted. . .and at last. . .forty something years later, I have seen it for myself. . .amazing. . .

so we absolutely played tourist this first day. . .as soon as we had the RV set up, I couldn't wait. . .

I had to get there to see Old Faithful as quickly as possible!

our timing was perfect. . .she put on a show within minutes. . .

Dave. . .proudly displaying his BP logo!

the boiling water flows straight into the Little Firehole River. . .I still hafta research that. . .I'll be interested to see how the water from the geysers affects the composition of the river, and the fishing, of course!

Next up. . .a drive around the Grand Loop.

Yellowstone Traffic Jam!

I'm sure they were heading to greener pastures. . .

It was starting to rain, so we almost bypassed this turnout. . .sure glad we didn't!

I love nature in any form. . .I could see the hand of God everywhere I looked.

still snow on the ground at 8200 feet. . .and more snow predicted. . .even where we are in West Yellowstone. . .at least 50 miles away. . .and 2000 feet lower in elevation. . .YIKES!

and gorgeous Yellowstone Lake. . .elevation 7200. . .141 miles of shoreline. . .400 ft deep. . .ringed by mountains, and steaming caldrons. . .

We can't wait to see more. . .I intend to check out every nook and cranny while we are here for the next three months. . .so check back often for updates.

Of course this is only a few of our pics. . .to see more: http://picasaweb.google.com/JaniceLEvans1015/EvansEscapadesYellowstoneJune2010#

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Buffalo Hunt at Custer State Park South Dakota

I jokingly posted on my FaceBook page on Wednesday, that we were going to hunt and shoot buffalo. . .with our camera of course. . .wow, what a successful day we had. . .it was awesome to be that close to such magnificent creatures. . .I will only post a few of the very best shots here. . .but you can click on the album link at the end of this post to see them all. . .it was fantastic.

If this guy would have been looking at you like this, you would have gotten back in the truck too!

not taking ANY chances!

The first day at Custer State Park we came on the Stagecoach West Bus Tour. . .and we only saw a couple of buffalo. . .but our Workamper Friends, Donna and Larry, from Tennessee, had told us to be sure we drove all the way through the park to the south end. . .that is where all the buffalo were, 

they were so right. . .thanks guys for that tip. . .there were buffalo and buffalo calves everywhere. . .

we had brought sandwiches for lunch, we just sat right there in the truck, ate our lunch, and enjoyed the view!

We saw this small group of pronghorn (antelope) with their little one. . .

and here are the begging donkeys. . .although park rules stated not to feed any of the wildlife. . .

I'm sure these guys have been getting snacks. . .

they were waaayyyy too friendly to just be coming out there to have their ears scratched. . .

more mountain goats. . .

and of course. . .deer.

We had a thoroughly enjoyable two days, touring Mt Rushmore, and then visiting Custer State Park on our own. . .I enjoyed every minute of seeing the wildlife in a somewhat natural habitat. . .where, even though they are protected, they are pretty much on their own to fend for themselves.

You can enjoy the rest of our Custer State Park Photography here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/JaniceLEvans1015/EvansEscapadesBuffaloHuntCusterStateParkSouthDakota#

Our next adventure is to the Crazy Horse Memorial. . .watch for our updates

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Mt Rushmore - I may never pass this way again

To see Mt Rushmore, and then to know the story, and the sacrifice. . .

fourteen years from conception to completion. . .

it is truly an amazing feat.

We took pictures from every angle possible. . .as we walked from one outpost to the next. . .I could not get over this amazing engineering feat. . .accomplished at a time in history, when machinery was still new to the scene. . .note that only George Washington has a completed outfit with lapels and ascot. . .

As I was admiring this sculpture, and the surroundings, the thought kept going through my head. . .

I may never pass this way again. . .

There are so many things to see and do, I wanted to enjoy every moment that I was there. . .

I purchased this postcard showing how the mountain looked before the blasting began in 1927

We climbed every one of these stairs, plus a few hundred more. . .

My legs were so sore, I could hardly walk the next day. . .it is the pits getting old!

I'm so thankful we chose to take a bus tour, or I would have never seen these tunnels. . .

There was no way Dave was driving Iron Mountain Road, or Needles Highway,and after the bus tour,

 I can say, he made the right decision

This is how it looked from inside the bus,

and this is how close the rock was outside the window of the bus. . .

this is how close we would have been if we had taken the Beast through this tunnel.

Knowing our luck, we would have managed to get stuck in there!

I think there were literally four inches to spare on the sides of the bus. . .

the driver put on quite a show for the spectators waiting to drive through from the other side.

There is no explaining it. . .if you ever go to Mt Rushmore. . .I highly recommend the bus tour!

and of course. . .a beautiful view from the Keystone Highway!

see the rest of our Mt Rushmore pics here: 

http://picasaweb.google.com/JaniceLEvans1015/EvansEscapadesSouthDakotaMtRushmoreJune2010#

Next: all about our Buffalo Hunt at Custer State Park

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