View From the Cab

Good thing you can't see me cause there is smoke coming out of my ears! I have done this blog twice and lost it both times. I would sure like to tell you why, but if I knew I wouldn't do that any more.

So, we had a good day in Greenville yesterday. Went to church and then had a good Chinese lunch with Pastor James and his family. Later, we were invited to his small group, and after tacos, Monty and Dave were given the devotions time to explain the mission in Haiti and the work going on there. As with everywhere we have been, the people are the best.

We left our temporary home early this morning after a heavy rain last night. It was mostly sunny but a little windy today. Scattered storms are forecast for tomorrow so I hope we can dodge them. Ann, our host at Greenville, wasn't feeling well last night, so we just quietly slipped away this morning. She is a sweet lady and I hope alright today.

The trip to Winona was very smooth and uneventful. The terrain was absolutely flat for maybe 60 miles, then we left the Mississippi delta and the road became hilly immediately. We visited the Baptist church here to thank them for putting us up in a motel tonight. They are without a pastor right now, but a nice lady showed us around the facility. It's very nice, but they are suffering from a declining attendance as are a lot of churches around here. Mississippi has especially suffered from the economic downturn and people have had to move for job reasons. People here tell us they have been hurting since long before the rest of us felt it. Depressing!

Some Railroad History

Anyway, we looked around the town a little a took a couple of pictures. Tomorrow we go to Columbus, which is almost at the Alabama border. There are scattered storms predicted so I hope we can dodge them.

I guess that's it for now. God bless.

Crossing the Mighty Mississippi

Here we are in Greenville, MS. We are staying at the home of Ann Alexander, who provided us with a catfish dinner as well as a place to sleep. Greenville is very close to the east bank of the Mississippi river so we are barely into Mississippi.

Monty lost a spoke today and we don't have a way to fix it until we find a bike shop. The bike operated satisfactorily anyway, though. Just don't know for how long.

The highlight of the day was crossing the Mississippi. They have a new, beautiful  bridge, and the river is always a highlight to see. Monty and Dave were able to stop on the bridge for pictures, but I couldn't do so with the truck. So I'll have to get copies from them. Of course we stopped for pictures at the "Welcome to Mississippi" sign.

Bridge from a distance

We met with the pastor of our host church when we first got into town, and will attend services tomorrow. Monty and Dave did a cleaning job on the bikes. Makes me feel guilty that the truck needs cleaning too. Soon.

Monday we'll move on Winona, MS. One more week and we'll be looking at the finish line (well, almost).

So for now, thats about it. God bless.

Crossett, AR

Fall Colors

Our trip from Magnolia to Crossett was pretty smooth except for a couple of flats on Monty's bike. They came right on top of each other and it was concluded that a spoke was punching through the tube. So a re-taping of the rim inside seems to have fixed the problem. We are in a heavily wooded area. Looks a little like Oregon.

Crossett is not a very big town, but we found a nice motel here and were directed to a Chinese buffet for dinner. Even sold a couple of tee shirts!

One of the things that troubled our pair of bike drivers is that the newly established route does not go through Louisiana as indicated on our tee shirts and the sign on the tailgate of the pickup. We are only 9 miles from the border here, so Monty and Dave decide to go to the Louisiana border and step inside to show we were in that state. Makes you wonder if we have too much time on our hands, doesn't it?

Lots of Trees

Welcome to Louisiana

It was interesting that at the Louisiana border the road shoulder totally disappeared. If all the roads are like that, we are happy to not be riding there. Arkansas gets high marks for road condition. Probably the best we have seen.

Tomorrow we will be of to Greenville, Mississippi. It is on the east bank of the Mississippi river, and I suspect a few pictures will be taken there.

So I cant think of anything else, so until tomorrow - God bless.

Almost Out of Texas

We  awoke this morning to some pretty serious fog, so the guys were a little late getting started. But we arrived in Texarkana without incident. The last few miles were a little scary though because there was no shoulder and enough traffic to prompt a little extra praying. But we are safely here in Texarkana. Not quite out of Texas, but close. Don't get me wrong, we have met a lot of nice people, the weather has been good, and the roads are o.k. (most of the time). But it's just too BIG!

We are staying with Steve Winegeart tonight. He and his family are former Mountain Ridgers. Steve's wife, Andra is away so its just us guys. Monty is meeting with Steve's pastor so I am just vegging here with my computer and the cat.

Tomorrow we'll really be in Arkansas. Hopefully  there will be something to talk about. At least I'll have a picture of the "Welcome to Arkansas" sign.

Some of you know that I am a dog person. Wouldn't you know it-the cat jumps up on the couch a cuddles right up to me. Well, as cats go, she is a pretty nice one, so I guess I'll be good to her. Don't tell Colleen though.

I guess thats all for today. God bless.

October in Paris

Chisholm

The 3 Stooges

Here we are in Paris! Not quite the "real" Paris, but a pretty interesting town anyway. We arrived fairly early and had a good visit with some of the folks at our host church. After getting cleaned up at our hotel,we went to see some of the local sites. Nancy is still with us, so she acted as chauffeur and we went to see the Eiffle tower (small version) and the Chisholm monument (remember the Chisholm trail?). We were told that there was a statue of Jesus with cowboy boots on at the local cemetery. We couldn't find it and can't help but wonder if we were on a snipe hunt?!

Methodist Church

Fountain

We also went downtown to see a fountain imported from France (so we are told), and the Methodist Church. What a classic old building!

Ice Cream!

After the sight seeing we went to a recommended fish and steak restaurant for dinner. I had Cajun broiled catfish. Best ever! Dave's birthday was today, and that event couldn't go without some celebration.

Nancy had an ice cream 40th treat for him when we got to the hotel. Then at dinner another present. I don't know how to tell you what it is in a dignified way; but if you can imagine the chaffing that goes on when a biker spends many hours pedaling-well, you get the idea.

So we had a good day. Lots of things to photograph, unlike the last couple of days. Tomorrow we go to Texarkana, and may be in Texas or may be in Arkansas depending on which part of town we stay in.

I hope you are all well. We continue to covet your prayers, and pray for God's blessings on you as well. Please pray for Dave's sore knee. Today was a tough day for him. (Well, he is 40 now, so the body may be feeling it.) More later.

Deep in the Heart of Texas

Yesterday was a good day of rest for our intrepid bikers, and me too. We all went to church at Cornerstone Baptist just down the road from our motel. Afterwards we were invited to go to lunch with a group from church at a nice restaurant in a town we had just come through. Apparently it's an after church affair every Sunday. We had a nice visit and met a lot of nice people.

Today was an uneventful day as the guys pedaled to Sherman, TX. We met with the pastor at North Park Baptist Church who took us to dinner and put us up in the Hampton Inn for the night. Dinner was some great Mexican food and good conversation.

Pastor Dave Murphy and family

Gainsville

We didn't see much to take pictures of today except Pastor Dave Murphy and his family. I saw an interesting historical court house in Gainsville earlier in the day, and someone was in the season with their decoration of what I presume was once a scarecrow.

As you see,I was desperate for subject matter today. Tomorrow it's off to Paris. We found out that's the home of the chain saw massacre. That has just got to have something interesting to photograph!?

God bless. That's it for now.

Another Week Done

Here we are safely arrived in Decatur, TX. The trip was without incident other than Dave's 2 flats. There was a lot of pretty scenery along the way-especially around Bridgeport Lake between Runaway Bay (what a neat name for a town) and Bridgeport. A restaurant/gas station on the lake was advertising their burgers with some sort of critter as part of the outdoor sign. There was a clear increase in the evident prosperity of the ranches as we got closer to the Dallas area. Big, nice homes.

We got settled in our motel for tonight (and tomorrow as well) and Dave wanted to have his bike checked for a "squeak". He found a shop nearby and we took the bike there. It was basically a garage in front of a house. The proprietor we later found out is 85 (or 86) years old, and had a pretty severe case of shakiness. It was painful to watch him try to get a wrench on a nut, but he was otherwise sharp and really knows bikes. He has a young assistant, and they checked everything they could think of, including some disassembly of the pedal system. He had pictures of the same type of WWII aircraft around, so I assumed he had been a pilot. Sure enough, he was,and we had a good time listening to him reminisce. The bill? - nada!

Monty's wife, Nancy, flew in from Phoenix for the weekend, and his parents drove down from Oklahoma. So the whole gang had a nice dinner at Chilli's (sp?), thanks to Bruce (Monty's dad). We'll go to church somewhere tomorrow, and otherwise just chill out for the day. Monday it's back on the road. The weather has been fine and we are all well. The only complaint by Monty and Dave is that the wind is always in their face, and the road is always up hill. Isn't that amazing? Can't think of anything else for now, so until next time - God bless.