July and August Travels

After spending some time on the farm we embarked on a trip to see the other Sower Projects in our area.  We left the farm on Monday morning, July 16th.  We spent the first night in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.

On the way we stopped to see some of the sights.

We were able to see this sight of Chimney Rock.

Then we crossed into Wyoming.

On the way through Wyoming we saw this fire.  Later we found out that the military started it while doing live fire excercises.

Of course, along the way, we saw a lot of pronghorn.

Sheridan greeted us with this water tower.

Next border was the cross into Montana.

There are a lot of mountains and sky in Montana.

There was also a lot of clear water running down the rivers along the interstate.

We spent our second night in Livingston which is only 50 miles north of Yellowstone.  The next morning we took a side trip through part of the park.

This is the North entrance to the beautiful park.

Of course I must get a few shots of my favorite subject.

Pictured here is a mineral spring.  There wasn't a lot of water flowing and on the left you can see an extinct flow shaft.

On our journey through the park we saw these beautiful bull elk.

That night we spent the night in Missoula, Montana.  The next morning, Thursday July 19, we visited Camp Utmost which is located north of Greenough, Montana.

This is the cafeteria at the camp.  Several of the supporters of the camp have forest land and the equipment to turn that forest into lumber.  As a result, you can build a building that looks like this.

Here we are, back into the state of Wyoming.  We spent the night at Gillette.

The next day we took another side trip and looked over one of the open pit coal mines.  This is one of the "old small" shovels.

And you think you have tire expenses.  This is a $38,000 dollar tire, and that isn't mounted and balanced.

From there we returned to South Dakota and spent the night in Sturgis (a week before the rally).

We found a very beautiful and quiet drive through the canyon at Spearfish.

And of course, since it was really warm, we took the opportunity to cool off. 

We had down days Saturday and Sunday and took the opportunity to visit the Faces at Rapid City.

There have been a LOT of changes since we were here in the early 80's when we were last there.  It is still a great sight!

On Monday, July 23 we made our last project visit to Cedar Canyon Youth Camp.

We met a number of youth, excited to share their lives and stories about Jesus with all those who come to camp.

Then, it is back to Sunshine Bible Academy, where we found that they had removed a couple of houses and a garage.  Well, there was a big hole where one of the houses stood.  So, we were tasked with the duty to fill it.

Of course a few loads with this rig and the job was completed.

Along with the big truck, we had the opportunity to use the rest of the BIG toys.

This was really a lot of fun.

Finally, after our first week of the August project, we took some time to again visit the capital in Pierre.  This time we were with our new friends, George and Karen Foster.

July on the road!

We have set aside a portion of July to visit the farm in Kansas to fix a couple of things and to make a road trip to visit the other Sower projects is our assigned area.

On our way to Kansas we stopped in Watertown to pick up several things that would not fit into the trailer when we moved a year and one half ago.

While we were there we stayed with our great friends, Steve and Monica, and were able to get a major portion of our life group together for a cookout.

We got to the farm just in time to see this wonderful sunset up through the trees.  Isn't God just awesome.

When we got here the grass was beautiful and green.  They had just had 2 1/2 inches of rain and everything was growing.  Since then we have had over a week of 100+ days and a drying wind and the ground is beginning to crack.

One of the reasons we made a trip to the farm, other than to rest and spend time with family, was to do a repair job for my sister.  In her words, "The Lord poked me in the side and told me to get up so I did.  A minute later the ceiling collapsed onto my pillow."

After removing the loose plaster and cleaning up the hole we hung 1 1/2 sheets of sheet rock, filled the remaining cracks and holes with Durabond---

---sanded and added a coat of mud to finish, primed and (of course no one had any idea what color the old ceiling was) we took a chunk of the old ceiling to Menard's for a match, them we painted.

One of the things which mother had requested before she died was to have a memorial butterfly garden.  Last year we planted the garden and this year it is growing well and attracting not only butterflies but humming birds as well.

One last chore before we hit the road on out Sower Project visiting tour, mow the road ditches.  There isn't much traffic on the road (just the way we like it) so after the spring rains the grass narrows the road down to one lane.  A quick pass with the mower and we have a two lane road again.

June Project Completion!

We have finished the June project and two of the couples have moved on.  However, one of the couples decided to stay on for another month so there will be four couples here (including us) in July.

Here is the Group Leader of the lot.  He is busy making modifications to the laminate flooring to begin the process of laying it. 

The rest of the crew is cleaning the old carpet (they will use the for a pad).

When it is done, it is a thing to behold!

During the week our good friend Eila and her sister came by the house and paid us a visit on their way across South Dakota.

We have put up a finch feeder and have a flurry of visitors. 

Alas, we have finally loaded the barrel rack I built a month ago.  Isn't it a beauty?

We did get a few loads of dirt hauled before the scraper broke down again.  First the belts broke and it overheated, then the water pump started leaking.  One day we will get the football field done.

Another visitor this morning.

On Tuesday evenings we get together for a bit of dessert and some good conversation.

This is our last supper together.  We do have a great time together while we have the opportunity.  But it is always a sorrow departing.  Our departing words are, "see you later or see you There".

Before the group separated we did take the opportunity to visit the Millerdale Hutterite  Colony.  They are such a lovey group of people and very industrious.  The men built this play set for the children.

Here is a rolltop desk that the colony builds for each young man when he comes of age.

There is still work to be done. You should see the kitchen.  Wow!  It shines!

The freshly painted dorm doors need to be labeled so that the boys know which way to go to get to their own rooms.

Another morning visitor.

The floor crew is busy grinding and polishing floors in the new gym.  Once they are done the only thing that needs to be done is to buff them.

Last week we started to replace the glass block in the administration building.  This new window will be very striking after it is complete.  There is only one slight problem.  We dropped the last two rows of block from 18 feet.  Fortunately we only broke 10 of the tiles.  We saved the red ones and 4 clear ones which is a very good thing since the manufacturer does not have any more and they are a special order.

One final project. This faucet leaks every time it is turned on. The problem is, the bottom of the pipe is below the 60 inch freeze line, well below.

End of week one at Sunshine 2012

We have finished a full week at Sunshine Bible Academy.  There is a lot of things going on and we have a lot of new help.

To start off the week we looked out of our kitchen and what do you know, we have a mommy dove and her two new chicks.  More of God's wonder.

Back to work!  I was given a good helper to complete the painting in the new gym.  There are a lot of block walls and they must all be sealed before they are painted.  With the help of a paint sprayer and Will we can cover a lot of territory in a hurry.  I really need Will as the walls are 10 feet tall and I can only spray about 7 feet high and he pushes it on up to 10.

When we got to the 18 foot high walls we had a little help getting up there.

On the weekend our Sower group made a trip to Pierre.  With us are Tony and Amy Vejar and Sam and Pat Gamboe.

Some of you may recognize the inside top of the capital building.

The ladies are excited to be able to visit the capital and each others.

This is such an impressive building.

While in Pierre we also visited the Cultural Heritage Center.  This is a very worthwhile visit.

Back at the ranch.  We have decided that the time is now to fix the scraper.  The last time it was run the loader chain jumped off of the drive sprockets (there on the top).  One of the guys said all we had to do was start the chain rolling then take a screwdriver and flip it back on track.  The only problem is, the chain weighs between 2,000 and 2,500 pounds and we don't have access to the Jolly Green Giant to handle the screwdriver.  Therefore, we devised a plan of putting a piece of 2 1/2 inch pipe in every other tooth of the drive sprockets, take a handyman jack and slide the chain sideways until it is over the gears then remove the pipes.  IT WORKED!!!!!

This is what the Sower campsite looks like.  Isn't it wonderful!

This is one of the "tools" we used to help move the chain.

We tried to use this one but after the lift attempt the right cylinder had an Euler buckling failure. We still haven't found a replacement for the 1936 Farmhand.