Hanging Out in Congress, Arizona

The reason for not posting is our Internet is poor at its best and we have been having too much fun to stop and drive 15 miles to get good internet.

We are still at North Ranch, which is located in Congress, Arizona. Our intent was to be in Utah by this time. However, Our Father had other plans for us. Without going into a lot of detail about what we have been doing the last two weeks you can check out Mike and Pat’s blog at www.mikepatstravels.blogspot.com. Mike has done a great job telling everyone about what we have been up to.

For all of you who do not follow Mike and Pat travels through their blog, they have been fulltime RV’ers for 15 years and during all of those years they have not owned a sticks and bricks kind of house. Right after we got to North Ranch they purchased a beautiful home located here. As everyone knows when you buy a house there is always so much to do to make it your home and this was no exception.

One night Gina and I were talking and something inside of us was pulling at us to stay. We both prayed for God to show us His will. The next morning we agreed that we were going to stay here at North Ranch. We can see a wonderful relationship forming with Mike and Pat as they are such a joy to be around.

To start off with Pat, Sally and Gina drove up to Prescott so they could do a little decorating kind of shopping. Pat came back with a few items but mostly with ideas so she and Mike could discuss them. Now like all good husbands we all just agree with our brides. So a few days later we drove our truck up to Prescott and Pat purchased her ideas. To say that my truck was full is an understatement. We spent the next day assembling all of her purchases. Each day is bringing their house a little closer to becoming a home. Pat has done an outstanding job. Now that the inside of their home was pretty much taken care of Gina turned her attention to the yard outside. Gina had some ideas and Pat agreed with her. So off Gina went as she started working on their front and back yards. Now Gina calls working in the yard relaxing. I on the other hand call it work. As she was working outside she kept saying she needed more rocks. So what did we do? We borrowed Mike’s four-wheeler and headed into the desert to collect some rocks. Gina has pretty much finished the bulk of the landscaping. Now I don’t want all of you to think we are working that hard because we’re not. We are really just having a lot of fun and enjoying spending time with some wonderful friends.

Our Father has placed special people in our lives throughout the years that have become family to us. Mike and Pat are very special and have become family to us. When we arrived here Gina called Mike her "cool dude" and now she just calls him "Pops". Not only do we believe, we are thankful God placed them in our life. In return we have been truly blessed. Gina commented the other day that working out in the Pat’s yard has been great therapy for her. It has also been great to spend some quiet time with them at church. It’s awesome to see the fruits in God’s timing. We are humbled by His daily presence in our lives and how He continues to reveal Himself to us. We’re in awe of His beauty and the love He has for His children. Mike and Pat have given us so much joy these past few weeks that we will always cherish in our hearts.

So between being in the desert and spending time with Mike and Pat we are having the time of our lives. Here are a few pictures we have taken the past two weeks.

From the left, Me, Nancy, Paul, Pat and Mike. Paul & Nancy were our tour guides and are another wonderful couple God has placed in our lives.


Me and Mike at a Sunrise service Easter Morning


This is a Pygmy owl, Isn't she so cute?


Gina searching for that special rock


She found it, thank goodness for four wheelers


I was about five feet away from this rattlesnake before I jumped ten feet in the air. Gina said, "I was crazy" because after I caught my breath I went back and took this picture.


The desert is full of color right now


This little fellow comes to see us every morning

Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.

Friends to the Rescue

Late Sunday night after our get together with friends I realized that our deep freezer wasn’t working. We called Mike & Pat to see if they had any room in their freezer. They said, “sure come on down”. Some food was totally thawed out but most was still frozen. Monday we woke up early and took a drive to Prescott to buy another freezer. The drive to and from Prescott was beautiful. There was still a lot of snow everywhere.

Road to Prescott


Beautiful Scenery at 6000 feet


There's nothing like snow covered mountains

Thankfully after shopping around in Prescott, we purchased a 7.5 cuft upright. We thought an upright would be better than the chest type we had. With the chest freezer it never matter what we wanted, it was always on the bottom.

Our new 7.5 cuft upright freezer

We then went to Wickenberg so we could post the blog. It seems that is the closest area that we have good service on our air card.

Tuesday morning found me rearranging the truck’s storage compartment. While I was doing this Gina was cooking. We had a lot of meat that needed to be cooked. Gina made roast & gravy, crowder peas, fresh corn and gumbo, while I cooked some pork country style ribs. Since we had so much food Gina decided to have another get together. She called Jim & Ellie to come join us. I went to the dump after getting the new freezer mounted so I could dispose of the old freezer.

Tom & Sally


Jim & Ellie with their babies Mr. Bojangles and Jasmine

Around four o’clock Tom, Sally, Mike, Pat, Jim and Ellie arrived. We all visited for a little while Gina got all of the food setup outside. We then ate and everyone said, “They were so glad that our freezer went out as the food was delicious. I get to eat Gina’s cooking all of the time, which it’s always good. However, today her cooking was perfect. For desert she baked a peach cobbler that also tasted wonderful. I’m not sure if it was in the same category as her other food since I really don’t like peaches and very rarely eat them. Right after we began to eat dessert, we were treated to the arrival of a special guest. Pat’s daughter, Terri drove in from California. What a great pleasure we had in meeting her.

Wishing you a Happy Birthday on Thursday Terri

We’re glad that everyone enjoyed the food. We enjoyed meeting Tom and Sally since we are renting their lot here at North Ranch. Additionally, we were glad that Jim & Ellie got to come up and join us too.

Most importantly, we’re thankful for Mike & Pat allowing us to use their freezer for a few days so we didn’t lose all of our frozen food. As Pat said,” God knew what he was doing by having us here visiting them, because if we were in the desert we would have lost all the food”. It is so awesome how Our Father takes care of His children.


Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.

Four Wheeling and Friends Come to Visit

We would have posted this sooner. However, our air card has not been able to keep a signal for more than a few minutes. We are having to drive to Wickenberg, a city about 15 miles south of us to have really good internet service.


Saturday morning found Gina and I excited and up early since Mike and Pat were taking us four wheeler riding through the desert today. The following are some pictures from our ride.

Both of us as we begin our ride


Mike & Pat Our, Wonderful Tour Guides!!


Walking down the trail toward Box Canyon


Gina made it to the base


A view of the river inside Box Canyon


Another view of Box Canyon


Here's Gina walking up the wall from Box Canyon


Gina thanking Pat for taking her to Box Canyon

If only you could have heard Gina making all of those ooh's and aah's as we walked the trail through Box Canyon, you would have thought she was a kid in a candy store.

One of the Many trails we rode on today


Gina and I both loved the view's we kept seeing all day


Gina didn't want the day to end as she was having way too much fun

We rode almost 40 miles today. I was tired and we both were dirty by the time we got back home. Gina wasn't tired because she managed to bring a few rocks home and was outside cleaning them up before she came inside to eat dinner. There are no words that could adequately describe our sincere thanks and appreciation for Mike and Pat taking us for this ride today. It will be a day that we will forever treasure. Thank y’all for such a fantastic day.

Thanks Mike and Pat for one of the best days of our lives!!!

Sunday morning we got up early again to attend the early service at First Southern Baptist Church of Wickenberg. This is the church Mike and Pat attend. Instead of a sermon this morning they had a quartet from Colorado singing called Legacy. The four men had amazing voices and afterward we bought one of their CDs. If you ever find yourself in Wickenberg, Arizona I highly recommend attending one of their services. The congregation there really makes you feel at home and we really enjoyed meeting everyone.

Back at home Gina and I prepared for a cookout since we had friends Allan and Jeanne Webster driving up from Glendale to spend the afternoon visiting with us.

Jeanne brought Gina a southwest gift basket full of goodies


Allan and Jeanne another wonderful fulltiming couple

We first met them at the RV-Dreams rally in Branson in June 2008. We really enjoyed hearing about the work they do for churches as they travel around the country. Thank y'all for making the drive up to visit us and for the wonderful gift basket. We had invited Mike and Pat to come down at four o'clock to enjoy dinner with all of us. Allan & Jeanne had just attended the Gypsy Journal Rally with Mike and Pat in Yuma, Arizona.

Mike, Pat, Myself, Gina, Jeanne and Allan

To end, Gina and I would like to Congratulate Ashley, our daughter, for her selection on being chosen as one of ten individuals that will fly to Bangkok and Ko Yao Noi, Thailand this summer for medical school.

CONGRATULATIONS!!! We are so proud of you!!!

Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.