Tag: Problems

Posted on

Weather Woes

Before we begin, you need to know that we stayed on the positive side of life all through these weather woes, and you can, too. Now, on with the story.

Carol and I began the trip on July 30, 2018. Throughout portions of Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Washington, we breathed smoke from forest fires, and I had to take allergy pills to reduce sneezing.

In early October, the smoke had cleared out of western Washington where we were staying, but something changed. In mid-October we felt the cold hand of winter tapping us on the shoulder, so we made plans to head south. By November 1, we heard that snow was on its way, and we started driving.

Heading down through Oregon, snow was no threat, but rain was visiting us often. We had some days of sunshine, and we enjoyed the trip, but rain was becoming much more prevalent. We cut the scenic trip short and headed south to sunny California.

On November 17, our son and his family moved to Mountain Ranch, just sixteen miles east of San Andreas, California, so we went to visit them. Now in California, we were south of wintery Washington and rainy Oregon. We are not classified as Snowbirds, but we do prefer a little warmer and drier climate.

I grew up in California, and winters on the golden coast were normally mild. For example: In February of 1993 we drove to Southern California for my grandmother’s funeral. Our ten-year-old son, Michael, said, “Dad, a California winter is like a New Mexico summer!” I laughed and said, “You’re right.” (Our home in New Mexico was at 7,830 feet above sea level.)

Back to the trip.

I had planned to stay in Northern California only through December. But the pastor of the church, asked me to teach on the Beatitudes (found in Matthew 5:1-12), so we stayed another month. Our son had a full-hookup on his property for our trailer, so we got settled in and really enjoyed the time with their family.

California had been in a drought for a number of years, so we were surprised to hear that a heavy rainstorm was on its way. That would be okay because, based on history, it wouldn’t last long, and the state needed the water.

But we got pounded! Rain came fast and furious. Any roof that could leak DID leak, some houses slid into rivers, and mudslides had to be removed from many streets. Our trailer was rocked by rain and heavy wind, but we survived the onslaught.

Then my cell phone warned me: “Weather Alert – Winter Advisory in effect for the next 48 hours. Snow accumulation of two to four inches.”

Our son said that might be an exaggeration because they haven’t received much snow for about 12-15 years. Good. Nothing to worry about.

But within the next 36 hours, we received 16 inches of heavy, wet snow. California needed the snowpack for its water supply, but it made things difficult for us. Snow-laden trees toppled onto power lines, and electrical power was out for almost a week. I made plans to move south as soon as I completed the Bible series. (Power was restored, but with damaged trees, branches kept falling and power was intermittent for two more weeks.)

By February 5, the snow had melted enough to allow me to pull the trailer off the property and down the mountain. So, with another winter advisory set for February 7, we pulled out on the 6th, and we headed for Bakersfield, California.

We wanted to stay in Bakersfield for two nights, but a portion of Interstate-5 called Tejon Pass is over 4,100 feet, and snow was predicted in two days. We stayed only one night.

We reached Oak Grove, CA (adjacent to Palomar Mountain) where my sister and brother-in-law, lived; and breathing a sigh of relief, I said, “We are finally out of the weather.”

That was a misunderstanding!

On February 14, Valentine’s Day, our area got the heaviest rainstorm on record and received over six inches of rain in two days. Roads washed out and several bridges were ripped up.

You might understand that, as soon as the dirt road was repaired, we headed further south to San Diego. Yes, we visited the zoo and Sea World. We had sunny skies for the next week – and hit the road to Phoenix before the next storm descended.

Where am I going with this tale-of-weather-woes? Simply this: we cannot always escape problems – weather or otherwise. Whatever we’re facing, we must pray for guidance and wisdom. 1 Peter 5:7 tells us to give our worries to the Lord because he cares for us. If we keep a cheerful outlook and trust the Lord, He will guide us.

Posted on

Tales From the Road: Danger Warnings

How many of you have a trailer, 5th wheel, or motor home? Perhaps I should also ask, how many of you formerly had one? You folks know there are many things to consider while living in an RV and things can go wrong.

While setting up in a campground or park, we need a level spot, or we need to use various items to level the rig. We need to connect to the proper power – 20, 30, or 50-amp service – and include a heavy-duty surge-protector in the circuit. We never know when rain and a thunderstorm will descend on us, or if other catastrophic electrical surges will hit. And as we connect to the water supply, we need to have a pressure-limiter to protect the plumbing. Believe-it-or-not, many campgrounds have high water pressure which can rupture plastic pipes.

When setting up the drain for the gray and black tanks, we need to assure that the tube cannot come loose during the draining operation. That would be a mess, especially with the black tank, and could cause a political or environmental mess. Oh yes: the gray water is from the shower, bath, and sinks. The black water is from the toilet. And when draining both tanks, we drain the black water first and let the gray water flush everything else down the drain. Of course, you want to have an attachment to rinse the tube with fresh water after you drain both tanks.

Until we bought our RV, we didn’t realize how much water evaporates in the trailer. Cooking, boiling water, making coffee, washing dishes, and cleaning ourselves all puts water in the air. But even when we don’t do any cooking, washing, etc., in the trailer, we still found heavy condensation on the windows on cold mornings. We learned that on the average, each person perspires and breathes out between three to five and a half cups of water a day. So, in humid areas, it’s beneficial to have dehumidifiers in the RV.

Hopefully your RV has an outside hose to rinse off sand and mud, so you don’t track it inside. You can use another garden hose if you have multiple faucets or use a splitter on a single faucet.

Most RVs I’ve seen use propane for cooking. When propane burns, it produces heat, water, and carbon dioxide (CO2). CO2 is not poisonous but can kill by displacing oxygen – it suffocates us. But when propane doesn’t burn properly, it produces heat, water, CO2, and carbon monoxide (CO). CO is absorbed into the body much more easily than oxygen and is poisonous. So, check your burners periodically, and make sure that you open windows and use the exhaust fan while cooking.

One time while toasting bread in the microwave oven, we over did it. When we opened the door, the smoke alarm exercised its sound system. In a regular house, the beeping is highly irritating. But in a trailer, it is LOUD and hurts the ears! That’s when we learned the smoke detector works.

That reminds me: once while we were washing dishes after breakfast (Carol washes and I dry), the propane sensor began screaming. That’s loud enough to wake up someone in the trailer next door! But it has to be loud in order to save lives. We discovered that while we were cleaning the stove, we lightly bumped the burner knob and turned on the propane. It wasn’t enough to cause a hiss as the propane escaped, and we don’t have an electronic ignition; but enough gas was escaping to set off the danger warning. That’s when we found out the propane sniffer works.

As I said earlier, there are many things to think about while living in an RV, and our enjoyment and satisfaction depends on our attention to detail. I’m happy to report that after our year-long trip in the RV, we arrived home safely.

But did you realize there are many things to think about while living on this huge RV called Planet Earth? Although we must learn to live safely, we’ll all die sometime, and we need to think about where we’ll go.

God has supplied us with numerous warnings to let us know when we’re in spiritual danger. We receive advice from our parents, spouse, friends, and authorities; but most of our best cautions, counsels, and admonitions are easy-to-read in the Bible. The Psalms and Proverbs are primary sources of wisdom, and our safety depends on our attention to detail. If we read the Bible daily and learn to live for and honor Jesus, He will guide us, and we’ll get to our ultimate “Home” – heaven – safely.

Posted on

Happy New Year, Friends

On December 31, 2020, Carol and I spent a quiet New Year’s celebration together. It was relaxing because from 2011 through 2020, we had been home on December 31 only four times. We’d been in California on New Year’s Eve five times and in Florida once. And this past New Year’s Eve we were in New Mexico.

Several friends asked, “Can’t sit still, can ya?” My response is normally, “You find no moss under my wheels.” And we’ve driven over 29,000 miles in 2021.

It’s well-known by our families, friends, and those who read my articles that we enjoy living in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. All cities, towns, and villages have their problems, but we’ve found this town to be one of the more pleasant places we’ve lived. With that in mind, why do we “hit the road” so often?

One quick answer is: our five kids live in five different states, and my siblings are spread out from the West Coast to the East Coast. We enjoy visiting them. We also have the privilege of preaching and teaching in our travels.

A second answer is: we enjoy seeing God’s creation first-hand. Seeing nature in books and on video is great. But nothing beats driving through the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, seeing the Giant Redwoods in northern California, the amazing Oregon Coast, Puget Sound in the great northwest, the red granite beaches of Maine, the snow-white beaches of Siesta Beach in Florida, seeing Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks, and HUNDREDS of other places.

We also enjoy seeing the marvels of man’s creation, such as Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, the 605-foot-tall Space Needle in Seattle, and the 630-foot-tall Arch in St. Louis.

Historic sites such as the Yorktown, Virginia battlefield, the Gettysburg Battlefield, and Pearl Harbor cause me to stop and contemplate how different life might have been if the political and military tide had turned the other way.

The third answer is: we’re getting older, and some day our travel days will be over. So let’s travel while we can.

As we travel, we take thousands of pictures to document where we’ve been and what we saw. You see many of them in these blogs. We’re grateful for digital photography, because that’s a lot less expensive than the film we bought in the past. We often get our pictures out (on computer or another device) and through our memory, we enjoy those trips again.

The ability to remember amazes me. When I get to heaven, I want to ask God how He created memory. But I think He’ll simply say: That’s My secret.

As I mentally gaze on our blessings this past year, I’m fully aware that many people have died, others have gotten sick, many have lost homes and businesses due to pandemics, government mistakes, the natural flow of economics, and natural disasters. But sickness, wars, governmental problems, business failures, and all the other problems and catastrophes have been going on since shortly after Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden. As we read in Ecclesiastes 1:9, “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.”

The emphasis is: there’s nothing new under the sun. We have modern means of traveling, conducting war, studying, and getting work done, but the essence of life hasn’t changed throughout man’s history. Sickness, death, and all other problems related to life on earth will continue until Jesus stops it. And He will return one day.

But if He doesn’t return soon enough, I will die too. I don’t know by what means, but I will die, and the thought doesn’t bother me at all. Why not? Because that’s life.

In the same concept as midnight on December 31 starts a new year, or a baby being born starts a new life, when my traveling days are over and I breathe my last on earth, I will start a new year, a brand-new life in heaven. It’s part of the Christian’s cycle of life.

However, as badly as I feel for those who have been hurt by various events on earth, I feel worse for those who die while not believing in Jesus Christ. We can start over after a catastrophe on earth, but when we die without faith in Jesus, there is no recovery. Think about it.