Wednesday Sept 4

We drove through Idaho and into Oregon yesterday. The last time the three of us drove through Idaho we were together with our whole family returning from a Yellowstone Vacation in early August of 1964. Back then there were no seatbelts. We took turns sleeping in the back of the Chevrolet station wagon amongst the tent, sleeping bags, and camping gear. There was no air-conditioning, the windows were rolled down and towels shaded some of the hot sun. Our car had no radio. We only stopped for the big three: gas, bathrooms, and historical markers!

I remember the date because while we were in Yellowstone, the Gulf of Tonkin crisis occurred. I was too young to realize the possible implications with America's involvement in the Vietnam War, but I knew something big and dangerous was happening.

So much has changed--so much has stayed the same! We stopped for a quick visit at the Interpretive Center in Baker City, Oregon. This site on Flagstaff Hill commemorates those who traveled the Oregon Trail.

300,000 came West along this route; 30,000 lost their lives during the journey!

We ate dinner last night with Dan Dotson, his wife Laura, and his mother-in-law Joan in Joseph Oregon.

It was wonderful to get caught up! Dan’s camp name was ‘Skidder’ when he worked with us at Pine Cove in the late 1970s and 1980s, and again in the mid-1990s. He now pastors a church in the tiny town of Imnaha, Oregon. So far out in the backwoods there is no internet or cell phone coverage. Somehow, they thrive, serving God in one of the most beautiful settings on earth! So good to get caught-up with wonderful people!