Seattle to Eastern Washington, then Idaho to Montana

The days following our Alaska trip are a complete blur. I remember flying with Ken and our kids to Seattle, then renting multiple hotel rooms throughout South Seattle and Bellevue, then Ken found and bought a used truck, and somewhere in there we bought our very own travel trailer. We were utterly exhausted in that space of looking for what we needed for this next leg of the journey: one year of being on the road. One year being away from Maui, and apart from all my family and friends there. One year of Radical Sabbatical as we are calling it. Time to press in as a family and connect in ways that we’ve missed so much this past year, like daily walks and board games and cooking together. Visiting National Parks across the country while homeschooling is an added bonus.

Say “hello” to our new home. On wheels. It’s traveling the country with us for the foreseeable future. Hoo-ah!

And here are pics from our first week in the travel trailer, driving from Seattle to campgrounds in Eastern Washington and visiting friends in Pullman and then my cousin Isaac (who’s really like my brother), and his family in Spokane. It was a whirlwind seeing them all, in the very best way, as it allowed us to take a few days to get back on our feet and breathe again after a tumultuous start to our journey. Thank you so much for blessing us with a beautiful place to respite and all the home cooked meals!

The very first week of owning our new (used) truck, it broke down on the side of the freeway just outside of Cle Elum. We were still three hours away from Pullman/Spokane and all of our family and friends who were waiting to welcome us. It was awful. There was a heat wave and we were pulled off at a rest stop with no shade. I praise God that within 10 minutes of us not being able to start our truck, an airport mechanic who happened to be towing a trailer of tools pulled up next to us and asked if he could help us?! He was our guardian angel. He took out his toolbox and various mechanical things and got to work testing our truck to see what the problem was. He worked alongside Ken for 30-40 minutes at which point he thought we might try spraying starter fluid into the intake. With that, the engine started!! Praise God we made it to Pullman and then on to Spokane. Hoping it was a fluke, we tried to get around Spokane for some adventures. But then the engine wouldn’t start again!

After a few days in Spokane and what felt like phone call after phone call, we were able to find a mechanic who could make time to help us look at the truck. He couldn’t figure out what it might be, but noticed that the battery life was going out, so we paid to replace that. We prayed that would be the end of all our car issues!

After our time in Spokane, we got on the road with our truck and travel trailer and headed to Idaho then Montana, and well, Ken noticed that the truck didn’t sound right further along on our drive, about 2 hours in.

Thankfully, we made it to our campsite in Montana. Ken asked the camp host if he knew a mechanic. Praise God he did and we called him right away. The guy, a Navy veteran, ended up finding the problem (the front left U-joint on the wheel was worn out and needed to get replaced) and he was able to locate the part we needed in a town about 1.5 hours south of where we were staying. Ok, I’m going to get a little teary-eyed sharing this and I’ll share it anyway. The mechanic offered to drive that night down to that town and pickup the part and drive the 1.5 hours back and then come to our campsite at 11 p.m. at night and pickup our truck and he fixed it that night and then drove it back to us at our campsite before we needed to check out at 11 a.m. in the morning. It was insane. Miraculous. Again, God provided traveling mercies for us. I praise Jesus for the kindness of this mechanic and each of the guys who helped us with the car issues we’ve faced.

Separately, here’s a photo I snapped of Rosie girl at our campsite in Montana. This was our first night in this state, and right after this super big smile, Rosie got a couple black wasps on her dress that just wouldn’t come off! Poor thing she was screaming and crying and I tried so hard to get them off her. She ended up getting stung and crying for hours. I will never forget this night of traveling mercy and also trauma. I praise God that Rosie is not allergic to stings. We did give her some children’s Benadryl for the swelling but it was minor overall. The pain, though. She was in so much pain all evening. I held her as she cried and am struggling to get that picture of her in distress out of my mind.

Rose in Montana:

Oh! I did forget to mention that there was one more time we got the car fixed right after we bought it at a dealership in Seattle?! We had to stay a few extra nights because we found some leaks and faulty air conditioning, which the car inspector missed. Well, we were told that guy was fired the day after he did our shoddy inspection.

Oh my goodness. It has been challenging dealing with car issues. And wasp stings. And constantly moving from place to place; we don’t ever get to settle in for very long. The stress and anxiety and unknown is really more than I can handle at any given moment, and there are so many times that I think about just throwing in the towel and going home to Maui.

But then the Lord nudges me to rest in Him. I believe that He will give Ken and me wisdom as we continue (in faith) to move forward. And, if we need to shift gears and change course, it will be OK.

Lord, please help us as we navigate so many unforeseen things this trip. This time of travel has been so much harder than I could have imagined. It’s also been filled with memories that I recognize I’d never get to enjoy if we hadn’t stepped out in faith. Lord, I need you. Please give Ken and me your vision for how you would speak to us in this year of Radical Sabbatical. Please show me how to find true rest and peace in you Lord, even when it feels so so chaotic and out of my control and exhausting to continue down this path. Please remind me of the great value there is in this season. So much growth! And faith! And beauty!

“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” Isaiah 26:3