Air Con or Non?

We had been parked in the high desert for a month.

One afternoon a strange sound sent me flinging open the trailer door. Was that really our car? A high-pitched, loud noise had developed from the mild clunk-clunk-clunk that we heard every time the air conditioner was turned on. Oh, oh, the A/C is really sick now! 

We had only a few more days before the necessity of turning on the cooling blast of air would be a thing of the past.

There were still a few occasions where we had the windows open for a change. For example in Las Vegas, inching our way down the famous Strip. We never did get out of the car, thinking the view was just fine from our vantage point. Too many people surging down the sidewalks, and where were we supposed to park? We were just filling in time, anyway, before we met our friend for dinner. I'm really ready for that dip in the pool back at the RV park, I thought.

Two days later we made it as far as Idaho on our way home to Canada. Terry had carefully planned each night's stop, but we were already “here” before the day was done, so kept driving. Would it be Idaho Falls? Butte, Montana? It didn't seem clear, as we debated the merits of Walmart vs Flying J.

“There's a magpie! ”Is it possible we hadn't seen a Black Billed Magpie for four months? I thought. That's the most common bird back home!”

I was going through the bird list, trying to decipher the special code that identified each bird entry in Terry's little notebook. “What is ATFL?” I can't remember.” I kept saying different combinations of letters.

“You don't have to remember each one, just write down BBMA. I can't figure it out right now; I'm concentrating on driving. The wind's blowing against us,” said my long-suffering husband.

Oh yes, we had gone south along the West Coast back in January.

All of a sudden, a clunking sound, like something falling off the car. We looked at each other. “What was that?”

Terry veered off the freeway onto the nearest exit ramp.

As we turned into the streets of Blackfoot, ID, right in front of us was a Ford dealer. Behind the shop, Baby B was unhooked, and neatly parked beside a fast flowing stream. It was really just a ditch, but it was nice to be by water again after the desert, where riverbeds were dry.

I think we'll be spending the night here, I said to myself. I was right. Camping spot problem solved. 

“Is there anything to do in this town?” I asked one of the salesmen.

“Here? In the armpit of Idaho?” he laughed. He did point out a park down the street with a "lake” . We walked in the brisk wind with all our layers on again.

In the cozy trailer our camping meal of nitrite free wieners, brown beans, sauerkraut, and cooked fresh beets was quickly prepared. Terry is happy that the furnace works. He confided, “A few minutes before the clunk, I was praying for God's protection in any malfunctions of the car!”

By 10:30 the next morning, we had a new compressor in the car and continued our journey HOME.

The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me.

I will protect those who trust in my name.

When they call on me I will answer.

Psalm 91:14, 15a

Meanders in the Mojave

Day 1

The guys were dying to go four-bying (off-roading) in the desert, so four couples set off in a couple of cars down an old mining road somewhere behind the ghost town of Calico in the Mojave Desert.

The road started off okay, narrow and sandy. Soon, however, the sand turned to boulders. We inched along, with Bill giving us instructions. Can you see the piece of our running board he picked up and tossed into the vehicle? Thanks to Stephanie for the vehicle video and photo!

Bill said, “I'll go ahead and scout out the road. You stay here.”

Soon, he got stuck, his one wheel hanging over the rocks. 

I couldn't watch, thinking to myself, WHY are we doing this? I busied myself gathering pretty striped desert rocks.

Terry to the rescue, pulled him backwards, using Bill's strap, an essential piece of equipment for riding off-road.

There, that was easily accomplished. We abandoned our plans to explore that road.

Day 2

Bill and Shirley invited us to go on a 240 mile round trip to see what else we could see in this barren landscape of a desert. First we drove on Highway 58, east of Barstow, then north on Highway 395. 

Lunch stop for a picnic at Randsburg, an old mining town that was almost a ghost town.  The businesses along Main Street opened whenever they felt like it. Hard to tell if there really was a shop there, although Bill did buy an old fashioned soda. 

Our destination was the Trona Pinnacle Rocks . Several futuristic movies have been made at this weird, moonlike landscape. Planet of the Apes (2001) and The Fourth Horseman (short film, 2010) to name two.

On our way home, another adventure. Through my slumber in the back seat, I heard the men discussing the temperature gauge. The temperature was climbing, so we stopped for a while to cool down the radiator. I guess we didn't wait long enough. Finally Bill called a tow truck. While we waited for that, Terry and I found two new birds, the Horned Lark new for our Trip List.

Horned Lark

Western Meadowlark

Riding off into the sunset

Day 3

No adventures on this short road trip! Just interesting and colourful rock formations in Rainbow Basin Natural Area. And splashes of bright colour in a few flowers.

Fremont Phacelia?

Prickly Pear

Prince's Plume

Little Palm Berries in the Big Picture

A Big Lesson in Humility

Guest Blog by Terry Burnett

Some palm trees produce, in great abundance, brown, sweetish, pea-sized berries. At our first American project [Gospel Rescue Mission in Tucson, AZ] there were two such trees which dropped these berries on a sand-filled play area for small children. And this was not a small area! Our group leader gave me and another SOWER the task of removing all the berries from the play area. So with a wheelbarrow and a screen and two shovels we heroically commenced to winnow out the seeds. At the end of the day and after 500+ shovelfuls (or so it seemed) of sand and berries we had about one third of the area done. The task wasn't very heroic any more ,nor was it fun!

The next day as we again entered the pen of contention otherwise known as the play area I recalled what the other guys had told me they were doing. In my eyes their tasks were much more interesting and way more profitable for Christ's kingdom than what I was doing. So as I continued to do this “slave” labour, I began to have a little tussle with God as to why I was doing this “dumb” task. It went something like this: surely Lord you have something much more important for me to do for your kingdom than this! 

No reply. 

So I pushed on: Lord, I know I would be much more productive if it was more exciting and easier. 

Still silence. 

OK, Lord have it your way, I begrudgingly moaned.

Well, by the end of the second day we had the back-breaking, boring, useless, make-work-for-nothing task done. By then I was in full rebellion against God: there, Lord, I did it- are you satisfied now? I would like a more significant task next time, thanks. Ironically, I had an even heavier job the next day. However, the Lord is very gracious and sometimes shows us the big picture even when we don't deserve to see it.

The morning arrived and with it came a new dawning for me. The project that we were working was a rescue mission for women and their children. That morning a young mother timidly approached me and asked if I had been the one who cleaned out the play area. In my best macho voice I replied in the affirmative. And this is what she said, “Sir, my daughter is highly allergic to bee stings. Those palm berries attract all kinds of bees so she could never go out and play with her friends for fear of being stung. Now she can go out and play and she wants you to know that she loves you for what you did.” 

Sheepishly, all I could think of was, “OK, Lord I get the picture! Thank you for being patient with me.”

Matthew 25:40 says, The King will reply, Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. 

After reading that, I determined to unquestioningly work for the King for the rest of my SOWER days. And so far it's been awesome!

Ana's Hummingbird (Tucson, AZ)

This female Ana's Hummingbird was taken with my little Canon digital camera, with the zoom lens, in the hummingbird aviary at the Desert Museum in Tucson, AZ.  The male sat on the feeder right in front of my face, but I was not ready with the camera. Who knew if he would have continued to sit there?

A Volcano in the Desert

"See that little "volcano" over there?" said our friend Cam.  "I've been to Ironwood Camp nine times, and I've never been there." 

Terry is happy for a challenge anytime, so we made plans to hike to it on one of our days off.
The camp is in the Mojave Desert, and apart from the tamarisk (salt cedar) trees and some mesquite bushes in the dry wash, or riverbed, there's not much green to be seen. It's real desert, a wonderful setting for a camp with a Wild West theme.
We had to walk around the little swimming lake, and work our way through the bushes to get to the other side of the wash. The terrain changed; sharp rocks littered the ground.

A sampling of the rocks

We carefully picked our way uphill , a gentle slope, and in half an hour stood at the base of the volcano.  Of course it wasn't really a volcano, but the rocks were volcanic. Climbing it meant grasping rocks for a firm handhold, and stepping onto little recesses and projections until we reached a place for a good view.

Terry stood and took pictures from the peak, I enjoyed sitting there, while Cam thought the lower shoulders were just fine for him, thank you very much.

As  I sat, I thought of Moses looking across at the Promised Land from the peak of Mount Nebo. He could see the city of Jericho, but he could not enter the Land because of his earlier disobedience. The Lord said Moses would die there on the mountain, while the second generation of Israelites would go in and conquer the Land and enjoy its blessings, the Land flowing with milk and honey.


On our way down I just had to lie down in this little overhang, wondering if Moses found a similar spot to take his final breath. 

Further down, as we came down a different way than our ascent, we spied dead branches littering the ground.  What could they be? Oh! A nest up there. 

Terry clambered up, but couldn't cross the chasm to see into it.  "It was probably a raven's nest," he said.  Small bones lay on the ground below.

Have you heard of springs in the desert? Here's one.

It had rained the day before, and by the time we were back at camp two hours later, I had shed the  jacket I thought I'd needed. The day turned out to be sunny, but not as hot as it had been the previous week.