Home again!

We arrived home yesterday (Sat Nov. 15th). It is nice to be home but cold. We aren't used to these temps yet. We will spend the week cleaning the RV, getting it serviced, visiting a friend of ours and catching up. We hope to head to McCall on next Friday. It will be good to get out into the "woods" and catch up with friends and our church (McCall Church of the Nazarene).

We plan to leave again next April for another shorter NASCAR trip.

NFL then home

We have left the racetrack after 3 great races. The truck races were thrilling with the top two drivers only 3 points apart now going into the last race at Homestead FL. The National races are now close between Edwards and Burton with Edwards winning this weekend. Unfortunately (for us) the Sprint Cup is pretty much over. Jimmie Johnson only has to drive and finish about 26th next week to win his third Chase season at Homestead. The Sprint race was exciting though. We are going to the 49ths vs. Phoenix game tonight and will head home slowly on Wed. Should be home by Friday or Saturday. I've uploaded a few pictures from the race by request.

Phoenix

Took a couple of days of driving, but we are in Phoenix AZ for our last races and a NFL game. We are parked at the racetrack which is a little different in the desert. Basically we are parked in the dry, dusty dirt. Nothing too romantic about that but the dogs don't seem to care! We have met with some of the snowbirds from McCall here in Phoenix. We had dinner last night with LaVerne and Harold Roberts and Jan and Ken Watson. It was fun to see friends from home. We have races here now for three days. The track is a 1 mile track and should be fun.

Vicksburg and on to Texas Motor Speedway

We spent two days in Vicksburg Mississippi. Tuesday we drove the Vicksburg Civil War battle trail. This was a 16-mile driving trail that covered Grant's attack and seige of Vicksburg. This town, once conquered by Grant, allowed the Union/Federal to control the Mississippi. There was a museum there of the warship Cairo, an ironclad civil war ship that sunk in the Mississippi in 1864. They raised the ship in 1964 (yep, a 100- years later!) and they have put it back together. It was quite amazing. The ship had 175 men on it and went down after being hit by mines place in the river by the Confederates. It sank in 12 minutes but no men died. The pictures hardly do it justice. Afterward, we drove into downtown Vicksburg to visit the pharmacy/soda fountain that first bottled Coca Cola. The owner of this pharmacy sold so much Coca Cola at his soda fountain back in the 1800s that he figured people living out in the country would like a Coke also. So he invented a way to bottle Coke and talked the formula owners in Atlanta to sell him the bottling rights for $1. Bet he made a bundle on his bottled Coke. This morning (Wed) we drove to Dallas and are now sitting in the RV park at the speedway. Everyone's RV is decorated with Halloween lights. Our dogs are going crazy!!

Atlanta and beyond

Thursday in Atlanta we visited the World of Coke. Coca Cola started in a pharmacy in Atlanta and this is their world headquarters. Friday it rained and rained and rained so no qualifying. The wind also blew and rocked our mobile home. Friday night late a elderly man backed into our RV and broke a number of back lights. Such fun, dealing with a small wreck away from home. The poor guy was really embarrassed. Saturday was warm and sunny and we attended the truck race. It was an exciting race with Ryan Newman winning (first time he ever drove a truck race). Sunday was a little cooler, but still nice and sunny in the stands. "Cousin" Carl Edwards won and Jr. finished 11th after being bumped getting out of the pits. We left Monday, heading towards TX. We are spending the night in Vicksburg Mississippi. We may spend another day here looking at Civil War sites. Then on to Texas for another big race.

Chattanooga and on to Atlanta GA

We spent two days in Chattanooga TN (and I couldn't quit thinking about the Chattanooga Choo Choo song!). We drove around for about 4 hours looking at civil war battle sites. The battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga (the battle above the clouds on Lookout Mtn) were fought in this important railroad area. We rode on the steepest passenger railroad which has a 72.7% grade towards the top. We then went to visit Ruby Falls on Lookout Mtns. We rode an elevator 360 feet down a shaft dug in the late 1890s, then hiked down another 600+ feet to the longest water falls found in a cave. They had artifical lights on the falls and you could hike all the way around the falls. On the way there were lots of stalagtites and stalagmites (remember which is which?). This morning we went to Rock City (again on top of Lookout Mtn.). This area was discovered by some missionaries who described it as a citadel of rocks. A couple named the Carters had this area as a part of their estate and Freida Carter began developing a walk through this large "rock garden". After two years work, they opened it to the public. We took our dogs through the walk which took a couple of hours and enjoyed rock formations such as mushroom rock, needle's eye, fat's mans squeeze and lover's leep (Roy says he jumped) but I have a picture of him under the 1000 ton balanced rock afterward. We then loaded the RV and headed to Atlanta GA for the next NASCAR race. Go Earnhardt Jr #88 and Stewart #20.

More Charlotte and Memphis TN

Here are a few more pictures from Charlotte last week. On Thursday we went on a garage tour. Chris is standing in front of Jr's. car as it goes through one of the NASCAR inspection points where they measure the car and check various settings. Roy is standing on the garage road next to the haulers. Jr's hauler had a frig full of AMP energy drink cans at the end of his hauler. I guess this is in case he or his pit crew need more caffeine??

We walked with about 15 other people up and down both sides of the Sprint Car cup garage as the cars were inspected and brought back to their garages. Three cars were painted pink for breast cancer awareness/cure (Kyle Busch, Sadler and LaBonte). AJ Almendinger and Skinner were being interviewed by TV as we walked by.

After Russell and Rachael left, we headed to Memphis TN where we attended the National Association of Biology Teacher's Convention. We both went on a tour of St. Jude's Medical Research Center (started by Danny Thomas, the comedian). This 65-acres facility sees 5400 children contacts per week, mostly on an outpatient basis. Their main emphasis is pediatric cancer. All treatment is FREE, including your flight here, room and board, etc. They raise $1.4 million a day to run the research/hospital facility. The picture is of the main treatment hospital. Roy went to the techy sessions at the meetings and found out how biologists are using technology, wikis, etc. in the classroom. I mostly attended workshops on classroom techniques. These sessions help keep me updated on things going on in biology so when McGraw-Hill wants us to write a new edition of the textbook I co-author, I have a clue what's "new and hot" in our nation's classrooms. It was fun to see my fellow co-authors also. We are resting in Memphis this Sat. and Sun and will then head out to Chatanooga, TN for two days, then on the Atlanta for the next NASCAR race. Tonight we hope to go to Rendevous, the very famous BBQ restaurant. Pres. Bush took the prime minister of Japan after he visited Graceland. We went last year and it is the best BBQ I've ever had in my life and definitely the best BBQ beans I've ever had.

Let us know by commenting if there is a driver you want a picture of and we will get the car/driver if we can.

Charlotte, NC

We spent the week in Charlotte NC camped in the RV outside Turn 4 of the track for Race 5 of the Chase. On Thursday Russell and Rachael flew in and joined us for the National Race, a Pit pass tour and the Sprint Cup Race. We also went to a concert for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s foundation that supports Make a Wish Foundation and Victory Junction Gang Camp (camps for kids with chronic diseases founded by Kyle Petty in memory of his son who died in a NASCAR practice). It was great to have Rachael and Russell join us. Today (Monday Oct 13) Roy and I are going to a Dale Earnhardt Jr. Charity auction. We head out to Memphis TN early in the morning. We sure would enjoy a comment so we know you are looking at our blog!

Talledega Motor Speedway

From Sept. 30 - October 6th we were in Talladega AL at the racetrack. It is said there are 30,000+ RVs staying at or around the track for the races. We were in the family camps that have 1000s of RVs. The Sprint cup race was exciting and controversial. They are still talking about "who" won the race. About 15 laps before the end, a bunch of cars were taken out by a bump draft gone wrong by Carl Edwards #99, one of the chase drivers. (#88 was taken out by Carl's wreck). After the restart, Tony Stewart took the led and defended the number one spot. #6 Regan Smith tried to pass him below the yellow line (not allowed at the superspeedways). For a while at the end of the race, no one knew who won. It was exciting and crazy. Since we also cheer for Tony, we were happy NASCAR ruled that Smith violated the rules and he was black flagged.
We arrived in Charlotte NC today after spending a day at a repair shop. Seems our house batteries on the RV were bad and had to be replaced. We will be in Charlotte for the week.

Jacksonville FL

We have spent Wed - Sun in Jacksonville, Florda. Thursday we drove to St. Augustine, FL, U.S.'s oldest city. This city was settled in the 1500's by the Spanish. Ponce de Leon landed here, looking for the Fountain of Youth, which he found in St. Augustine. Roy and I had a drink from the fountain and are waiting for it to work. (picture of cistern of fountain) The average age of death of a European in Leon's time was 35. He lived until his 70s so I guess it worked??? We also visited an old jail from late 1800's that didn't close until l953 due to a lawsuit saying it didn't provide livable conditions. It had no toilets, no showers and no heating/cooling with open barred windows. The prisoners got one bath a week - one tub full of bath water for 72 prisoners to share (I think I would want to be first every week!). Saturday we went to the Florida State vs. Colorado State game in the Jacksonville Jaguar stadium (Roy got his masters from FSU). FSU won, but it wasn't a pretty game. The FSU mascot is the Seminoles. The opening of the game has a seminole indian ride bareback to the center of the field and place a burning spear in the center FSU emblem. Was pretty cool to watch. This was Bobby Bowden's (coach) 500th game at the same school.

Onward to Florida

We are now headed to Florida. Spent last night in New Bern, North Carolina. Tonight we are in Savannah, Georgia. Tomorrow we will be in Jacksonville, Florida until Monday.

Racing

So far I haven't put up many racing pictures, so this is for some of you racing fans.
First is a picture of Morgan Shepherd, #89 of Nationwide series, speaking at Racetrack Ministries in Richmond, Virginia. He gave his testimony about how he came to be a Christian and involved with racetrack ministries. Look for his "Jesus" car on the track. Second picture is of Earnhardt Jr.'s car at Richmond, VA. Third is Earnhardt, Jr. shaking hands with John McCain and his wife, who visited the New Hampshire track. Next is a picture of "The King", Richard Petty, being honored at the Monster Mile.

Philadelphia and on to Dover

We spent two days in Philadelphia after N.H. Went to Independence Hall (picture is in the hall where they signed the Dec. of Independence and Constitution a few years later) and had lunch in the old Reading Railroad Center (yep of Monopoly fame!). Of course we had Philly Cheesesteaks. What else would you have in Philly? We then headed out to Dover,Del. for The Chase Race #2. Who would have guessed that Greg Biffle would be on top (of course with Carl Edwards)? We are parked just a short walk from the track and can easily hear them practicing on the track during the day. National Race in Saturday and Sprint cup race on Sunday. On Saturday they are doing a special ceremony for Richard Petty and dedicating a plague to him on the huge "Monster" built at the track. Pictures will come later.

A week in New Hampshire

On Monday 9/8 we headed for New Hampshire. Got to track on Tuesday. We pretty much hung around our RV on Wed. Thursday we drove to Meredith, N.H. near lake Winnipesaukee (the largest lake in N.H. and 5th largest in the U.S.). We visited The Loon Center (think on Golden Pond movie which was filmed in New Hampshire and had the loons [bird]in the movie), went to on the World's largest gatherings of private steam boats on the lake (think African Queen movie) and rode the Winnipesaukee Scenic RR around about 1/2 of the lake (see two pics). Roy and I got to ride in the top of the Caboose.
Friday's races were rained out so we went to three races on Saturday (a modified, a NASCAR east and a truck race). Sunday we went to the MRO (Motor Racing Outreach) service, waited for rain to quit and finally the cup race. Biffle won, Earnhardt Jr. was 5th. Jr is now 4th in points, only 40 points behind the leaders so he actually gained 30 points from where he was. Tomorrow we head south. The next race is next weekend in Delaware.

On the road to New Hampshire

Sunday's two races were quite exciting!
Before the races, we went to church at Raceway Ministries at the track. Morgan Shephard (the "Jesus" car) spoke at the service.
The cup race was quite exciting-lots of side by side racing and even some 3-wide racing. Of course Jr. (#88) bumping Kyle Busch added to the excitement and the race crowd seemed to love it. Jr. just didn't seem to have the car to take Jimmy Johnson (who won) but we were also cheering for Tony Stewart to win. Now the Chase begins. For us, we're glad Jr. is in the chase this year. The National race was after the Cup race, so we didn't get back to the RV until late. Today (Monday) we drove to Newburgh NY and tomorrow we should be in New Hampshire in the early afternoon.

Richmond and surroundings

On Tuesday, 9/2 we drove the "Seven Day Battle" trail. This included many sites where McClellan's armies (union) tried unsuccessfully to take Richmond, the capital of the confederacy in 1862. On Wednesday we went to Jamestown. We listened to an actor for about an hour, who played the role of an indentured servant. We visited the one "original" building still standing, a church that was rebuilt multiple times, but still dates to the 1700s (picture). There was also an archeology site digging going on from the original fort (picture). There were lots of artifacts to see in the museum from the 1600-1700s.

On Thursday we went to Williamsburg. The Virginia Historical Society has protected about a mile square called "Colonial Williamburg". There are lots of old houses, the original Governor's mansion (for the early British governor's) and the original capital building. After P. Henry and T. Jefferson served as governor's, the capital moved to Richmond. At Colonial Williamsburg, which you pay to see, the town has actors dressed up in original costumes (picture) and they reinact the decisions for Virginia to join the original congress and vote for independence. Also, in Williamsburg, is the College of William and Mary. The campus was quite beautiful, all red brick and "colonial"-looking.

Today (Friday) we tried to go to a National race, but the weather did not cooperate. Tropical storm Hanna has struck and is dropping rain and wind. We are expecting 4 inches of rain and wind up to 40 mph tonight. The races have been postponed until Sunday.

August 31-September 1

Went to church at Belmont Baptist Church in Charlottesville, Virginia. After church we spend the afternoon at Jefferson's Plantation, Monticello. He was quite the gardener, both vegetable and flowers. He brought plants in from all over the world.

We drove from Charlottlesville to Richmond and are staying about 15 miles north of Richmond in Ashland (Richmond International Speedway is north of Richmond). Today (Monday, Sept 1) we drove into Richmond and visited the Tredegar Iron Works (the ammunition and artillary factory of the confederacy), the National Confederacy Museum and the Confederacy "White House" or home of Jefferson Davis during the war. The museum had a lot of artifacts, including unforms from General Lee, J.E.B. Stuart and Stonewall Jackson . The picture to the right is of Jefferson Davis "White House"

Vriginia

We arrived in Virginia tonight. Being on the road, we forgot about Labor Day weekend and didn't make reservations for an RV spot. Well, we are parked in a Walmart parking lot for the night. Tomorrow after church, we plan to visit Monticello for a tour of Jefferson's estate. Monday we will drive to Richmond and park for a week.

Lincoln, Nebraka

We have spent two nights in Lincoln NE. My sister and her husband are here on business and we have spent a little time with them but back to the road tomorrow. Onward forward on the trek to Virginia.

On the road again!

We left Idaho today for 3 months. We are currently in Evanston, WY on our way to Richmond Virginia for a NASCAR race. For the next 4-5 days we are going to be driving, driving, driving and more driving. We need to go about 400-500 miles again. We plan to be back in Idaho around November 15th.

Problems

Mom lost the drivers for her log in so she cannont add new posts at this time. They are headed home.

Rachael Freeman (Her daughter)

Holocaust museum, Gettysburg, and Hershey PA

On Wed the 4th we went to the Holocaust Museum for 4 hours. This exhibit is quite moving. You walk through a R.R. car used to haul prisoners. There is a room of shoes, piled high, that were taken from prisoners. On Thursday we headed to Gettysburg and spent the afternoon and next day on the battlefield. It was hard to imagine a town of about 5000 and 51,000 casualties (dead, wounded or missing) in 3 days. There were literally 100s of monuments to various state battilions (both Federal and Confederate) throughout the park. (see photo) For a change of pace, on Saturday we drove out to Hershey PA and visited the Hershey Co. visitor center. We ate chocolate and bought some too! During the afternoon we went to Antietam, another Civil war battle site. Sunday, we went to Shippenburg Nazarene Church (PA) and moved on to south of Cleveland. Today (the 9th) we drove to Canton and visited the NFL Hall of Fame. Was fun to see Bart Star jersey's, Emmett Smith's joursey he wore when he broke the rushing record and other such fun items. The first football uniforms from the early 1900s were pretty funny.

NASCAR Race and Washington DC

June 1st we went to a morning service at Racetrack Ministries. Afterward, we headed to the Sprint Race. Big wreck on lap 17 that took out our driver's chance of winning (But he's still third in overall points - YEH go #88). Monday we headed to College Park, Maryland, about 40 minutes out of Washington D.C. Today we went into see the newly opened Newseum - a National News Museum. It was like walking down memory lane. They had old newspapers dating back to 1700s as well as covered radio and TV media. The museum had 6 floors and we spent about 4 hours there and still didn't see everything.

Rusty Wallce, Truck Race and Monster dedication

On Friday, May 30th we got up and went to the track's Victory circle to get Rusty Wallace's autograph. We went to the Truck Race afterward. Saturday was the dedication of the new "Monster" sculpture which is 46 feet tall. The car the monster is holding is a regulation size Sprint Car. We also went to a ceremony honoring Bobby Allison. We had heard Bobby talk and tell stories at Charlotte, as well as got his autograph. The plan at Dover is to honor a driver who made their name on the Monster mile each year and add a large plague honoring them beneath the monster sculpture. The National race was rained out big time with tornado warnings about 100 miles south of us. The rain, lightening and storm is big here at the track though!

Lowe's Speedway and Virginia Beach

On Saturday the 19th we moved over to Lowe's Motor Speedway, staying right next to Turn 4. (see picture view out of RV window). On the 20th we went out to Billy Graham's Library. On the 21st we just hung around the RV and visited with neighbors. On the 22nd we went to Roush racing, Sprint Qualifying and a Legends race. On the 23rd we went to the Downtown street fair and stood in line to get Matt Kenseth's (#17) autograph for Russell. That evening we went to Dirt track races (one was won by Richard Childress's 16-year old son, Ty). Saturday the 24th we went to the National Race. There was a big deal at the end of the race when Hamlin ran into Keselowski intentially during a yellow flag with just a couple of laps to go. After the race, Keselowski's crew and Hamlin's crew got in a "pushing" match. Both driver's stayed in their cars. Earnhardt Jr. sat on top of his car and watched (In case you don't know, Keselowski drives for Earnhardt's JR Motorsports). Sunday we went to church at the track and one of the pit crew for Menard's spoke. His talk was about how our lives are like racetracks and we need "pit stops" and to be filled up by God. On Monday we headed to Virginia Beach to a KOA to do wash, rest and clean the RV. It was nice to have services for 2 days. Today we drove to Dover Speedway and that is where we are currently - the Monster Mile track.

Church in SC, on to Charlotte and All Star Race

On the 11th we went to a small Nazarene church in South Carolina. Then we drove on to Charlotte. We spent 3 days visiting various driver's garages and went up to Victory Junction Gang Camp, a free camp for sick kids that was started by Kyle Petty in memory of his son Adam who was killed on the race track. We were so excited to find out we were going to eat lunch with Richard Petty (see picture). For those of you into racing we went to Michael Waltrip's garage, JR Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing garage, Henrick garages Petty Enterprises, Joe Gibbs Racing garage and to NASCAR's Research and Development center. We also got to hear a panel discussion among some old time racers - Bobby Allison, Ned Jarrett and David Pearson. They told lots of old time racing stories which was fun. Sunday the 18th we went to the track ministries tent for church. Today (Monday the 19th) we moved our RV from an outside campground to a spot on the track property. We are staying right outside turn 4 of Charlotte track this week.

Darlington SC and on to Charlotte NC

We spent most of the 6th relaxing in the sun at the KOA with the dogs. On the 7th we left for Florence SC (near Darlington) where we stayed in a KOA. This KOA really got into the race week big time. The evening of the 8th they had a free BBQ with bluegrass entertainment. On Friday they cooked lunch (chicken and rice) for all the KOA guests and had a drawing. I (Chris) won free race tickets and pit passes. We went to the National race and watched them rub the wall at Darlington. Carolyn will be happy to know we cheered when Kyle spun out during the national race. Saturday we went to the race and I'm sure Carolyn was cheering when Kyle B. won the Sprint race. We got home about 1 a.m. Today (Mother's Day), we went to church and then travelled to Charlotte NC. We will be in Charlotte for about 2 weeks. Tonight we went through a tornado watch. We are within view of Lowe's motor speedway and we watched a storm go by. There were tornados touching down about 30 miles away which is close enough for me.

Charleston and Myrtle Beach, SC

We spent 5/2 at Ft. Sumter (the first battle of the civil war [picture is of a cannon at fort]) and at the Citadel (southern military college). Just so happened, we stumbled onto their preparations for graduation the next day at the Citadel, so we got to see a special military parade on the parade field - the handing over of the control from the seniors to the juniors. (picture below) On 5/3 we went to the Cypress Gardens where Mel Gibson's "The Patriot" was filmed. Roy is on a bridge in the swamp built for the movie. On 5/4 we drove north to Myrtle Beach. On Roy's birthday (5/5) we went to the beach and went out to a fabulous Italiam restaurant. Today we just relaxed in the sun.

Savannah GA and Charleston SC

From Talledega, we headed to Savannah GA. This city truly embodies the South. Spanish Moss hangs from the huge Live Oak trees. Savannah has a 2 1/2 square mile historic district that is protected and has a large number of antebellum (pre-civil war) houses still there, fully restored. Our first day we spent on a tour trolley going around the historic district. We spent a day and 1/2 on walking tours of the area. One tour was a civil war tour, talking about why Savannah wasn't burned by Sherman and the importance of economics and Savannah during the civil war. We took a second tour during the late night called the "Ghost tour" It was fun to walk around the old houses and buildings at 10 P.M. but we didn't see any ghosts (ha ha!). Our third tour was a tour of the places involved in the book "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil". Today (May 1) we drove to Charleston SC and went down to Old City Market this afternoon. This is an old building used as a slave selling area which has been converted into a stall market. There was a little of everything. We walked down to the Cooper River and then ate seafood (Roy had fried oysters - yuk!!). Tomorrow we are going to Ft. Sumter and the Citadel.

Racing at Talledega - Nationals

We had a fun day of racing in Talledega at the National Race. It was exciting with a huge wreck that took out about 10 cars. About 14 cars finished on the lead lap and maybe 20 cars finished the race. Tony Stewart won. We sat in the sun for 7 hrs. and both got a little too much sun on our legs. It's about 80 degrees here and pretty humid. It's the south!

Nashville and more Nashville

We've been here in Nashville since Thursday 4/16. On the 17th we drove out to Franklin TN (45 minutes s. of Nashville) and went to the Carter House, the site of the front line of the Battle of Franklin. Some 7000 wounded and 2000 plus died at this house. It was the beginning of the end of the Civil War. The house still has bullet holes (lots of them in it - see picture). We went also to the Carnton Plantation that was used as a Confederate hospital. Blood stains are still in the wood floors upstairs where the surgeon operated. On Friday we went to Stone River National Monument, another civil war site. Friday evening we had 2nd row seats at the Grand Ole Opry - saw Little Jimmy Dickens, Suzy Boggus and Diamond Rio as well as others. It was a blast. Saturday the 19th it was raining, so we threw the dogs in the car and drove around to country western stars homes - Waylong Jennings, Martina McBide, Leanne Rimes, Clint Black, Vince Gill, Tim McGraw/Faith Hill and Dolly Partons. On Sunday morning we went to the Cowboy Church, with Pastor Yates. His wife sang, Mrs. Cash-Yates (Johnny Cash's sister). It was a very inspirational service with a strong gospel message. Sunday afternoon we went out to Loretta Lynn's 6000 acre ranch. Sunday evening we went to Grace Chruch of the Nazarene. Today we went to Andrew Jackson's estate (7th President). Planned on spending an hour or so there and ended up spending 3 1/2 hrs. It was quite an estate. Picture of his house above with white columns. We've been busy!

Arch, Baseball and on to Nashville

We visited the arch, even rode up to the top of it and looked out over St. Louis. Afterward, we went to Cardinal Vs. Brewers at the Edward Jones Baseball Dome. The view out the stadium from home plate looks at the Arch. This morning we drove to Nashville TN where we will be until next Thursday. We visited Trevecca Nazarene last year when we were here, but missed the Grand Ole Opry. We have tickets this time for Friday night at the Opry and Diamond Rio is supposed to be there.

St. Louis MO

We've arrived in St. Louis where the Mississippi is running REALLY full. We decided to stay a couple of days. We'll get to Nashville Thursday afternoon sometime. Tomorrow the arch and a baseball game hopefully.

Country Wedding

Saturday we attended Josh and Ashley Allen's wedding. It was definitely a country western theme for a country western couple. The pictures are of Josh (Chris's nephew) and Ashley cutting cake and Josh's Mom and Dad (Nancy and Don Allen of Boise). Nancy is one of Chris's two sisters. Tomorrow we head to Nashville TN (hoping to arrive Wed or Thur).

Nebraska & Rain

We arrived in Lincoln Wed afternoon. It has rained every since we got here. Hmmm. Are we bringing bad weather with us? I hear it is nice in Boise Valley. Chris's Mom and stepdad are arriving today and will be staying with us in the RV until Sunday. The wedding is Saturday and then Roy and I are heading to Nashville either on Sunday or Monday. Next NASCAR race for us is at the end of April in Talledega, Alabama.

Racing and on to Oklahoma

Time trials for the Sprint race had one of the scariest wrecks I've ever seen. Number 00 McDowell lost control of his car, hit the wall and flipped many times (we counted 9). He then walked away from the car. It was unbelievable. They spent an hour repairing the wall where he hit. The race itself was somewhat boring, not a lot of passing going on. Monday we headed to Tulsa, Oklahoma to visit Roy's neice Tiffany Korn. She works at a paper factory (Kimberly-Clark) that makes t.p., paper towels, etc. Today we walked through the factory with her. She's a chemical engineering student doing an internship at this factory.
Tomorrow we head to Lincoln Nebraska for Josh Allen's (Chris's nephew) wedding.

Rain, Racing and Tornados

Got to Texas Motor Speedway yesterday afternoon. We soon found that the weather was going to get interesting. There were tornado watches through about 4 a.m. We got a lot of rain and some hail overnight and woke up this morning to about 3 inches of water outside our RV. But in Texas the sun shines big and the wind blows strong, so most of the rain went away by this afternoon. Earnhardt Jr. won the pole for the race Sunday afternoon, so we're happy!

On to Texas

After 14 long hours, the road finally opened. We heard over 1000 trucks were waiting with us to get on the road. Apparently a large wreck occurred and a semi burned. We say what was left of the semi truck and there wasn't much except a frame of the cab. We drove on through Denver and stayed the night at Raton New Mexico. Today we ventured onto to Wichita Falls, TX. We are only 100 miles from Texas Motor Speedway, our first goal. On the way to Wichita Falls, we stopped in Groom TX. We stopped at a 10 story steel cross that also had life size bronze statues of the 14 stations of the cross. It was quite moving. Tomorrow we move in for 4 days at the speedway.

March 30-31st: On the Road to Texas

We left Sunday afternoon (March 30th) after church. We headed to Ogden and spend the night in a truck stop in Morgan Utah. Got up this morning to 4 inches of new snow. We headed toward Denver, but have only made it as far as Rawlins. The Interstate (80) is closed to all traffic due to snow and blowing. We are sitting in a small mall parking lot with out 50 other trucks. I doubt we get on the road until tomorrow morning. We were hoping to be past Denver today but weather got in the way.