September is for Surprises

It's safe to say that our autumn ended up being 180 degrees different than what we thought it was going to be.  We thought we'd be in SoCal and Arizona.  But a series of unfortunate events (or were they???) kept us in Oregon.

We planned to leave Oregon in September, but before we left, we did a hike at Borden Beck Wildlife Preserve, in Crooked River Ranch.  Jeff was wanting to take a drive one weekend, and happened to find this place on the Google.  It was so beautiful!!!  Who would have thought this little hollow was nestled in the vast, dead, desert!

We picked apples from a tree (delicious), and then as we walked we saw SO MUCH wildlife, which included something like 14 snakes.  That kept us paying attention to where we placed our feet!

Jackson filmed our little hike.

An oasis in the desert.

The critters were too fast for my camera, but I did catch one mantis lounging on a rock.

So that was a fun day.  However, we had some less-fun days ahead of us.

It all started with the steering column on the truck.  Two years ago, there was an issue with a nut that often comes loose in our model of truck.  And ours did.  So they Locktighted it and we were on our way.  Then, this summer, it came loose again, right before we were supposed to leave town.  Jeff said he wasn't going anywhere until it was fixed.  The dealership said, "There's no way it came loose again."  But it had.  So they Locktighted it again, and sent us on our way.  

Then I found out that I had to have a small procedure, which ended up causing some negative side-effects and changed our plans again.

After that, the valve on the RV black tank stopped working.  

So we moved out of the RV and took it in for repairs ($$$).  They replaced the valve with a new one, we moved back in, and left for our first stop on our route south:  Lake Tahoe.

This was our first time in South Lake Tahoe, and we really enjoyed ourselves!  The campground that we stayed at was nice, with lots of things to do.  And you can't beat the views in Tahoe!

AND THE BEST PART!  Mark & Sarah were also vacationing in SLT, and they came to visit us one day.  Jeff and I were missing our friends as much as the kids, so this was a timely blessing.

Giant hamster wheel.

But then, a twist.

The black tank valve stopped working again!!!  None of the repair people in Tahoe were able or willing to work on our black tank.  So we were faced with a decision:  press forward or go back?  I called ahead to RV repair places at our next stop and nobody could help, so that narrowed our choices to one.

Soooooo, back to Oregon we went!

We spent a week in Redmond, waiting for our next RV appointment.  It was actually a great week.  We were like, "No biggie.  Just a little delay.  God was protecting us from getting all the way to southern California and discovering that the black tank valve was still broken.  So let's just enjoy this week, get the RV fixed for real this time, and then go south."  

A few days into our week in Redmond, I was thanking the Lord for bringing us back.  I found out that one of my best friends from high school was visiting Redmond and we were able to have breakfast and catch up.  It was wonderful!  We also went to the library, had fun coffee dates with the kids, caught up on laundry, went for long walks, and got the truck cleaned and ready for the long trip to Arizona.

Then this happened.

A freak accident.  One of those times when you ask yourself, "What are the chances?"  

Turns out, pretty good!  Our insurance adjuster told us that this happens all the time.

Going through the car wash, our right front tire slipped off the rail thingy, which propelled us sideways and into the side of the car wash machine.  

Tire popped, truck crunched, Cato's scratching their heads asking, "Lord, what exactly are you doing here?"

What do you think happened next?  Did the black tank finally get fixed?  Is our truck still broken?  Did we throw in the towel and go back to living normal lives in a normal house?  Were we able to rejoice in the trials?  Did I let the stress get to me and eat far too much of my mom's pineapple upside down cake?   

Stay tuned for all the answers in our October post!