Today we arrived in Honduras and made it through customs. Had lunch at the airport then headed off to see the work site.
After a quick tour of what we will be starting on we headed to our hotel.
Our home away from home may not have hot water but it a does have air conditioning. I think we have the better of the two choices.
Greatly looking forward to a wonderful trip and to be used by God here in Honduras.
~Chad
A crazy drive, three shifts and now another crazy drive (pale in comparison to the last). I woke up this morning, made some toast, did the dishes and took Myra for a walk. We wanted to get out early as it was going to be a long day. Starbucks and gas for the car were our first stops getting us out of Farmington around 10:00am. I was headed to Phoenix to visit my Aunt and pick up a friend who had traveled there for work.
The first stop on my “to see” list today was Gallup NM, a historic town on the reservation along Route 66. Gallup is mentioned frequently in “The Code Talker” and I really just wanted to see it for myself.
Gallup was bigger and cuter than I thought it would be. There appears to be a mall and Home Depo as well as other big chain stores, then you get down town and you can just see the age on the buildings, but they don’t look rundown at all, just dated. And in this case dated was good. My next stop was only slightly out of my way and that is Window Rock and the Code Talker Memorial. I met a Native gentleman there selling pots who grew up in Salem living with his grandfather. It is a small world.
Only seven more miles up the road was Fort Defiance, where the Navajo people were herded and marched to concentration type camps down in the south near Fort Sumner. Many pregnant women old men and children died on “the long walk” because if they stopped for anything, including labor, they were just shot as the rest were forced to continue. It also was and may still be a boarding school where Navajo children were sent to learn English. At one time all Navajo children were sent to these schools where they were treated poorly by the matrons. I asked a Navajo friend when they stopped being sent to boarding schools and she said they haven’t, still on the reservation 50% of Navajo children go to boarding school but now at least
they can come home on the weekends. Fort Defiance was very run down and looked like a poor oppressed community.
At this point I wasn’t all that close to Canyon de Chelly and it was north and I needed to go southwest but it was the closest I had been and I just couldn’t resist so I turned north for the 1+ hour drive.
In front of the visitors center was a hogan so you could look inside and see how it would have been set up.
I have to do some more homework on Canyon de Chelly but I do know that the Indians put up a good fight when Colonial Custard cornered them in this canyon.
I was not able to go in the canyon, or even see all the overlooks as I would have liked, but as it was I got out of Canyon De Chelly at 5:00pm and still had a 5+ hr drive ahead of me. I had some how turned a six hour drive into an all day affair. I have now made it to Phoenix and need to crash. Tomorrow is another day but this one will be filled with friends and family.
Goodnight
After finally meeting up with Paul and Debbie in Boise we headed out to Irrigon. I am so thankful that they were able to come and get us. It was a blessing. When we were heading back to their house they informed me that they had a project that they needed some help with. They had a small leak in the bathroom and needed help pulling a tub and installing a new one. Since my dad was not due for another day I had a free day to help them out. We pulled out the tub and found that the leak was worse than they had expected, in addition the toilet had also been leaking. Long story short, we had to gut the bathroom to the studs and concrete floor. The plus side was I was there to help them with the demolition and start on the construction phase. By the time my dad arrived I was putting the finishing touched on the new floor in the bathroom. I am glad that I was able to be there to help them out.
After making it to Salem it was nice to see old friends and family at church on Sunday morning. I am looking forward to a great trip in Honduras.
So tired from playing Eve fell asleep eating dinner.
We left our apartment in Farmington NM at 6:30pm 6/18. After deciding the best plan of action to get everyone to Oregon was to drive the family to Idaho where we could meet up with my parents, who would drive them to their house in Central Oregon where we had a few different options of ways to get them to Salem. We were mostly packed so we threw everything in the car right after dinner, I grabbed a uniform for work in case I couldn’t make it back and needed to get a hotel and drive to work from there. There was pretty much no complaining from the kids the whole drive, because everyone was so eager to get to Oregon to see Grandma and Grandpa, Hadassah, and Cyrus. Chad drove first. We drove right into the sun and were so relieved when it finally set as we crossed into Utah.
We planned to drive into Salt Lake, spend the night, and then meet my parents somewhere between Burley and Boise early the next day. We stopped in at three different hotels in the Salt Lake-Ogden area, but none had vacancies so we had them call the other hotels in the area of the same chain, and they were all full as well. At this point we were in Ogden or Logan, I can’t remember which, and we decided it’s 2 or 3 am, so by the time we find a room and get the kids in it, it will be 4:00, and then what’s the point. By this time I was wide awake in my nightshift groove, so I took a turn driving. We got into Twin Falls around 5:00am. I had been told by my parents to stop in Burley, so I was already pushing it. Since everyone was still sleeping, I figured let’s go see craters of the moon while were here. By the time we get there and have breakfast, the park will almost be open, and we can see it, then get back to Twin in time to meet the rest of the relay team. So I headed north. After about 30 min. we got ahold of my parents and permission to meet them in Boise at the outlet mall. So we turned around and by the time we got back to Twin falls it was 6:00 everyone was awake and ready for breakfast. Thanks to IHOP, which was just over the Snake river, we could grab a bite and got back on the road in not too much more time.
Chad drove our next leg. He had not slept too soundly in the previous four hours, but he had gotten some sleep and he was worried about me trying to drive back on no sleep (rightly so). I took the opportunity to sleep from Twin Falls to Boise although again, although it wasn’t very restful sleep, and I was wide awake by 44 miles out of Boise. We texted our teammates who we discovered had just left Baker and were a little over two hours out from our rendezvous location. We pulled in thinking we could possibly keep going and meet them in Ontario I supposed then I could say I made it to Oregon, but I knew I needed a little more rest and I was already pushing myself in miles that I would have to drive home by myself on minimal rest. So, we stayed put and took a nap in the car. When we heard that mom and dad had made it to Meridian we got the kids and dog out of the car for a run, to get some energy out and stretch and maybe use the bathroom. The kids were excited and very cute to watch. I am going to miss their energy, laughter and smiles these next three weeks. I am looking forward to some sleep, reading, and contemplative time. I have not been getting that alone time with my creator since we embarked on this adventure.
My parents pulled in around the corner in a white 15 passenger church van around 10:00am only a second after Caleb told Hannah, “they could be here any second.” It was pretty funny. And as soon as Eve recognized the faces she came running. Nothing like a I’ve missed you so much I’m going to sprint and dive into your arms kind of greeting to let you know how much you have been missed.
After talking and catching up, transferring bags and car seats and a potty break for them, feeling the time crunch I gave all the adults good bye hugs and we all got buckled in. Realizing as I turned to wave my good bye that I had not hugged the kids good bye it sunk in how much I’m going to miss them. Three weeks is a long time. I know they will have lots of fun so I won’t worry too much. I know they know I love them but still a big missed opportunity to get in a good bye hug.
North to Burley I set my sights. I do so love the higher speed limits in Idaho and Utah. In an inky two and a half hours I was pulling into my childhood best friends house for lunch and a chance to get off my backside. I knew I looked like crap and probably smelled like crap but Colleen didn’t mind and after a hug I asked if I could take a shower and she said, “make yourself at home.” I took a quick and wonderful shower and felt human again. Thank you so much Colleen for lunch and a shower!
I couldn’t stay as long as I wanted, as I was already worried about tiredness and I knew I had 10 more hours of driving to do. I have never thought that eastern Idaho ever offered as much beauty as the rest of the state but it really was such a beautiful drive through there.
I filled with gas at Maverick which is my new BFF (for this trip at least), and grabbed some snack food hoping to use it to ward off any afternoon drowsiness. I then grabbed a coffee at the Golden Arches and headed down the road. Here is a bad picture of the beautiful Snake River flowing through Burley.
I hit I-84 east feeling like a whole new person. I’m pretty sure it was the shower, and the coffee probably helped too. I turned my phone to iTunes Radio and filled the car with lively music. The construction between Burley and Salt Lake allowed me to play dodge the cone as I took in the sights of the amazing mountains. Man we are so blessed to be surrounded by such beauty all the time.
I lost my cell connection so I changed to the stored Christmas music on my phone, and stopped at another Maverick in another little town well before Brigham City to go to the bathroom and was so surprised when I got back on the freeway to discover stop and go traffic already. For the next two hours I was in stop and go traffic. I knew I would hit rush hour but I didn’t know it would be starting so far out of Salt Lake or last so far past it. For the most part we went faster than you do in Portland rush hour traffic but it just kept going and going and going. Wow. Now I was looking at an after midnight arrival time in Farmington according to the GPS but I was also wide awake now so I didn’t want to get a room yet.
The sunset again was beautiful. It got dark as I pulled into Moab for dinner.
In Moab I stopped at Paradox Pizza for dinner, and a few phone calls to various people to check in and let them know I was doing ok. I was only three hours from home (New Mexico that is). The first hour into my drive from Moab to Farmington was filled with eating pizza which is very messy car food, drinking ice water and watching the lights in my rear view mirror. Then came the hard and tired time. I sang CC songs from cycle one off my phone, slapped my face, wetted my eyelids from water out of my water bottle and attempted to call a few people to talk to on speaker phone because I didn’t feel that area was all that safe for me to pull over and take a nap. I thought if I can get to Cortez I can get a room. I did make it to Cortez it was pretty shut down looking as it was almost midnight. I stopped at another Maverick gas station and filled my tank. I chatted with the clerk inside for a little bit and grabbed a BIG gulp sized cup and filled it with Ice. Enough ice I could eat it all the way to Farmington. I added a few Big Hunks to the ice as insurance. Surely chewing on that sticky stuff should at least get me to Shiprock which is right between Cortez and Farmington and if I was going to take a nap in the car the hospital employee parking lot there would probably be the safest place. The ice worked great but wasn’t going to last me as far as I had hoped but between the ice and 1st Big Hunk I made it to Shiprock. Being on familiar roads somehow helped me to pull it all together enough to make it the last 28 miles to my apartment. That and the Dave Ramsey show played from my phone. Walking into the apartment at 1:05 am I felt so much relief. I had made it but not with out a few scary moments. I don’t plan on ever pushing myself like that again. Thank you all my friends and family who where praying for safe travels because I am sure that is what made the difference. Now after most of the night and day of sleep I am still a little scared that I pushed so far. I have to remind myself that I made it. And promise not to push that hard again.
-love you all and I’m so thankful for this beautiful day that I’m safely in Farmington for.
We are learning lots of lessons on being flexible. We have planned since before we left Salem for Chad and the kids to take a trip home so he can go to Honduras and the kids could get in some Grandma and family time. We showed up to pick up our rental car this afternoon at 4:30pm to discover that even with a Visa backed debit card we could not rent a car. It has to be a credit card. We have been on the Dave Ramsey plan for the last five years and do not have a credit card. We instead believe in saving up and buying what we want and having an emergency fund, well, I don’t know why but we didn’t even see that coming. We looked at the cost of last minute plane flights X 4, train tickets, renting a car from acquaintances here in New Mexico. Plan A, B, C, D were checked off the list as possibilities. I don’t work tonight or tomorrow night, and my parents, even though they are elbow deep in a bathroom project, have offered to meet us in Idaho, so we packed the car and headed out.
Thank you mom and dad for being there for us. Thank you Chuck and Donna and mom and dad for all the brain storm ideas and for help nailing down a plan.
1. Chad
2. Caleb
3. Hannah
4. Eve
5. Mom and Dad
6. Chuck and Donna
7. Stephanie, Suzanne and their families
8. Being a labor and delivery nurse
9. Our dream
10. Silverton FBC
11. Midwives & Doctors
12. Salem First Church of the Nazarene
13. Dan & Robyn
14. CC group
15. This Job & being in 4 Corners
16. Being able to go to Honduras
17. Chad being able to go to Honduras
18. Being able to see Israel
19. Myra
20. Calls from managers who say they really want me.
21. The Grand Canyon
22. White Sands
23. Carlsbad Caverns
24. Beautiful lakes
25. Camping
26. The Navajo people
27. Homeschooling
28. The USA and democracy
29. Good health
30. A car that runs
31. Bowel control (hey sometimes it’s the small things)
32. Friends
33. Extended family
34. NNU and my nursing degree
35. Road trips
36. Amazing man made wonders like Mesa Verde
37. The beauty of Shiprock
38. That I grew up in Cambridge
39. An emergency fund
40. (This should be number one) Jesus lover of my soul.
42. Jehovah Jireh
43. Food to eat especially Chad’s cooking
44. An opportunity to be God’s hands and feet
45. Home birth
46. Kindness of others
47. Variety
48. Clothes
49. Books
50. Art
51. Marshmallows
52. Watermelon
53. Jalapeños
Oops I went too far here
A Sunday drive after church lead us back to Silverton Colorado. With only an hour to explore the town after lunch on Thursday, we left with out really getting a feel for the quaint little town. We visited the shops that we had not yet seen.
<img src=”https://owensendeavors
For dinner Chad decided on a little place that has been featured on ” Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives” called Thee Pitts Again.
Chad had the Guy Fieri special.
Then we played at the playground by the school and public library and took in the sites all around us.
We had looked at all the shops in town so we decided to drive through the side streets as the houses are pretty cute. That didn’t take long and we weren’t quite ready to head home so we headed up the dirt road towards the mines.
The road up to the mine was so scenic that we decided to continue on up the road to view a little more of “the scenic loop” noted by a sign on the side of the road.
We didn’t do the whole loop because we had no idea how far it was and it must have been big because we did see a sign for Lake City in 30 miles. It was getting later and this wasn’t the kind if road you would want to be on after dark so we found a wider spot in the road and turned around.
Just before we got into Durango there is a hot spring just bubbling out of the ground on the side of the road. We had to stop and touch it.
It was not too hot, only slightly warm and was fun to touch and feel.
We watched the sun set over the mountains as we descended out of Durango, a day well spent.
Happy Father’s Day to all Fathers out there especially Chad, Chuck, Paul, Jeremy, Jayson and Great Grandpa Lawhead as well as to many Uncles and great uncles. We love you guys.
Several years back we talked about trying to make our own cheese. We looked up recipes and browsed the web for ideas, but we never did make it. Then we didn’t eat cheese, so even though we still wanted to try making it, it didn’t make since to.
Well we are in a “you only live once” faze right now. Not in the make stupid mistakes kind if way, but if you really want to try something like making cheese (a whole $5 worth of ingredients) then it doesn’t hurt to try it.
Mostly Chad’s idea but we were all excited about this little science experiment.
The items needed are:
-A gallon if whole or 2% milk
-something acidic we used 1/3 of a cup of lemon juice and 1/3 of a cup of vinegar although Chad believes it wasn’t enough acid because our whey was awfully white.
– salt (more than you would think because some of it escapes with the whey)
-large pot
-wooden spoon
– a large bowl
-strainer
-cheese cloth (we used a nylon mesh bag, the ones that we use to make almond milk)
The whole process takes at least 8 hrs, but you are only actively preparing it for maybe an hour of the total time.
1. The first thing you do is pour the entire gallon into the large pot and put it over medium to low heat on the stove. Heat it up slowly to about 185 degrees, which Chad tells me is just before boiling temperature.
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2. Then we added the vinegar and lemon juice mix, causing the milk to curdle. Leaving it on the heat for a few more minutes as you stir the curdling milk.
3. Pour the curdled milk into the mesh bag or cheese cloth, in the strainer. (We poured it onto the mesh bag then due to the volume of curdled milk, we had to change our strategy mid stream to pouring the curds into the bag.
4. Add your salt to the mesh bag or curd in the cheese cloth after most of the whey has been strained out. The salt will pull out more moisture and allow for the cheese to become more firm.
After several hours we took the curds down and put them in the refrigerator, in the bag, in the strainer with some heavy cans on it to add weight and pull out even more moisture.
5. Time is all you need at this point. Our directions said eight hours, but we left it all night and it still came out the density of a spreadable cheese.
Our first attempt turned out a little salty, but still a big hit with the kids.
Those of you who know us well know that for the last year and a half we have tried to maintain a mostly vegan diet for health reasons. On this trip so far we have been failing miserably. But we knew before we left that there were some animal based foods that we wanted to try as part of our experiencing the USA, so I guess it is not a total surprise. Also the produce here seems to be more expensive and our budget for it less. I will be happy if we can maintain with at least 75% of our meals without animal products, and so far I think we are at least doing that.
Keeping that in mind, you won’t be as surprised when we tell you about Chad’s choice for his birthday dinner.
Chad has been wanting to do a traditional crab boil for a while. We are pretty far from the sea here and the crab that we found was not a reasonable price, so just like Chad always does so well, he improvised. We had a Shrimp and Sausage boil.
I think he seasoned the broth like the entree round at The Melting Pot. In it he cooked corn on the cob, potatoes, onions, shrimp and sausage it was fabulous as so many of the things he cooks are and I left for work with a very happy full belly.
His favorite pie, Strawberry Rhubarb, was a little harder to hunt down this year, but we did find it in Durango.
Happy Birthday Chad!
Owens Endeavors 
