On the Road Again: DAY 25 - HEART RESCUE PROJECT

THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2012

8:25 AM, MT

We are marking time this morning, waiting to hear from THUNDER MOUNTAIN FLEET SERVICE, INC., the company servicing our Ford 350 Truck.

Russ received this very important message, among his e-mails, and after we both watched it, I decided to send it along to you.   It is important for all of us to know the information contained in this video about what to do if someone has a heart attack. Since we are travelers, and never know when we might come upon someone unconscious, we are thankful to be reminded anew, of what to do.   Please go to this website, and take the time to view the short but very important video. Go to: www.heartrescuenow.com   Just think, if we all share this information with our friends, one of us could be in the know, and have the smarts to SAVE A LIFE. Who knows it could be someone else who saves someone you love. Thanks.

One of the natural outflows of being on a trip such as ours is our daily GRATITUDE for the privilege of being on this Journey. We are grateful for the FREEDOM to leave our hometown, and STATE, and travel thousand of miles on good roads to places where we are greeted and welcomed by the folks there.  We are THANKFUL for the many conveniences along the way where we are able to refuel ourselves as well as our vehicle. We have come to take these things for granted back home. You would be surprised to see how far folks have to drive to buy groceries and clothing.

We no longer assume there will be a grocery store in every town, or a McDonalds to rescue us at lunch time. We have learned to be prepared. Buy enough to get us through the next three or four days with respect to produce and dairy products for sure.  So, we carry canned goods and plenty in our freezer just in case.

We had traveled almost two weeks before we saw a conveniently placed Wal-Mart. It was like ole home week, when we entered a store that size, after only seeing Mom and Pop sized stores in the little towns we passed through. Cody, Wyoming actually has a Big K Mart, and a Wal-Mart, as well as a grocery store within a block of this campground. A McDonalds is within a short walk too. We have found a Wendy's that puts out a great Cobb Salad, too. Russ loves their Chili.

Can you imagine, we entered a town with a population sign of "2",

and a sign pointing to a Post Office. That was about all there was to that Town

Makes you wonder when you hear about Perks and Pork Barrel spending in our Federal government. Does a Post Office for 2 people seem justified? The road ahead was a long stretch of no signs of human life other than the passengers on the road.

I have way too much time this morning to ramble on. However,

I wanted to share the new awareness we are coming to, slowly but surely.

We may be the United States of America, but we live in very different circumstances.

We like the slower pace we are finding out here. We like the wide open spaces where

people are not so crowded together. We like the appreciation we find for the

History of each Town. The folks are proud of their History. But it was interesting to

hear from one person who had spent eleven years renovating an ole hotel, that the locals

don't seem to appreciate the effort someone made to restore their treasure.

I know that I too, am guilty of not fully appreciating the efforts of my hometown

Citizens to keep our local history alive.

It reminds me of the scripture about Jesus not being respected or "heard" in his own hometown.

The lesson for the day, then, is to look around your own hometown, and take a few minutes to learn something new about your history. Get to know your hometown's story so you can share it with the stranger you may meet, who has a hundred and one questions about what is significant to see and enjoy in your town. That is one of the first questions we ask the desk clerk when we check into a new RV Park. What is there to see? What is so special that we should take time to see it, while we are here?

The list so far for us has included:

Amana Colonies, in Iowa