I left the fair early, I wasn’t exactly making much money.  I was only making a percentage of every video I sold, and lets just say videos were not the most popular thing.  I did make a good $100 in about 4 days of work though.  Its not a great wage, but its the most I have made the whole trip.  Before I left Sammy and did get to hang out at the fair.  Check out this little video we made.

After the fair I did go back to Zach and Emily’s house for a few days, but I finally left Monmouth yesterday. It was kind of hard cause I really felt at home there. I love the people there, and I appreciate the small town style of life. I don’t know why, but everything seems so much simpler there, maybe it has something to do with less billboards and signs around every corner, and more trees and nature, even if most of it is farmland. Before I headed out I stopped by Zach’s parents house and a had an encouraging talk with his dad, Dale. I want to take this adventure of Ryan’s and I make a book about it, but have felt very insecure about doing that. Dale had some good things to say that really made me feel encouraged about our story, and I think he is right. We have been on the adventure of a lifetime, seen the whole country, and seen the amazing things the church is doing all over the country and all over the world. I will put something together at the end of this, not sure what exactly yet, but a trip this amazing deserves some kind of record.

I rode about 245 miles yesterday, most of which was in the rain, or was at least cold and wet weather. Jerry recommend that I stop by Applegate Christian Fellowship on my way south, so I did.   I didn’t go to a service, but instead went just to check out their outdoor amphitheatre. It is a beautifully landscaped place, check out this picture.

One of the first things I thought being a tech guy is that there is no place for media, or videos, but then I quickly realized, that when you are this close to God’s beautiful creation during worship, you don’t have much need for videos or other media to help drive your service.

After I left the church, I found a trashy little campsite in Jacksonville for $15 a night. The place did not usually have tent campers, mostly just RVs, and mobile homes, and therefore the camper’s restroom was pretty run down. The shower had been used as a storage facility for quite some time, and there were a lot of spiderwebs over the urinal, which also had a trash bag hanging over it. Luckily there was one working toilet.

As the sun set I could see a beautiful display of whites, pinks, and dark blues in the sky. It reminded me to be thankful of God’s beauty even in the midst of a dumpy little campsite.

I went to bed early, around 9 pm, and I did not sleep well. I think I have slept on my little backpacking air mattress for as long as a person possibly can. I am frankly just sick of that thing, so it is a good thing that last night was likely my last night camping. I should have a house to stay in the rest of my trip home.

When I woke up this morning I felt soar and tired. But after I packed up all my stuff, got back on my bike, and turned the music on in my helmet, I was reborn with energy. I thought I would be sick of motorcycles by now, and there are a lot of things about riding a bike that I am sick of, but this morning I was as excited or more than I have ever been before to just ride. The mountains here are gorgeous and full of trees, and so I suppose that has a lot to do with my excitement. The beauty again reminds me to be thankful, thankful for this trip, thankful for all the new friends I have made and all the old ones I have visited, thankful for all the wonderful things I have seen all over this country, and most of all thankful to be alive and living as fully as I know how.

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