June 24-30; Beautiful Utah

Friday, June 24th-
Destination: The Whole Enchilada (..literally)

Today the guys took on a huge bike trail called, you guessed it, the Whole Enchilada! This trail is found in the mountains of Moab, Utah. It is about 36 miles of trail that works through many types of terrain like forests, deserts, rocks, and mountaintops! The trail takes roughly 6-8 hours to complete. It begins up in the La Sal Mountains and ends on the outskirts of Moab's city. About 1/3 of the way down, and in the middle of the desert-portion of the ride, Leo's tire busted. Praise the Lord he had a spare and was able to replace it. Unfortunately though, it happened again and he ended up having to walk his bike for several miles. Someone's going a little too hard core over there..! They were able to finish but they were completely exhausted by the end of the trail. Even though they had some troubles in the midst, they enjoyed this day so much!

Saturday, June 25th-
Destination: Pack Creek Campground

Today the guys drove to this nice camp site near Moab. They had some down time here for the next couple of days. The two ended up meeting a couple and their little girl who are from France! They are touring America for 7 months! The husband's name is Julian. Leo and Jonathan had a really nice time talking with them about beliefs, culture, languages, and the Bible. The Lord blessed the guys with meeting this super friendly couple. They hung out for about 2 hours tonight. Leo and Jonathan grilled out some burgers and got some good rest in the cool of the night.



Sunday, June 26th-
Destination: Campground Continued

This morning, while the guys were having some worship time of singing and reading Scripture together, the French couple came back over! How cool that they came right in the midst of praising our King in Heaven! The group hung out and talked through some more things. Leo and Jonathan were able to clearly share the Gospel and go into great detail of the Bible and historical evidence for it. God is working in big ways. Later that day, Jonathan and Leo made them an American supper (burgers of course!) and invited them over to their camping area while they talked further still. This time was more light-hearted conversation about funny cultural differences and stories. The guys even practiced their French for their new friends! Please be praying for Julian and his wife and daughter that they will be blessed with safety on their journey, and that they will come to know our Father.

Monday, June 27th-
Destination: a new destination

French-toast for breakfast at the campsite! The guys said good-bye to their French friends, so maybe Jonathan and Leo's breakfast was in their honor!
This afternoon they moved on from the nice campsite and to begin working on Jonathan's dirt bike that has had some trouble lately. After hours of working, they had figured out the problem and got it back in good shape! Then of course, they went for an hour long dirt bike ride in celebration. That pretty much took up the whole day for them, but they are thankful that it was not in vain because the dirt bike is back and better than ever!


Tuesday, June 28th-
Destination: The Darwin Brothers!

Today the guys explored a petrified forest in Escalante, UT. It was pretty amazing, not gonna lie!
After that, they went for a quick cool-off swim nearby. Next, the 2 met up with some of our friends from back home who are also on a summer adventure out west- the Darwin brothers! It was a breath of fresh air for Jonathan and Leo to spend time with a group of 4 other guys and get a break from each other. Not that they're having problems, but it's just nice to talk to and adventure with other people!
All 6 of them journeyed to what is called Zebra Canyon. Maybe it got it's name from the striped appearance of the "walls" of the canyon. Whatever the case, this place is COOL. They hiked around in there for a good while. It was a really neat change of scenery for all 6 of them. They planned to meet up again tomorrow!




Wednesday, June 29th-
Destination: Canyoneering

Today Jonathan and Leo again met up with the Darwin brothers for another day of full activity. They all hiked for several miles to get to yet another canyon called Neon Canyon. Here, they prepared to repel. Thankfully the Darwin brothers have repelling experience and had plenty of gear for all of them to utilize. Apparently, repelling in Utah in canyons like this one, is referred to as "canyoneering", a term that's new to me, but I guess we should add that to our vocabularies! So all afternoon they repelled in these huge caves/canyons. Jonathan and Leo enjoyed having a new activity. They mainly hike, mountain bike, dirt bike, swim, drive, and climb. So this was something new to them for this summer and they had so much fun. They also found some kind of swimming hole and it looks like they THOROUGHLY enjoyed it! Tonight they said good-bye to the Darwins and were really thankful for their time with those brothers. Tomorrow night would present another round of visitors..


Thursday, June 30th-
Destination: Zion + an AIRPORT

Today the guys are planning to take a trip to Zion National Park to pass some time before picking Molly and me up from the airport later!! She and I will be with the guys from tonight until next Monday night! We are all so excited to see each other and pumped for this amazing trip ahead of us! We can't wait to see our guys! Please pray for safe travels for all 4 of us!! See the "Prayer Requests" tab for further prayer needs. Stay tuned to hear all about our adventures out there, JOINING THE AdventureBus2016!!

(<-- Disclaimer: this picture is not from today)

June 16-23; Colorado Continues & Utah Arches

Thursday, June 16th-
Destination: doctor visit and more of Steamboat, CO

The guys stayed with Austin for several more nights, so they had another chance to ride bikes together after Leo's accident. They biked down a ski resort that is right down the road from Austin's that has a ski lift running and everything! Leo took it easy today and was very careful with his head. The guys still had an absolute blast today, after going to the doctor for Leo's check-up. From last week's post, Leo got a concussion on Tuesday night from face-planting at a bike park. Thankfully the doctor said that he was all clear. The doctor also told Leo to take it easy the next couple of days, and slowly work back up to his normal activity level, as long as no symptoms emerged. So that was great news! Leo's face is healing quite well, the confusion is no more, and headaches have been minimal. His symptoms have been getting lesser and lesser and he is pretty much back to normal with the exception of the scrapes on his face. Praise the Lord!

Friday, June 17th-
Destination: Dirt Bikes in Steamboat

The guys have had so much fun visiting with Austin and his friend Noah. Today they had the opportunity to dirt bike in Sandwash Basin, CO! The guys took Austin's car and trailer to get out there so they didn't have to take the whole bus. They haven't been able to do quite as much of dirt biking as mountain biking so it was a nice change. Unfortunately, Jonathan's bike has been having some trouble running, but they are looking into getting it fixed soon. Of course, the guys don't always stop the fun to take pictures, so to my knowledge, there are none from dirt biking, but enjoy this lovely photo of Austin and Jonathan! That night, all the guys hung around a while at Austin's.

Saturday, June 18th-
Destination: Mountain Bikes in Steamboat
This morning, the guy slept in some then went to ride at the bike park nearby. Later on in the day, they went on a cross-country bike ride on some new trails. When I heard this I told Leo to cross the country back over to Birmingham, but apparently that's not quite what that means. Tonight was their last night staying at Austin's place. He has been so inviting and hospitable to have Jonathan and Leo stay for a total of 5 nights! They are very thankful to him for giving them a real house to sleep in!




Sunday, June 19th-
Destination: Steamboat for the last day
As their last day spent with Austin in Steamboat, Colorado, the guys went on their last mountain bike trip at the incredible ski resort. They spent practically the entire day biking on that mountain and loved every minute of it. Late in the night, the guys prepared to move on from Austin's house in Steamboat. They thanked him for the stay and said their good-byes to Austin and Noah, and will see Austin back in Auburn! They drove for a couple hours, finally pulling over in the wee hours of the morning out of pure exhaustion. They had planned to hike another 14,000 foot mountain starting in those wee hours, but realized they honestly needed to rest their bodies after such intense activity the past week.

Monday, June 20th-
Destination: fishing and new friends in Eagle, CO

All day, Jonathan and Leo fly-fished in a fast-moving stream close to the bus's stop. Sadly, they turned up empty handed after 7 hours. This stream had recently become much higher, which hindered their fishing success. The Lord teaches patience in many ways, and I think fishing is one of them! Sometimes you can't stop reeling them in, and other times you get no more than a bite or two. They were diligent to try. Tonight they met two high school guys named Oscar and Bryce. Jonathan and Leo took them back to their parents' house where they made dinner and talked for a while.



Tuesday, June 21st-
Destination: rest up!

The guys got a good rest-day in. They enjoyed hanging around the campsite that was located at the foot of a huge and gorgeous mountain. Those pictures are fantastic! Leo and I finally got to catch up over Face-Time for a while today which was a blessing! Later tonight, they began preparing for that 14,000ft mountain. They had rested up and were ready to take it on super early tomorrow morning. Again, hikers have to hit tall mountains like this well before sunrise to avoid dangerous afternoon storms on the top of the mountain. So they took quick naps tonight and drove to the foot of Mt. Elbert in Colorado to begin the hike.


Wednesday, June 22nd-
Destination: Mt. Elbert, CO

Beginning at 2:20 a.m., Jonathan and Leo headed out to face the mountain. The two prayed at the very start that God would strengthen them by His grace and power to climb this mountain to the peak. (Just to calm any nerves here, they didn't go from 0-14,000 feet. They started at about 9,500 feet.) Overall, they gained 1 mile in altitude, over the course of a 6 mile hike. I got another Face-Time call that woke me up at 8 a.m. (7 a.m. their time). But let me tell you, it was no rude awakening! Leo showed me his 360 degree view from the top of this mountain, the 2nd highest peak in the Lower 48 following Mt. Whitney in California. It was breathtaking and quite the scene to open my eyes to! I'm sure it was hundreds of times more gorgeous in person if it was that striking through my phone screen. The Lord has created magnificent things here on Earth. The mountains, rivers, fields, flowers, animals, and trees all bring Him glory.
Their prayers were answered. God gave them the strength and power to summit the mountain. Leo even felt completely fine throughout the entire hike and had lots of energy once at the top. Though Leo is fit, there is almost no way that someone could hike like that and be feeling 100%. (or maybe that's just me). Seriously though, that strength and endurance was from our Heavenly Father; all glory to Him! The two safely made it back to the bus around 11:30 a.m. After hardly sleeping yesterday, and having just hiked for miles and miles today, they spent much of this afternoon resting and enjoying some down time.
Psalm 65:4-8 says, "Blessed is the one You choose and bring near; to dwell in Your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, the holiness of Your temple! By awesome deeds You answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas; the One who by His strength established the mountains, being girded with might; who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at Your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening shout for joy."

Thursday, June 23rd
Destination: Arches National Park, Utah

The guys slept in this morning to catch up on much needed sleep. They are a bit sore from yesterday's hike! Then they began driving OUT of Colorado! The two had been in the beautiful state since June 10th, so about 2 weeks of Colorado! They must not have liked it. This afternoon they pulled over to explore the famous Arches National Park in Utah. It is so amazing there; unlike anything that they have seen so far! Grassy fields and glorious mountains have been exchanged for rocky deserts and red dirt! Check in to see what's on the agenda for the guys next week!

June 8-15; Colorado

Wednesday, June 8^th

Destination: Prep to go

The guys left for the second leg of adventures tonight/early Thursday morning (like 2:00am). It was hard to see them go, BUT we are so excited for what this part of the trip holds! They are headed out to the west this time around. 

On July 1^st, Molly and I will have the opportunity to join Leo and Jonathan for a few days- so you’ll definitely want to hear some updates about that. I’m sure we’ll have some highly entertaining stories! Please continue praying for their protection and their ministry this summer. Thanks to all who are following along!

Thursday, June 9^th-

Destination: driving through the night

ALL day, the guys drove. Starting at 2:00am this morning, they drove and drove until nightfall when they finally pulled over to catch a few z’s. They were driving Andrew to Denver, CO where he will be for the rest of the summer. He is leading a group from our Auburn church in a church plant out there! Please join us in praying for the success in that ministry and for God’s glory to be made known. The guys did pass huge fields of wind turbines- so that was exciting!! The saying “we’re not in Kansas anymore” hardly applied today: Kansas is huge!

Friday, June 10^th-

Destination: Denver, CO!

COLORADO! They made it! Jonathan and Leo got Andrew to his destination and met some of the church planters there. While Andrew got settled in to his home for the summer, the other two mountain biked around a nearby park for the afternoon. That night, Jonathan and Leo had dinner with the church planter named Skylar. Afterward, Skylar gave them a tour all around Denver, explaining different parts of the city, and telling them about his church plant out there. They were very impressed and encouraged by him.

Saturday, June 11^th-

Destination: Boulder, CO

Today Jonathan and Leo set out to see some more of Colorado.  The two of them went mountain biking in Valmont Bike Park and met a fellow college guy there named Graham. He hung out with them and even camped out on the bus for the night to go biking again the next morning. They also met one of Jonathan’s cousins named Eric who lives in Boulder! He let them rest and use the oven to cook their dinners. They had a nice time visiting with him. I’m sure hanging out with some other people besides each other was a nice change!

Sunday, June 12^th-

Destination: Boulder and Frisco

This morning the guys set out to hike at Boulder Mountain Park. They went on a long hike and then bouldered for most of the day. The pictures they took are absolutely lovely. It is so so beautiful there! That evening, they went to a bike park in a place called Frisco. That town is at the mouth of the mountains they had climbed all day, so the view was incredible! They got some sleep for a big hiking trip tomorrow morning.

Monday, June 13^th-

Destination: 14,000ft mountain

This morning was crazzyyyy. Jonathan and Leo left camp around 5:00 this morning to face a 14,000 foot mountain in Colorado. They left so early because you have to be very careful with such tall mountains like this because thunderstorms are quite common in the afternoons. These aren’t just any thunderstorms though- they can be deadly because high altitude and lightning are not a good combination. They planned to leave early and be back down around noon; before storm-time. They did avoid thunder and lighting, but they found themselves in another kind of storm. Wind started blowing 30-40 mph. Not only that, but this harsh wind carried sheets of sleet. The sleet stung any skin that was not covered, so their faces, ears, and hands especially were getting pelted. So that did not feel too good. Leo videoed part of this storm- that video can be found in the link in the Photos tab. Thankfully, they weren’t hurt beyond the stinging, but they had to turn around and head back earlier than expected.
 They did see some PHENOMENAL landscape and
mountain goats on the way, so that made it worth it. They made it back and I was happy to receive a “safe” message from Leo. After this, Leo bought a warmer jacket at a nearby store; they ate lunch, and rested! The two parked by a river for the night and called it a day.

Tuesday, June 14^th-

Destination: Steamboat and a trip to the ER

Today the guys spent a lot of time next to the gorgeous river they had parked beside. They fished for most of the afternoon and had a fantastic time! Afterward, they drove to Steamboat, Colorado and stopped in to see our friend Austin for a few days at his condo! All 3 took to a bike park for a little bit. About an hour or so into biking around, Leo had a wreck that sent him to the ER. He had on most of his protective gear-including a helmet- but he landed right on his face and that gave him a concussion. Needless to say, he forgot a lot of things and kept asking the same questions over and over. (He even forgot we were engaged for a minute..!) The hospital released him a couple hours later with a mild concussion, but his scans were clear, so there was no further damage, praise the Lord! So that was quite the night for all three of them!

Wednesday, June 15^th-

Destination: Steamboat

Today they took it easy due to Leo’s injury. They worked on the bikes and ran a few errands. Leo was doing much better today and was remembering more details! He is no longer asking questions in a loop, so there’s lots of improvement already! They will go in for a check-up tomorrow to make sure that he’s healing properly and is good to go! We’re so thankful that nothing worse happened to Leo! The Lord really had His hand of protection and care over him. Jonathan and Leo are staying at Austin’s for a few days then will continue moving west!

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1

May 27-31; many states and a big surprise!

Friday, May 27-

Destination: Lowell, Massachusetts 

The guys drove from Vermont, through New Hampshire, and into Massachusetts. They were graced with the presence of some females for a change! They stopped in to see an Auburn friend, Malia. That was so nice for them to relax and walk around a new place with a couple of fresh faces (as well as eat an entire tub of ice cream)! They found a spot to park for the night in Massachusetts. "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing."     1 Thessalonians 5:11

Saturday May 28-

Destination: Vernon, New Jersey

Driving was another huge part of today. The guys drove from Massachusetts to Vernon, New Jersey. On the way, they stopped at a beach in Connecticut to catch some rays and some waves; and back on the road they went.  

In Vernon, there is a park called Mountain Creek Bike Park. Tomorrow (Sunday) there would be a Pro-GRT race (a downhill mountain biking race with professional bikers - super cool). Until then, the guys went up to the base of the park, and met a guy named Brody on the way. Brody ended up giving them free lift passes that enabled the guys to go ride the trails in the bike park the next day! The guys were thrilled and couldn't wait for tomorrow to come.

They also saw a big black bear in the woods near the park! Thankfully it was far enough away and was minding its own business. Back at the campsite, there were tons of bike-lovers beginning to crowd for tomorrow’s big race! So the guys hunkered down and heated up a meal that Molly had made before their trip. She had stocked their freezer full of home-cooked meals and they’ve really enjoyed those! They went to sleep, dreaming of tomorrow's excitement.

Sunday May 29

Destination: Mountain Creek Bike Park

This morning, the guys woke up and went biking at Mountain Creek Bike Park with their free passes from Brody before the races began at 1:30 later that day. Leo and my favorite mountain biker, Aaron Gwin, competed in this race and came in 1^st place! Leo even got a picture with him and was able to encourage him in the Lord! Aaron is a brother in Christ and he is not afraid to stand up for what he believes, even in the biking world. It was amazing to see that answer to prayer that Gwin would take 1st and Leo would be able to meet and encourage him as brothers! So the guys enjoyed watching the race. From there they drove through Pennsylvania, through parts of West Virginia, through Maryland, and finally came to a stop in Virginia where they parked in a Wal-Mart lot for the night.

"So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." Genesis 1:27 

Monday May 30 

Destination: "Backpacking in Virginia"

Upon waking up, the guys realized they had a problem. Due to an accidentally open valve, about 8 gallons of fuel had leaked out across the Wal-Mart parking lot! Thankfully the management was very nice to them, so the guys did their best to clean up as much as possible, and the management said they would handle it from there. So that could have been a much worse situation, but thanks to the Lord, it turned out okay!

Now, here’s where things take a little twist. Leo told me they were headed to go backpacking somewhere in Virginia for a couple of days and wouldn’t have good service. Little did I know, he was actually coming all the way to Birmingham, where I am. All day, he had me totally fooled. People constantly ask me “where are the guys today? what are they up to now?” and of course I told them today, “oh they’re backpacking in Virginia for a few days! They’ll be back in Auburn on Thursday for a wedding.” But in fact, they were back in Birmingham, sleeping soundly in their beds, because tomorrow would bring quite the surprise my way..!

Tuesday, May 31

Destination: Birmingham Surprise

The guys woke up this morning in Birmingham. Again, practically everyone but me knew this. I texted Leo this morning, checking in on how the night was camping outside, were there any bears, etc.? Leo went right on along saying yes, “just had a bar for breakfast and we’re fixin to hit the trails so I can’t talk long!” So I went on about my day here in Birmingham. I had lunch with my good friend Catherine. My sister Katie had planned a “sister date” that night to "celebrate Caroline getting a job". That night my sisters and I went out to The Depot in Helena for dinner around 5:00, to celebrate Caroline! I realized, hey- Leo and I had been at that creek over there a few times! The 3 of us ordered and ate our meals. Meanwhile, Leo was with his whole family and several of our best friends, preparing to ask a very important question. A little later, maybe around 6 or so, all of a sudden, I see this bus out of the corner of my eye. It’s funny because every time I see a school bus nowadays I think to myself, “oh it’s Leo” kind of as a joke. But then it really was him.. That’s when everything started feeling like a dream. I hardly remember anything from here on out, but here’s what the pictures show. I ran down the restaurant steps to him and we hugged and were excited to see each other after 3 weeks. I was already shocked enough just to see him, Leo gets down on one knee, pulls out the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen and asks me to marry him!!!! I have never been more shocked and excited and speechless in my whole life! And now one of the famous Adventure Bus guys is engaged! The Lord has been absolutely amazing and dependable in our relationship and all glory goes to Him! We’re so excited! I wish I could type the fuller story, but I’ve got to cut this short! Leo and Jonathan will be headed back out for leg #2 of their adventures after a wedding this weekend, and I’ve got some planning to do!  

but then, that very next second,

"We love because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19

The Adventure Bus 2016 will continue on the second leg of the journey next week!