Transition Day

 Saturday morning...the last day of June.  Time to pump up the tires--vehicle, not bike this time--and exit Tamarack.

 The garage is emptied of bikes.

 Cousins squeeze out every last second of togetherness.

 Wow!  A week's worth of trash at just one of the houses.

 There is the other house, already lonely and vacated.

 Cars are loaded.

 The house is empty...one last check around for forgotten items.

 Drink in one last memory of the long cool porch to take with me in the car.

 Ohhhh...lovely, quiet and calm.

 Cram in the leftover food, five bikes, suitcases, blankies, teddy bears, books, etc.

 The Miller 5 followed the same route as we did for the first several hours. An hour or two longer than we had planned due to A LOT of construction along the way.  You almost felt sorry for the workers out there in the nearly 100 degree heat until you remembered that this was the Saturday before the 4th of July and they were probably giggling at how many vacationers they were holding up AND they were making a lot of money.

 We stopped in Lewiston to say good bye and to change the price of cigarettes and the local Chevron.  It was all fun and games until the kids couldn't remember what the original price was for Marlboros. 

 It could have been anywhere between 4.79 all the way up to 54.79.  I have a feeling they guessed incorrectly.  Chevron was probably very busy as the whole smoking population for miles around came to get a good deal : )  Then the Millers peeled off to Walla Walla and we headed to Coeur d'Alene.

 Soon after we passed through Moscow we came upon the scene of a head on collision.  It was very sad.  The officer talked to us for a while and said that he really disliked working the week surrounding the 4th of July.  Judging by what we saw of the cars, someone entered Eternity.  So awful.  It was a good opportunity to talk to the kids about how fast the end can come.  No one is guaranteed a last second chance at salvation.  "Behold, now is the accepted time; Behold, now is the day of salvation."  In an instant it can be forever too late.  Or, in an instant you can be safe in the arms of Jesus.  "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved"!

At the end of our day we were greeted by Uncle Jake and Aunt Emily and we started the second phase of our fun vacation.