We crossed over 600 miles and into Ohhhhhhklahoma!!

Day 38 – Saturday, April 19, 2014

     We set out from the pens that a man named Dyke from Tawny’s church owned and let us use.  We were headed North on 385 towards Dalhart.  Along the road, an eighteen wheeler dairy truck driver named Vic Weeks stopped to talk to us.  He had seen us on the road the last few days because his run was Hereford to Dalhart and he was curious what we were doing. We talked to him for a while and he took our picture and then he wished us luck on the journey.

     Tawny told us to eat lunch at a little place in Hartley called The Country Kitchen that the Mennonites there run.  It was home cooking and it was delicious!!  Best strawberry pie I have ever tasted! My friend Stacy Brown has been asking for photos of me driving the RV so Stacy, these are for you!  And if you had any doubts of how small the inside is....check these photos out!  Between four seasons of clothes for both of us, horse supplies, dog supplies, office supplies, food for us, dog and horse, it is a tad bit crowded at times!!

 

 

 

     After we crossed through Hartley we saw a sign that said Dalhart 12 miles!  Winston has walked quite a bit today.  DB has a spot on his back where the saddle pad was rubbing.  It doesn’t seem to hurt him when we touch it but we have been putting medicine on it and hoping it will heal if Winston doesn’t ride him all day.  And we have a rest day coming so that should help too.  Tawny texted us to tell us that the Directors of the XIT Rodeo Arena and Reunion have offered to let us stay at their facility so we will be there for tonight and Sunday night.  We are so appreciative.  Tawny also offered to let us use their cottage behind their house to take showers if we want and their extra car if we need to run errands so we don’t have to put miles on the RV since we pay by the mile for it.  She also said that her mom and dad were on their way to Dalhart for Easter so I would finally get to meet Kim too!  Kim is the one who originally saw our story on Donnie McLaughlin’s facebook page and has also helped us find places to stay.  And she connected us with Tawny who has helped us immensely!  Not too long after Tawny texted, Kim and Lawny were knocking on the hood of the RV!  I was looking down at my phone and didn’t even see them come up!  They were so sweet!  Winston caught up with us and we visited but there were some dark clouds moving in so we decided to keep moving.  We were going to have dinner with them tonight at Tawny’s so we said we would see them later.  When we turned onto 281 to get to the arena, a dust storm kicked up that was unbelievable! Well, I guess it was believable for what we have seen so far in West Texas!  But, I had driven up and had to run back to give Winston his goggles because I couldn’t turn around or pull over because there was a bike lane.  It was really bad and we looked up and saw people jogging in this dust storm!!!!  And they had no sunglasses or anything on their eyes! I told Winston, “well you sort of have to be in this, they are choosing to run in this wind!”

 

     Anyway, we got to the arena and met Jason Swain, one of the Directors of the XIT Rodeo Arena and Reunion and his wife Sarah.  They had come to unlock it for us and to show us around.  They also had their two daughters Ellie and Kate with them and their son Landon came later.  As it turns out, the Arena has an all-purpose room next to the pens and they had just installed a bathroom with a shower in it!!  It was perfect and we were right next to Durango.  Jason and Sarah told us to make ourselves at home and they were so sweet and we enjoyed visiting with them.  Then Tawny texted and said they had dropped off their car for us at the arena and the key was in the gas cap!  And it had hay for Durango in the back of it and his Total Equine feed!  Oh my gosh, how nice are these people?!?  

     We had asked Tawny about a local farrier because Durango needed to have his shoes replaced since we were over the halfway point and they were just about worn out.  She arranged for Danny Hernandez to meet us there and shoe Durango.  We were so grateful that he was willing to come out because we were afraid since it was Easter weekend it would be hard to find someone.  Not only did Danny come out and do it for us on Easter weekend, he wouldn’t take our money!  If I had one nickel for every kindness that has been shown to us on this journey, I would never have to work again.  We thanked Danny over and over again.  Durango did really well getting his new shoes.  I think it was good that it came at the end of a long day or it might have been harder to get him to stand still but he did great!  The only thing that scared him was when Danny had to pound on the metal shoe with the metal hammer but then he settled down again.  He even fell asleep leaning against Winston while his shoes were getting put on!

 

     We fed Durango and then headed in our “new car” to Tawny and Trevor’s to eat and visit!  We met Tawny and Trevor’s children, their son Keldon who is 5, almost 6; their daughter Karsyn who is 3; and their son Khristian who is a few months younger than Karsyn and whom they adopted from Africa.   One is cuter than the other, they are so precious!  Trevor had gone to get BBQ sauce! We met their friends Rebecca and A.J. and their kids Hudson and Kaylor.  It was so nice meeting them all.  Hudson is Keldon’s best friend.  They are in the same kindergarten class.  When we arrived at the house, they greeted us outside.  They had a million questions for Winston about how far he rode his horse, where he came from, where he was going, about his friend Jonathan, it was too cute how interested they were.  And Keldon was decked out head to toe in cowboy gear.  His mom said he had been wearing it for two days waiting for us to get there so he could dress like “Mr. Wilson!”  Ha ha ha!  He finally got it right though and called him Mr. Winston. 

     We finally got to meet Tawny’s husband Trevor and I hugged him when I met him and told him I had to hug him just because he married Tawny!!!  He was also so sweet!  We had an amazing meal including the biggest baked potatoes I have ever seen that were grown nearby!!  Winston ate the whole thing!  It just took him about two hours!  I told them that Winston was a piano player and they said that in the coffee area at their church there was a piano that he could play for us if we came to church tomorrow. We enjoyed sharing stories, laughter and love with this wonderful family and their friends and it was a lovely evening for all of us. 

     We said goodnight and they asked us to join them for Easter Sunday service at their church, People’s Church in Dalhart.  I explained to Tawny that I only had trail clothes, not Easter Sunday clothes and that I would feel really bad if everyone was dressed up and I was not.  She told me that everyone came as they are at their church and that it would be totally fine to wear jeans.  Hmmmm, I will have to think about that one because I don’t ever wear jeans to church.  We told them we would see how everyone felt in the morning because Winston was sore from so much walking today and we had a lot to do on our rest day also.  Then we headed back to the arena to sleep and take hot showers in a big space!!

Day 39 – Sunday, April 20, 2014

     It was a beautiful, sunny Easter morning with no wind!!!  When we started on this trip, Winston said that he really would like to go to an Easter Sunday service if it was possible so we decided that since we had friends here who invited us that we really wanted to go to church with them.  So, I made peace with my jeans and decided God wouldn’t mind this time and I couldn’t imagine my dress code could keep me from praying since we have so much to be thankful for.  We had several facebook messages and text messages from our families wishing us Happy Easter and saying He is Risen!  Tawny texted and asked me if we thought we were coming because if so she was going to wear jeans too.  I told her that we were coming and that I had made peace with my jeans so she should definitely wear whatever she had planned on wearing for Easter.  So, we fed Durango and headed to church.  When we arrived, Keldon and Tawny were standing out waiting for us both in blue jeans and Keldon was in his cowboy hat.  It brought tears to my eyes to think that this woman who I didn’t know at all a month ago was so selfless to think of me not wanting to feel bad about not looking dressed up for Easter and so wore jeans to make me feel more comfortable.  I can tell you that the more I know about Tawny Allen, the more I know that when God created people in his likeness, he made Tawny.  This little gesture touched my heart so much and I won’t ever forget it.  We went in and even though there were people dressed, there were many in jeans also and I felt totally welcomed when Tawny introduced us to everyone.  They had an amazing breakfast prepared for everyone before church.  Tawny told us that Keldon wouldn’t eat until we got there.  As we were walking to get our food, Keldon said to Winston, “do we have the same belt?”  And when Winston said I think we do have the same belt, Keldon did a fist pump and said, “Yes!”  I know Winston must feel pressure to live up to this idea Keldon has of him!  But, it is so adorable and I love it!

     We met Pastor John and he welcomed us to their church.  We listened to a great sermon and great music and then they were having an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids afterwards.  During the sermon, Pastor John said that he was so glad to see that so many people were there with their families to celebrate Easter.  If we could not be with our families on Easter, we felt lucky to be with Kim and Lawny and the Allen family since they treat us like their own family.  After the service, Tawny said she had been waiting all day to hear Winston play the piano at the church.  So, he played the hymn “Because He Lives.”  It is one of his mom’s favorites and it made me cry to think how proud she would have been of him playing this song for these people on Easter Sunday and have them enjoying it so much.   I found out later that in his mom’s church on Easter Sunday they played that song and she said she cried thinking of him playing it also.  They loved it and then asked him to play another so he played “How Great Thou Art.”  And when he finished Lawny told him, “How great THOU art!”  That was so sweet!  I have to agree.  Even if he wasn’t my boyfriend I would still be constantly amazed at his musical abilities and talent.  We went over to the park for the Easter Egg Hunt.  There is something so refreshing and innocent about kids running around looking for Easter eggs!  They get so excited and run around with these big smiles on their faces.  I loved watching it! 

    We decided we should take photos of our two “children” in bunny ears so A.J. and Rebecca and their kids wanted to come see Durango and our RV so they said they would loan us theirs for some photos.  We went back to the arena and we took lots of photos of DB in bunny ears and then Hart and Winston with Kaylor and Hudson.  Kaylor and Hudson wanted to see the small RV and of course wanted to try out the bunk!  Funny how kids love this bunk and adults can’t believe that we both actually sleep up there!  We feel lucky to have met this family through Tawny and we are so glad that they are now a part of our story too.  We headed to Tawny and Trevor’s for a Mexican Fiesta they had prepared!  Trevor’s mom, Ginnie and his sister Krisa and her husband Ozzy were there and some other friends of theirs from church.  We had a great meal and we shared lots of stories with each other.  I looked around at this family filled with love and faith and felt blessed again to be sharing Easter with them. 

 

     Kim shared with me that she lost her brother to cancer and she helped take care of him towards the end.  I know how hard the job of caretaker is.  Sometimes I think being the caretaker is almost as hard as going through cancer treatments because you are helpless to make someone that you love well again.  I know how hard that is to watch.  Tawny shared with me that Trevor is a leukemia survivor!  When I look at this family and their love for God and each other, I know how blessed they feel to have Trevor with them every day.  I could never write down everything that this family has selflessly given to us.  Tawny told me that she overheard Keldon say to Hudson at church, “Bud, if you ever die of cancer I would ride really, really far for you.”   Tears in eyes, lump in throat….not quite 6 years old.  I hope that they never have to experience that.  But, I do hope maybe one day they will take a long ride together as best friends and treasure their friendship and dare each other to dream bigger and to live life to the fullest.  It makes me happy that they understand Winston’s journey.  It is about what true friendship can do for you.  It inspires you to do things that you never thought possible and it is powerful enough to survive death because true friendship is eternal.  The two of them actually reminded me of what I imagine Winston and Jonathan would have looked like at that age since they are about the same age as Jonathan and Winston were when they first met.  One has blond hair and blue eyes and the other with brown hair and brown eyes and just “best buds” in every sense of the word.  Keldon and Hudson want to come visit us and we would love that!  I did mention that their “cowboy” friend, Mr. Winston, would be missing one crucial element to being a cowboy when he gets home……a horse!!  Since Durango is going to live at Wind River, Winston will be missing his sidekick.  I think they were okay with that though since they found out that we live really close to the Duck Commander Headquarters!!  They love Duck Dynasty! 

     It was time for a rousing game of softball in the backyard!  I was the photographer and had to document for all time what was going on in the backyard!  Keldon is playing on a tee ball team and Trevor, Tawny and Rebecca are the coaches so a little practice never hurt anyone.  This game was hilarious!  Kim and I sat and watched them and it was so much fun!  I captured lots of Tawny’s most valuable player moments and Krisa was so shocked when she would catch the ball that is was almost as entertaining as the game!  Lawny crossed home plate at such speed that he almost went through the fence!  Trevor, Ozzy and Winston were acting like this was the Major Leagues and I am here to tell you that all of these people are going to be so sore tomorrow! We had such a great time and of course we didn’t get a lot of our rest day chores done especially since it was Easter and some places we needed were closed.  We announced that we like it so much in Dalhart we were going to stay another day!  We decided to stay one more day to get everything done and let DB have another day without the saddle.  We told them we would see them tomorrow! But we did have to say goodbye to Kim and Lawny since they were headed back to Lubbock.  Kim fixed this amazing bag for us with all kinds of bath products and lotions and perfumes from a place that she works.  It was so sweet of her and I can’t wait to use them!  After meeting Kim and Lawny I know why Tawny is as sweet and generous as she is because they raised her to be that way since they are the same way!  Since Keldon had still not seen the horse I asked Tawny if they would trust us to take Keldon to the arena to see DB.  She said sure and so we headed to the arena.  Keldon asked Winston all kinds of questions about the horse and we walked around the arena and checked everything out.  Keldon was like Winston’s little shadow and it was so cute.  Then Tawny and Trevor came with their family and picked Keldon up.

 

     After the Allen family left, Jason and Sarah brought us ice and a microwave for us to use!  And Jason brought us medicine for DB’s sore spot on his back.  They are so nice and we really enjoyed visiting with them again!  We fed DB, showered and went to bed.  We slept great!!

 

Day 40 – Monday, April 21, 2014

     We woke up ready to clean and get some errands done!  We decided to divide and conquer.  I took the car and went to do our laundry and get some supplies and went to the post office and grabbed lunch for us.  Winston scoured the RV!  When I got back we went to dump the RV (our favorite task!) and then got gas and went to the two feed stores to look for an extra saddle pad for DB that we could cut a hole in to help keep the pad off of his back in the sore spot.  We saw two trailers, one for Durango and one for Hart!  They could travel in style in those! Tawny had texted me and said to go to either feed store there and just get anything we needed for the rest of the journey and just sign their farm’s name on their account!  Yeah, right!!  These people have gone above and beyond and there was no way we were doing that.  We went to Stockmen’s Feed and looked at the pads there but they were really too expensive to cut up so they suggested we try another store in town.  We did get some more gall salve and we found out if their other store in Boise City would have more of our feed so we could get more down the road so we didn’t have to store more bags right now.  When we went to pay, they said we have strict instructions to put this on Trevor and Tawny’s tab.  I said, oh I heard that from Tawny but I am not listening to her.  Kevin said, “Mam, I was threatened, so you aren’t paying for this.”  So, we let them treat us to the Gall Salve.  Kevin also helped us look at a map of possible routes out of Dalhart.  It looked like we would spend four or five hours just getting out of Dalhart and then the pens that Tawny and Trevor set up for us the next night were 20 miles past the town. Kevin said if we needed help trailering across town to just let him know.  Later that night we looked at the map and did the calculations and realized that there was no way we could get to those pens by dark if we rode across Dalhart with all the concrete and intersections or if we went around town it was even further.  So, we texted Tawny and she talked to Kevin and said what time do they want me there with a trailer?  It is amazing to me how willing all of these people are to help us when they didn’t know us a week ago. We also ran by another feed store and right in front of it was the empty saddle monument.  It was really touching.  Jason and Sarah had told us that when they have their annual rodeo they do a live re-enactment with one rider coming out leading another horse with an empty saddle in memory of all those riders who have passed away.

 

     Tonight the news story that the Amarillo channel did at our halfway point was going to air at 4pm, 5, 6 and 10pm.  We were able to see one of the segments and Reporter Kayla Zabel and cameraman Preston did an outstanding job telling the story with words and footage.  We appreciated them coming out to share the story with their viewers.  Winston oiled the saddle and cleaned his boots and I worked on uploading photos.  Then we wanted to make a supply run to Wal Mart which was in Dumas, TX thirty minutes away.  I also wanted to make Keldon a birthday gift of photos of him with Winston.  We went to Wal Mart and got our supplies and then I made Keldon’s gift.  The photos were of Winston on the horse and then two of Keldon with Winston and it said To: Keldon   From one Cowboy to another.  Love, Winston.  And then Winston signed it for him.  I wrote a birthday message on the back and Tawny told us that they would come by before school tomorrow morning so we could give it to him.  We ate some dinner and headed back to Dalhart.  I had texted Tawny to let her know the news segment was going to air and she sent me a photo of Keldon standing in front of the TV and she said he wouldn’t move until he saw Mr. Winston and Ms. Donna on the news.  So cute! 

 

     Winston went to bed early and I went to take a shower in the all-purpose room and took Hart with me.  I was only going maybe 20 feet so I didn’t put him on a leash.  Well, we rounded the corner and a raccoon jumped from the garbage can and Hart took off after him and had the raccoon in his mouth and I could see the arms of the raccoon reaching back to claw at Hart!  I was screaming to try and get Hart to come back but he was on a mission.  Winston came flying out of the RV and finally the raccoon got away and ran under the fence.  I was traumatized but managed to go enjoy a hot shower.  We slept really well and needed to get up early tomorrow to be ready to head out at 8.

Day 41 – Tuesday, April 22, 2014

     Tawny and the kids came out to see us off and she brought me a card and a little gift.  Her thoughtfulness amazes me.  We gave Keldon his gift and he loved it!  We told them goodbye and they said they would see us tonight because Tawny was going to drive out and feed us again!  She is a great cook!  Kevin got there to trailer us out of the city limits.  It saved us because it easily would have taken us four hours to get out of town.  Tawny mentioned that we were going to pass KXIT radio station and if we could stop and do an interview they would love it.  We started out on 385 north headed towards Boise City.  We were going to some pens on High Lonesome Road about 20 miles outside of town.  When we passed the radio station DB was so fidgety and ready to go so I didn’t feel safe trying to hold him down while Winston went in to do an interview.  So, he came over so they could take photos and the Jesse Torres and the girls from the office talked to Winston outside and I went in to talk to Jim Hockett, the General Manager and offer to do the interview since Winston wouldn’t be able to.  He said that would be great.  He asked me a bunch of questions that I was happy to answer and when I got to the part at the end about making it to Wind River I got choked up and I looked and he was also teary eyed.  He thanked me and then I spent a while in the lobby talking to all of them about the journey.  When I got in the RV, Jesse who is the on air personality and the program director ran out to thank me again for what we are doing.  He said it means a lot to us here.  He told me that Jim had lost his wife to cancer and he was her caregiver and it had been really hard on him.  He had just recently moved to Dalhart from South Dakota.  It explained why our story brought tears to his eyes when I was talking about it.  I pray for peace for him and hope that he is healing and making new friends in Dalhart.  Jesse told me that one of the other girls I had spoken to had lost her mom to cancer so I pray for her too.  Jesse said that he would tell about our journey when he got on air at 10am.  I thanked him and went on to catch up with Winston.  We had gone about ten miles when I heard Jesse start talking about us on the radio.  He shared our story and asked if friends up the road would help us out if they had pens along our route.  He then dedicated the song “Wildfire” to us.  The first two weeks of this journey Winston kept singing that song and one day DB got fascinated with a little pony so there is a video of Winston singing Wildfire to the pony.  It was so random that Jesse picked that song for us but so appropriate!  I called him to thank him for the song and for getting our story out there in case anyone could help us find shelter and pens.  He said he would be praying for us and following along on the blog! 

 

 

 

     Today seems to be going slow for some reason.  We are going about two miles an hour but it seems slower than that.   
    

 

 

 

Tawny had told us it was about 20 miles but it ended up being a little over 22.  We got there about 6pm.  Tawny came and dropped off another amazing meal to us.  I hate that she is still cooking for us but I love it because I get to see her again!  Anyway, we found the pens and I started clearing the tumbleweeds out of them.  They were owned by a friend of Trevor’s named Will and he said we could use them.  When we got there, the pens weren’t closed in on the back side and were full of tumble weed so we decided to let him roam in the fenced in area and then we would tie him to the big feeder to sleep.  Another friend of Trevor’s who owns the land next to this, Cody Lawrence, stopped by to see if we had everything we needed.  We talked to him for a while and then he said he would see us up the road.  This will explain this part of the country to you.  I asked Cody how he knew Trevor and he said well, he grew up right down the road about 50 miles so I just have always known him.  Wow, practically next door neighbors!  50 miles!!  But, I love that they all know each other and are so willing to help if the other asks a favor.  Winston has been preparing all day for crossing into Oklahoma by singing the song over and over at least 100 times!  I am already tired of it and we haven’t even made it to Oklahoma yet!

     We enjoyed a beautiful sunset, our last sunset in Texas on this journey and then went to bed.  I was working on the blog and Winston went to sleep.  I could hear the bell for a while and then it was silent.  I looked out of the screen door and DB had his butt up against the screen.  That must have been his power nap though because when I went to bed the bell just kept ringing.  But, eventually we all slept.

 

Day 42 – Wednesday, April 23, 2014

     We set out this morning about 8 and were headed to Trevor’s stepbrother’s place about 1 mile south of Boise City, OK. 

 

     We thought that we had about 6 miles to the Oklahoma border and Winston was gearing up for singing his song.  We had one little delay when I was helping Winston adjust the saddle pads on DB because they were slipping and when Winston went to put the saddle back on, DB stepped on my foot by accident while he was grazing.  I think he broke my toe but we were able to move on and I just put an ice pack on it when we would stop and I would put it up.  I know there is nothing they do for broken toes anyway.  Right after that Trevor’s sister Krisa texted me and said that she was a teacher in a little town called Felt, OK and they would be close to us a few miles after they crossed into Oklahoma.  She taught 5^th and 6^th grades and she said the mom of one of her students had passed away to cancer last year and they wanted to come and stand by the road with signs that they made to encourage Winston on the journey.  How sweet is that?? 

     When I got to the Oklahoma sign I got my video ready because I knew that Winston was going to do a great version of the song but I was not prepared for the song and dance that followed!  It was hilarious and when you watch the video check out Durango’s reactions…..priceless!  It is like he is saying, I can’t believe I trusted this goofus to take me on a 1000 mile journey!  If this doesn’t make you laugh, I don’t know what will.  Anytime during the day that my foot hurt, I just looked at this and laughed all over again.  What is really funny is that when he was doing the dance this truck was driving up the side road behind him and was just staring at him dancing and then turned the corner and just waved to us.  Tawny texted me a little while later and said that a friend of hers got a text from her husband and said that he just saw us crossing into Oklahoma and “the cowboy was doing a little jig!”  Hahahaha!  Oh he was doing a jig alright!!  He was so glad to be leaving Texas for a new state!

 

Here is the link to the You tube video of our grand entrance into Oklahoma!  They may not ever let us back in the state!

 

 

                                 http://youtu.be/jzTc91uPTBQ

      I texted Krisa when we were close to their turnoff for the school and they came and unloaded the bus on the side of the road and had all these signs that said Go Durango! And Keep going for Jonathan! And Welcome to Oklahoma.  It was so touching and we were humbled by these children’s interest in this journey.  Winston had to keep riding because we had to cover a lot of miles today so he said hi and thanked them and then I got on the bus with them and gave them a brief history of the journey and then they asked me questions.  I told them what I thought Winston would want them to take out of this journey is to appreciate your friends and to make new ones too and treasure them…..Live life to the fullest every day and encourage each other to be better and to do better.  And I told them what I wanted them to take out of it is to be kind to each other and to always lend a hand to those that need it.  We know we would not be as far as we are without the help of so many people.  They had great questions and then they said they wanted to get the book when it comes out.  I told them that I would donate one to their library when it was published.  I also told them I would put their photos on our blog!  Krisa told me that when they got back to school they were talking about it and they got out maps to chart our progress and they will follow along on the blog.  So here is a big shout out  to all of our new friends in the 5^th and 6^th grades at Felt Public School!  Thank you for showing us love and support today!  We really appreciated it!

 

     We made few stops today longer than a few minutes because it was hard for me to get out with my toe hurting.  We did 24.4 miles and Trevor’s dad Eddie greeted me at the land to show me the pens and where water was etc.  He asked me about how we had been doing and told me about the Boise City Newspaper wanting to do a story about the journey.  I told him how much we loved his son Trevor and his family.  He asked me about the journey and then he said, “I don’t know if you know this or not but Trevor is a leukemia survivor.  He had it when he was 16 and we took him several times a week for treatments.  At one time it was bad, but then he came through it and went into remission and we are so thankful for that every day.”  I know that must have been hard for Eddie and Trevor’s family to go through and I am so glad that it had a happy ending for all of them. 

     Shortly after Winston got there, Tawny showed up with dinner again!  She drove 80 miles roundtrip to deliver a meal to us and to say goodbye! She came in with get well flowers for me because of my toe, and she had a birthday present for me and a birthday cake and streamers that she said we have to wait until Saturday for.  We had joked on Easter when I told them that my birthday was the 26^th and I was probably going to be nowhere near a town or anything for my birthday.  And Winston said, “I have a really special birthday planned for you…..a 1000 mile trail ride!!”  So, anyway she wanted me to have a special day so she brought all this stuff and when I saw it I just started crying.  I couldn’t believe the thoughtfulness of this gesture.  It really meant a lot to me.  It was something my own family would do for me and I told her how much it would mean to my family that she wanted to make my birthday special.  She also brought me Arnica gel for my foot for bruising and she brought us an amazing meal again!  Rebecca and all the kids came with her too and we were so happy to see all of them again.  This is our last time we will see Tawny and we both cried hugging goodbye.  I really feel like I have known her forever and I cannot get over the kindness and love she has so freely given to us.  Winston paid me the biggest compliment when he said, “She’s so nice and so thoughtful just like you!” Huge compliment!  I cannot tell Tawny goodbye, I will just say goodbye for now.  I know our paths will cross again one day.  I told her the other day that we were going to adopt her so her new name is Tawny Sharee Cannon Allen Chance Hall!! It has a nice ring to it!  Don’t worry Trevor, I won’t make her come live with us but we will require visitations!  I will really miss her and all of her lovely family and friends.

 

     Clay Crabtree came out since this was his place and wanted to see if we had everything we needed.  We found out that he and Jason from XIT Arena and Rodeo know each other from the Feed Yard where Jason works. About that time C.F. David from the newspaper came out and did an interview with Winston.  He was so nice and thought this was a great tribute to Jonathan.  Winston fed Durango and got everything situated since I couldn’t really help with my busted toe and then we had the delicious dinner that Tawny cooked.  Tomorrow we are headed north of Boise City to Paul Moses’s ranch.  He is a friend of Trevor and Eddie’s and graciously offered his pens to us.  Then I believe the next day we will be in Colorado!  Our stay in Oklahoma will be brief but so glad we got to meet so many nice people!   

     Winston said to me the other day that it was a good thing I was doing the blog.  Whenever I stay up late writing he says, “you should just say we made it to Dalhart and we are going to Boise City tomorrow!”  I told him that I know how many people look forward to reading the blog and following along with us to hear what is happening so it is worth the time that I put into it.  So, with that being said…..Off to bed and On to Glory!!

P.S. Happy birthday to our friend Trevor Allen on his birthday today April 24th!  We hope that your day was filled with love and happiness!

 

 

 

Love, Donna (Winston, Hart and Durango!)