Sunday, June 30: After breakfast, I went to a small Presbyterian Church in Payson that is a few blocks from our camp ground. This is a very small congregation and I don't believe anyone was under the age of 65. I went to this church with about 30 other Sea to Sea riders and I think we doubled the attendance at this service. The regular members of the congregation were delighted that we were there and they said several times that they wished the singing sounded this good every week. Since Independence Day is this week, they sang a patriotic number in the church service. One of our Canadian Sea to Sea riders then asked if the congregation could also sing the Canadian National Anthem - which we did. July 1 is "Canada Day" and it is a common practice to sing the national anthem in the Canadian Churches on the Sunday prior to Canada Day - so we did. After the service, we had a pot-luck dinner with the members of the congregation. We supplied the hotdogs and hamburgers and the congregation supplied rest. We moved the pews to the side and set up tables and chairs in the worship area and ate there. Ironically, the pastor of this church had married the daughter of a CRC minister many years ago so he was familiar with our World Renewal and RCA connections. The other Sea to Sea people either went to a Baptist Church or a Lutheran Church. Those in the Lutheran Church were also fed a meal after the service.
During the afternoon we mostly relaxed, repacked our gear and shopped for some small items. A small rain and wind storm came up suddenly during the afternoon. My tent stayed firm but a few of the tents were flattened. I understand that afternoon storms regularly happen here in the afternoons and we can expect that moving forward.
We had a open mike "talent show" (Stan Baker stole the show with his French Prime Minister imitation) in the evening and then small group devotions. My small group is a very diverse group of people and I have enjoyed getting to know them.
Monday, July 1 - "Canada Day" - Our Canadian friends came out in all their patriotic colors today. The red maple leafs are everywhere in our Sea to Sea group.
I want to say "Happy Canada Day" to my future son-in-law, Nick Ellens! After a great breakfast of pancakes and French toast, many of us took a 12 mile ride over a ridge and then down to creek. Many of us swam in the ice cold water in the creek. It was very refreshing! We ate lunch out by the creek and then biked back into Payson. My smaller tires are working well. I had to stop several places to pick up some small items this afternoon. People are very curious about this large group of bike riders that are in this town. They seem eager to hear our stories and to wish us well.
Many of us are eager to resume our bike tour. We will be heading out of Payson early tomorrow morning. I understand that we have a long climb up first thing and then we will be coasting for a while. We will be staying in the town of Heber on Tuesday evening. Other stops this week include Zuni, New Mexico and Rehoboth which is just outside of Gallop, NM.
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