Daily Summary:
9:00 AM to 8:30 PM — Average Speed: 17.5 mph
Whitefish, Montana to Elko, British Columbia, Canada.
Odometer: 1,778 – 1,866 miles
Climb: 4,910 ft. — Descend: 4,906 ft.
45-75° F : Sunny, Very nice day. : 0-10 mph winds.
Battery Performance:
84v to 71.7v — 41 miles (Whitefish to Fortine, Montana 110v outlet 1.75 hours @ 8 amps = 77.6v)
77.6v to 72.9v — 14 miles (Fortine, MT to Eureka, MT 110v outlet 1.5 hour @ 8 amps = 79.3v)
79.3v to 58v SHUT OFF — 33 miles (Eureka, MT to Elko, British Columbia, Canada 110v outlet 4 hours @ 8 amps = 83v)
— 27 —
Today was The First day that the scooter battery was completey drained and I had to PUSH the 160-pound scooter AND 105-pound trailer about 2 MILES (including UP A BIG HILL the last half-mile)! AND I was wearing a 32-pound backpack all the while as I struggled with the scooter and trailer walking along the highway, at dark, with LOTS of heavy truck traffic speeding by!
You may be thinking, “Why is he being so melodramatic?”
Well, the reason is simple: Shirley .
Today was the First day that I met Shirley, although I have met many “Shirley-types” over the past 20 years.
We met in Eureka, Montana just before I crossed the border into Canada. (I’m not sure if Shirley is from Eureka or not.)
I had stopped in Eureka with hopes to charge my scooter fully because it was going to be a LONG stretch getting to Elko, British Columbia which was the closest place that I could camp after entering Canada.
I parked my scooter at the park in Eureka and walked across the road to ask the Ice Cream man if I could charge my scooter.
I bought an ice cream.
He had no plug for my scooter.
I walked back to the park and rested while I watched a bunch of ladies “pray” for each other.
Unbeknownst to them, I also prayed for the ladles.
My prayers were answered when Shirley approached me and asked if she could pray for me.
We talked at length and I shared with her what God had shown to me about my pitiful prayer life before that “Sunday lesson” He taught me in Whitefish 20 years ago. (see previous Post for Days 14,-15-16)
After a too-lengthy summary of God answering my prayers in Thailand, the Philippines, Peru, Ecuador, Africa, and China, I finally agreed to let Shirley “pray” for me on the conditions that she could pray effectually and that she would pray effectually. Proof of the latter condition would be her sincere desire to PARTICIPATE in actually BEING part of the answer to her prayers.
Somewhere near the beginning of the conversation she had asked me what she could pray for. I specifically mentioned that I needed a place to charge the scooter.
We talked on, and she “prayed.” The scooter sat, not doing anything and not charging.
After her verbose pray — I shan’t trouble you with specifics– she politely gave me directions to a gas station down the road where she thought they would let me charge. They did, but not like I needed to. The counter clerk knew nothing about electricity and he was afraid I might blow something up if I charged on a high-amp setting.
So I sat in the hot, direct sun for 90 minutes and charged as much as possible.
I spent more money which I don’t have buying food which I didn’t need in order to be a good patron and show my appreciation for the station allowing me to use their electricity.
By this time. I had spent so long “sharing ” with Shirley while the scooter sat doing nothing that the day was getting short and I STILL had to cross the border.
The border crossing took TWO tries because I was required to use a Canadian APP to pre-file my documents even though I had the actual documents with me.
Also, I was required to use an WIFI INTERNET connection (no wireless phone service connection was allowed). Fortunately the nice lady at the Duty Free store on the USA side of the border allowed me to use their WIFI network to file my documents.
Also, the nice border patrol man at the USA border advised me to make sure that I had the SPECIFIC information for where I would be staying in Canada.
As it turned out, this information WAS required by the APP and it was very helpful that the AMERICAN border patrol informed me because the Canadian guard never mentioned it.
So I entered Canada on the last day of May, 2022.
I rode on and on toward Elko, British Columbia.
The battery went down and down.
The hills went up, up, up and down, down, down.
The trucks flew by.
There was NO SHOULDER just a white line then dirt.
The scooter stalled on a small hill. I got off, switched to single-motor, eco-mode and pushed the scooter while gently touching the throttle a little at a time.
The sun dropped lower and lower.
I got to the top of the small hill. A MUCH steeper hill remained. I wasn’t even sure if it was the last hill before the campground.
The sun went down.
The battery went dead.
The trucks and cars whizzed past, ignoring my flashing red taillight.
I prayed and pushed.
I arrived. It was dark. There were no bathrooms or power to charge the scooter.
Jim said I could camp for free. Very much appreciated even without a shower.
The gas station clerk said they were now closed (10:00 PM)
I hung my hammock in the dark and went to sleep.
I thanked God that it was warm, not raining and not windy.
I recited Psalm 23 in the way Christ had taught me back in 2004, that is, “He guides me in paths of His righteousness for His Name’s sake even though WHATEVER!”
God answered ALL of my prayers, exceedingly, abundantly. and beyond all that I could think or imagine!
Shirley, I think next time I, or any other similar traveler, would be better off if you DIDN’T “pray” for us.
Especially if you’re not going to be sincere enough in your prayer to invite us over to use YOUR electric outlet while we talk so that we might well redeem the time AND THANK GOD THAT HE IS ALREADY ANSWERING OUR PRAYERS AS WE PRAY (and charge…)
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