Epic trip South!

Hello everyone, I've got some new adventures to share!

A quick overview of the trip so far: I started in Illinois, on November 4th. My plan was to hustle on down here to South America and meet a friend from the job I used to have and we would climb a mountain.
I made good time through the states, Mexico, and Central America. I took a day off from the frantic pace of the trip to go paddling with Uncle Ken and Gladys there in Arkansas- very enjoyable.
I took a day off to meet some old acquaintances from university in Jaco, Costa Rica- it was good to meet up with them after a long time, and also cool that I made the point of getting over to Jaco, a place that was once trendy and now is left-over-trendy, but most of the high-rise construction is stalled midway to completion, and there are lots of "se vende" signs on property that was at one time hot but now is a burden to someone. Between Ken and Costa Rica, I had plenty of interesting stops but probably the best was in Antigua, Guatemala, where I stayed at the office of a non profit which is partly run by a fellow freeporter- I never actually met the fella, since it was a weekend and I was pushing through town pretty fast- but all the same, it was a great refuge for me and a place where I could take enough time to change oil, cook a real meal, wash clothes, and chill with some of the kids who were involved there with the organization Casa Sito.

(El Salvador Coast)

The time from illinois to panama was just 16 days, even with those detours; I think sixteen days for such a journey is quick.

Panama was interesting and good; in keeping with the spirit of the trip, I passed it pretty quickly but did take time to see the canal and wander about Panama city a little bit. I traveled to the north coast and started the search to find a way across into Columbia, not an easy task. It was there that I met a couple of guys trying to do the same thing, and together we were able to afford the 1500 usds needed to hire a boat to take us across.




Travel through Columbia, Ecuador, and now in Peru has been interesting and probably in line with my expectations, only more extreme and exaggerated than I could be prepared for. The natural beauty of the countryside has been incredible; mountains have been thrilling to ride through; the people and culture has been interesting and welcoming.

Columbia took several days since we had to wait on a boat to take us and the motorbikes across to the first town with roads connecting it to the rest of the country, Turbo. While traveling through Columbia my old battery finally gave out and it took us half a day to get another one and get it all fixed up and going again. The transition driving from northern Columbia which is jungle and guerillas, cows and cocoa, generally low lying hot country to the south where the road we took rises up into the high, steep mountains which are at the very northern part of the Andes was very clear and I was amazed and impressed by it.
Crossing into Ecuador and continuing along in the mountains was very enjoyable, high altitude, mountain people, in general fantastic. We made it to Quito, the capital, the same day that we crossed the border, and stayed there that night. Of course to get to Quito from the border with Columbia, the equator must be crossed. Unfortunately it was night time as we were passing that way and misty/rainy; I was in the lead and more concerned with staying on the road than looking for marker signs or watching the GPS so we passed it without stopping. At first I was a little irked about it but decided that I got my tropic of cancer pictures and what we were doing at the time was more important than stopping for pictures of an imaginary line. Ecuador changed also going north to south from mountains to endless banana fields. The last few days have seen us in Peru; we were stalled for three days in Trujillo where we went to meet up with a friend of one of the two I met in panama, and ended up staying waiting for the other to recover from a freak flu or bad water bug. We pushed on, but now are stuck in Lima again where the same boy has had the bug come back. With good luck, we will be able to get on the road again tomorrow.

The delays have also been as expected, however I was still hoping that it would be possible to make it to Aconcagua by this time, burning as fast as possible once I made shore in Columbia. I got word from my friend there though that he would be busy with work and unable to get a break (big surprise working for such a company), so the motivation to get down to Mendoza quickly has all but disappeared. And although I know I could move a lot faster on my own, traveling with two other people is more fun than being alone not to mention safer and probably more edifying.

Missing you all, especially here at the time of the Holidays- but I will have good people to pass the days with, and plenty of adventures to fill the time, so all is well.

Love Trale

the middle of October--by Ensign

We left our cat Elsie by herself while Connie went to St.Louis, and Linda and I to the other side of Lake Michigan for a week end Retreat. The fall leaves were gorgeous, and the sand dunes always impress us--such an unusual landscape. Of course
Elsie was glad to see us return.
I haven't had cats in my home but this Elsie is very affectionate. She befriends any stranger who comes to our house; she's always on my lap whenever I sit down. I'm going to write an essay about her thoughts. What is going on behind those eyes as she stares at us?
We saw Michael Moore's latest film, about Capitalism. He very bold to expose the unethical things == like selling mortgages to families who can't keep up with them.
Next you know they are foreclosed and lose their homes. Or buying life insurance on their employees, and making the company the beneficiary. Oh how devious human beings can be.
Time to go. Love to all. Ensign

What a full summer we've had, and now the day of the dead approaches, and the frost is on the pumpkins and the flowers are dying.



I went on a crop walk around Lake Cornelia today with Jon and Karl in the group, but I talked mostly with others. We rushed back from a game in Iowa City (against Michigan - it was very close) - we did stay the night in Andrea's home, but we left right after church without talking to sleeping Liz or doing any shopping in order to be in time for the walk.

Ahh the lake was like glass and it was a nice day to be out. Tonight I helped Karl memorize lines for the Musical he's in - I'll let him tell about that.

So, our summer started out with a bang of buying a house. Andrea and her friends from college needed a place to stay and a couple weekends were spent searching earlier in the year and it was decided that no apartments fit the bill and this house at 1505 West Benton in Iowa city would be the best solution. Connie and Trale have had a chance to visit. And since our Library has finished its construction we've been able to get some furniture from there for their use.

I got to go along with the Spanish trip to Costa Rica in June. It was action packed. Swimming at a state park beach was interesting. it was the summer solstice and the tide came up especially high- driving us off the beach. Add to that the hermit crabs, monkey, Raccoon and large lizard that were curious about us. I do NOT have fond memories of monkeys.

This one didn't jump and growl at me like the one in an Australian zoo did, tho. There were lots of Sloth there to gaze at, too. Zip line, and white water rafting were fun there. And Mt. Arenal has taken over the perfect cone award from Mt Mayon. .We stayed overnight at a resort that gave a view of it in the morning without any clouds.


In July, Jon and I and Karl went to the Lutheran National Youth Conference in New Orleans. It was called "Jesus, Justice, Jazz". There were 36,000 youth that were there. They divided us into 3 - the conference lasted 3 days - so 12,000 did service on each day. The other 2 days were divided between learning sessions and experiential - hands on interactive time.
I'm so glad to get first hand connection with the Katrina issue, because hearing the news is not the same as being there. We stayed in an old "French Market Inn" . Each hotel had a leader that helped us feel welcome and led us in worship in the mornings. In the evening the was a "final 15" devotion time of reading scripture, sharing and prayer that our own groups did. We were supposed to stop wherever we were at 10:45 p.m. and have these devotions. Some did that. it was a good witness to us, but we just made the effort to meet together in the boys' room even tho we were all tired.


In August, Jon had a meeting and invited me along to visit New York City. That was fun to stay by Central park (as Michael had suggested at the House of the Redeemer retreat center) we got bus passes and hopped on and off easily to get to see ground zero, ride the staten island fairy, see the art museum, and the sex museum. There is so much more we both want to do. We loved seeing the puppetry of the Lion King live on Broadway. we checked out Grand Central station and all the libraries i could find.


I enjoyed working at the farm with 2 graduates of Grinnell College - A german and anthropology major. And a third graduate of a Missouri College. We eat together, and they took turns cooking. One had gluten allergy and another had allergy to beans so we learned ways to meet both needs, and survive without wheat or beans.

Hello from Searcy,AR

Greetings from Searcy, Arkansas! Last night was my one night off so I have some extra time today to write. Today, Gladys and I went shopping for groceries and then I dropped her off at the beauty shop so her sister Mildred could cut her hair while I put the groceries away.

I enjoy driving a taxi; it's fun meeting lots of people and helping them out. Sometimes we play "Cash Cab." That's a trivia quiz game-of course, I don't offer people money like they do on the TV show. Some of the questions I ask are:
Who was the 42nd president of the U.S.? (Clinton)
Who was the lead singer for Led Zeppelin? (Robert Plant)
What is a 12 letter word that begins with "c" that means water vapor turning into water? (condensation)
What is the state nickname for Idaho (or any other state)? (Gem state)
People really seem to enjoy it. It adds some fun to a taxi ride. Sometimes I tell them if they get all the questions right they will get a free cab ride. One time I had to give a free ride! It was 4 guys and I think they pulled a fast one on me. I asked a couple questions I didn't think they would get and after about 45 seconds one of them said the right answer. I think he accessed the internet from his phone and googled the answers! They still tipped me $8 (the fare was $13) so that wasn't too bad.

I usually leave home about 8 or 9 pm and work 'til anywhere from 7 to 11 am. It takes almost an hour to get to Little Rock from here. I usually sleep 4.5-6 hrs. Sometimes I get sleepy at work and take a short cat nap when it's not busy. I have a couple guys that I play chess with at work when we get the chance. I have also gone to a chess club at St. Vincents Hospital a few times on Friday night.

Jimmy is in jail again. He has several charges against him and has a lawyer working for him. If anyone wants to write him his address is: Washington County Detention Center, James Branson B-E, 1155 W. Clydesdale Dr, Fayetteville, AR 72701. He also got married! To a young lady named Debra and they are expecting a child in December, a boy. It's too bad that just as he is ready to start a new life, he must answer to conduct in the past that will separate them.

I usually take a nap on Monday afternoon before going to work so I will close now.
Hoping to be in Chicago at Thanksgiving to visit with Dad and all! Love, Ken