Party of the Century

Several weeks have passed since the boys returned home, which was cause for celebration! The "Party of the Century" was held this past Saturday and was a very fun time. Many came out to Wilkins Bar & Resort to show their support, which The Grace Fund is very grateful for. I believe there was about 200 people there for the event. We laughed and danced the night away thanks to The White Sidewalls who came to play for everyone - . What a great band! www.whitesidewalls.com. 

The money raised for The Grace Fund was an impressive $6300. WOW! Nice work Chuck & Mike. A huge THANK YOU to everyone who is supporting the cause. Here's what was raised:

$300 on paddles

$2010 on live auction

$1886 on silent auction

$305 on t-shirts (counts Mike’s 10)

AND $1846.00 in donations

At the party we also took Chuck and Mike's new measurements to see how much they lost on the trip. Results:

Chuck
Waist start: 43
Waist end: 42
Arm start: 15
Arm end:15

Mike 
Waist start: 43
Waist end: 39
Arm start: 14
Arm end:13

Here are a few pics from the party, with more to come. If you have any you'd like to share, please e-mail them to me at paula.elert@gmail.com and I will post them on the blog. 

Finally Home - Day 30

Day 30

We've done it! We are home! We arrived home last night around 8 PM. We drove 700 miles from Williston, ND, in 12 hours. We are bushed, but so thankful to be home. 

We want to tell you all how much we love you and your support/prayers over the past 30 days. Thank you!! We'd like you to show us you love us, too, by coming to the "Party of the Century" and celebrate with us (September 19th, 7:00 PM - Wilkins Bar & Resort, Bone Lake, WI).

For those of you who are curious, I did weigh myself upon arrival at home. When I left I weighed 243 (which is a pretty good weight for me), and today I weigh 222! I lost a few. Not sure what Mike will weigh but he lost some too.

Here are some pics from our drive home...

~Chuck (CE) Langeness & Mike Broten

Home Sweet Home!

Rockies

Interesting point of view

More glacier pics

My favorite pic - Paula

Rugged terrain

45 degree incline

At Tim Horton's

Proof we were there (Banff)

The Road Home - Day 29

Day 29

Well, we are getting closer to home. We right now are in a Walmart parking lot in Williston, ND. Got here about 8 PM. Believe it or not we had an older couple pulled in next to us (from Little Rock, Arkansas) and they are interested in buying the motor home from Mike. YEAH! There is no campgrounds available anywhere here. Oh well. We now realize and expect we’ll be home some time on Monday. YEAH!

We left Calgary about 8 AM and took off. We discovered when we entered the US in Montana (middle of state) that the roads here are better than the roads in Canada. Also the gas is about $2 per gallon less!

We decided to share with you what we've missed the most:

Chuck:

1. My family, Sandi, kids, grandkids, siblings, etc…
2. My hot tub and recliner.

Mike:

1. Debbie.
2. My bed.
3. My grandkids and family.

Tim:

1. Family.
2. My bed.
3. My business.

What was the most amazing about the trip:

Chuck:

1. What we saw (Mountains, Glaciers, lakes & steams, and the wildlife). The Lord’s gift!
2. WE MADE IT! (I guess we always thought we would, but still incredible we did).
3. All the people we met along the way and how amazing that lots had connections to back home.
4. Taking 4 bad falls and still OK!

Mike:

1. How strong the wind can be!
2. That the Sunset camper held up.
3. The scenery.

Tim:

1. Rocky Mountains.
2. Inspiration that inspired me to go!
3. We old bums could get together and have a good time in cramped quarters. 

What was the hardest thing about the trip:

Chuck:

1. Riding uphill
2. Riding into the wind
3. Finding a campground everyday!

Mike:

1. Motivating yourself everyday to ride!
2. Washing clothes.

Tim:

1. Filling in for Mike when he couldn’t walk. (blisters)
2. Having to leave my family behind.
3. Hard for me to realize the trip is over.

Final thoughts:

Chuck: The Grace Fund will mean so much to me now! Thank you Jesus.

Mike: If I ever get talked into this trip again I’d do it from the West to the East.

Tim: Amazing Grace!

AMEN