What an eventful week! When we created the blog post from yesterday, we mentioned that it had been raining for four days and the radio was predicting road closures. They were right! We are currently sitting out the crazy flooding from the comfort of a Red Cross Shelter at First Baptist Church in Milton, Penn.

We were the first "evacuees" to arrive at the shelter!

It’s really a miracle that we made it here! We had to climb a significant mountain yesterday after coming off of the Rails Trail. We hoped to make it to Milton by the evening, even though we got a late start because of the heavy rain in the morning. We heard on the radio that the Susquehanna River was expected to flood, and realized a little late that our general route would take us right along this river.

By the time we made it over the mountain and into the small town of Elimsport, we were beginning to see road closures—including the highway we were on. We flagged down a car coming from behind the barricade, and they assured us that we would “be fine” on bicycles, even though the water covered the road in several places. We made it a few miles, thinking we were OK, and then we saw the problem area. Fortunately, the Lord was looking out for us. Right as we were standing there discussing our dilemma, a guy with a huge pick-up pulled up behind us and offered to let us throw our bikes in the back and carry us a half a mile to where the road would be safe again. We would not normally accept a ride from people, but this was obviously a different situation, so we did it. After dropping us off, he turned around and drove right back in the other direction. We’re not sure where he came from, but we’re glad he showed up when he did!

We made it into Milton around 6:30 p.m., and asked several people about camping possibilities. We met a guy in the parking lot of the Presbyterian Church who recommended the Red Cross Shelter. We might not fit the stereotype of a flood evacuee, but this shelter has been a tremendous blessing for us! We got to take warm showers, wash our clothes out in the sink, use the church’s internet, and eat every meal. Plus, we are dry. It wasn’t really the rain that stopped us from leaving here this morning when we woke up… it was more the 150 road closures in this area! Turns out this has been a historic flood in central Pennsylvania—and we just happened to cruise into town in time to see it!

This was the state park area where we had heard there was a campground. When we came into town on Wednesday night, none of this was underwater. But we knew it was an "at risk" area. We were right!

We’re so thankful for God’s provision in directing us to this shelter. Although for most people a storm shelter is probably roughing it, we have felt like we’ve been living the high life! We are grateful for the work of the American Red Cross and their selfless volunteers who make shelters like this a possibility!

We thought about camping in this gazebo... when we were scoping out the spot, the river was not even close. Glad we decided against it!

 

Yes, that's the top of a stop sign you see. Last we heard, the river reached about 29 feet above normal level.

 

We took up the back room of the gym with all our gear... we were soaked (and looking rough!) from the storm, but glad to have shelter!