With temperatures falling and wind bearing down, the couple caught a ride outside Stratford to Boise City from two Mexican workers returning home. The exhausted Hintz, 44, along with Laura Mainard, 31, and 3-year-old white dog Nikki, were overjoyed when they got to spend Thursday night in a hotel, courtesy of the local ministry group.
"We had not seen a weather forecast for a few days,” Hintz said. "It took us by surprise.”
They left Bath, Mich., two weeks ago for Amarillo, Texas, in search of a better economy. They couldn’t find jobs there and were headed on to Lincoln, Neb. But Hintz kept his humor.
"Imagine two people with backpacks, walking down the road with a $1,500 ... husky. How strange do you think that looks?” he said. "Times were a lot better three years ago. But with a little help from God, everything will be fine.”
Another family in the church is praying for a break. Pat and Steve Roach said they are praying they can find their car and that it can be driven when they do.
They left Livingston, Texas, on Thursday with their grandson, Joshua Wright, 21, to go to Canyon City, Colo., to visit Pat Roach’s brother in prison. They had Saturday morning and evening visits scheduled, the first visit in two years.
Their 1996 Buick Riviera bogged down near Boise City and left them stranded.
"You see snow flying in your face and it’s freezing,” Pat Roach, 60, said. "I’ve never experienced a blizzard in my life. It’s a nightmare. My little Chihuahua, Lala, doesn’t know what to think.
"We’re just sitting here waiting for it to break,” she said. "And praying a lot.”
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