Mountain colors

Nancy and I spent the weekend at the Smith's cabin in the mountains. We met Mike and Kathy on Saturday morning and toured around the area up towards Westin Pass. Most of the trees at the higher elevations had already turned fully and some had even dropped.


This photo below I took just below Grant on the way up to Kenosha Pass. The temperature here was 54. Up at Westin Pass it was closer to 40 degrees.


I took this photo on the road to Westin Pass. On the way up we listened to the radio and caught the 4th quarter of the University of Colorado beating #3 ranked Oklahoma! Forget about the trees, there's an upset in the making!

Here is a photo of the cabin. Mike is standing on the left and you can just see Nancy sitting on a little bench in front. The cabin is tucked away in the Tarryall Mountains near Hartzel. It was very nice. Thank you Smith's.


After we got back from touring the mountains, I took a drive into the wilderness on the ATV. I took this photo of these Antelope and then took off chasing them. Antelope are faster than an ATV. They took off running as soon as I started to take the photos.

Maybe next time I'll get close enough to catch one right? Not likely, but it was fun anyway. We had a great time.

Rocks 11 game winning streak ends

The Rockies lost last night. Now we have to wait and see what happens to Philadelphia and San Diego. They have to lose for us to get a shot at a wild card. Nevertheless it's great to see them with a decent shot in late September. The team has been in the cellar so long it's damp.

Jeff Francis has won 16 games for the Rocks this year, playing very well. I think most fans here want him back. Our fear is that all the good players we have will become free agents because we're too cheap or they'll get traded. After a terrible half inning last July, our closer (a good one) came back to the dugout. Before sitting down, he kicked the bat rack. The Manager said, "Don't do that. You'll break your leg and we'll never be able to trade you."

We swept the Dodgers last week and that was great. The Dodgers just don't have the game down. One of their players slid into home plate last week, and he was just coming to bat! Go Rocks! You've got two more games...make 'em look bad.

Rockies Win Again

It's the talk of the town. The Colorado Rockies have won 11 in a row. To make the playoffs all they have to do is win out the next three against the D'backs. My friend Craig in Scottsdale will be watching I'm sure. Tonights game will feature Jeff Francis against the D'Backs ace Webb.

The Rocks have the best ERA in baseball since the All Star break and the now the most wins in a row of any team this year. Go Rocks!

Middle Age

As I've grown older, I've decided that middle age is when you can afford to lose a golf ball, but you can't hit it that far. Noelle and I have decided to hold each other accountable for diet and exercise. This is supposed to be an encouragement. And in many ways it is, but I've decided to forget exercising and dieting - let somebody come up with extra mirrors.

I asked Nancy about getting older and if I was what she expected after 30 years. You know you've reached middle age when your wife tells you to pull in your stomach, and you just did. I guess at the end of the day, middle age is when you're faced with all kinds of temptations and you pick the one that gets you home by nine! In other words middle age is a lot less fun and fun is a lot more work!

My last comment is, show me a man with his head held high, and I'll show you a guy having trouble with his bifocals. Okay, one more. You've reached middle age when you know your way around, but you'd rather not go!

Broncos

The Broncos had fumbled the ball three times and dropped a dozen passes. Watching the game on TV, I noticed one of the subs pacing the sidelines. Finally he sat down, but he missed the end of the bench and fell to the ground. Shanahan looked at him and said, (and I could read his lips) "I think you're ready to go in!"

May the Broncos have luck this Sunday against the Colts. They're counting on a lot of those guys on the sidelines to fill in for the injured starters.

Sunday morning with Nancy

We got up early this morning to go for a hike up in the foothills. Before we left, we sat on the back porch and had some coffee together. Here is what we saw.

Colorado has some beautiful sunrises. After the colors faded and the coffee was cold, we drove up Deer Creek Canyon and saw...guess what...lots of deer. We hiked along a nice trail that goes way above the canyon below (rattlesnake gulch). You can see downtown from up there and most of Denver as well as the backside of the hogbacks (little hills along the front range).

The Deschutes River

I went kayaking on the Deschutes River in Central Oregon the other day. I have to say it was one of the most sublime trips I've done in years. The wildlife, the beautiful river, the incredible weather, the good friends, all conspired to make it a perfect trip.

The only complaint came from the Blue Heron who squawked at me for invading his territory. Really, I wasn't trying to go after his fish I was just trying to see how close I could get to him. Well, I got to within a couple of feet of him and he let loose with some verbal complaint.

At the end of the day I enjoyed some fresh trout soaked in huckleberry's. Ken and Susan were great hosts and made my trip a very special one indeed. Thanks so much!

Danger on I-70

This morning on the way to work I had an incident...a flat tire to be exact. Now this wouldn't normally be a problem except I was on I-70 at 6:15a at rush hour and of course it's still dark. I pulled over to the side of the road but only had about 9 inches between the car and right lane of heavy I-70 traffic. I saw my life flash before my eyes as I changed the tire while trucks and cars whipped by at 70+ mph. And then, just as I was taking some of the lug nuts off the tire, the jack collapsed from under the car and ruined the wheel and the tire because the wheel was partly off under the weight of the car. The cheap little jack from my trunk was broken and bent. Thank you GMC.

I called for a tow through AAA. While I was waiting for a tow, Tim Teegan one of my co-workers saw me stranded, called me on his cell phone, and asked me if he could help. I asked him to wait at Firestone over on West Colfax and then take me to the office. Thank you Tim! The only thing that would've made it worse would've been rain. As I look out the window now, only 1 and a half hours later...it's raining. Thank you God.

Estes Park

Yesterday, Nancy and I went to Estes Park. We had a nice time and enjoyed the shops and the especially the Fine Arts and Crafts Fare going on. The problem with the Arts and Crafts Fare

was that there were too many people in the little town. Note the traffic congestion below. They have done some nice things in Estes which includes beautifying the river going through town. There are flower beds, little trails and nice walks where you can get away from the crowds.

Well the half time is about over so I better get back...the Broncos lead the Raiders 17 to 3 at half time. Interestingly they called a 20 minute delay of game right after the first period. The lightning was a little too close and a little too intense. Imagine all those people sitting up high in the stands at Invesco Field. I'm glad I stayed home.

Airports, airplanes, and other junk.

I flew back from from Portland yesterday. I was standing at the counter in Portland entering my information into the computer screen to get a boarding pass. The guy next to me had just done the same thing and was checking his bags. He said to the gate agent, "Could you please send the red bag to Chicago, the black one to Seattle, and my garment bag goes back to Miami?" She glared at him and said, "We can't do that." He replied, "Why not? You did it last month."

Most airports make passengers walk a long way to get to the plane. That's so the luggage can get a head start! I don't check my luggage unless I have to carry a projector of something unusual from work. In those situations, I try to get to baggage claim as soon as possible and then steal back my luggage.

My kids have made fun of me for years because I try to identify airlines and even the flight number from the ground as the planes fly overhead. I would say, "Oh that's United flight 223 or there goes Northwest flight 721 from Detroit." When they were small they thought I was amazing. It's really pretty easy though. Some airlines have very distinctive characteristics. For example you can always tell an Italian plane. It has hair under it's wings.

God's Word

In order for a person to rely upon another person, it's pretty much required that he give his word on it. God likewise has given us his word, his word on it - Christ the Word.

SK says, "It is so heartbreaking that Christ, who is the teacher of love, is betrayed with a kiss." Our generation hates and persecutes and crucifies Christ and yet it's that same generation which benefits from Christ's death. I guess you could say Christ never did get justice from men. But this isn't what he wanted at all. He wanted to save them. An innocent victim would normally say, "my death will become your punishment" but Christ's death becomes a salvation for them. It was not Christ who said, "My blood be upon you," it was the people.

Dreaming in God

Van Morrison, in one of his songs talks about "dreaming in God." I find that thought very compelling in the sense that it's the point of living. What I dream about is who I am and what I truly enjoy. We can enjoy God now. He is the reason for living. How does this dreaming find it's way into our heads and into our hearts? How do we give ourselves up to God to the point of "dreaming in him?"

John Owen says, "This communion will be perfect and complete when we enter into the full enjoyment of Christ's glories. Then we shall totally give ourselves up to him, resting in him as the fulfillment of all our desires...This communion is now only partial because we presently only enjoy the first fruits of that future perfection."

Again, John Owen says, "I pray that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has, by the riches of his grace, brought us from a state of enmity into this glorious fellowship with himself, may give you such a taste of his sweetness and excellence in this communion as to be stirred up to a greater longing for that eternal enjoyment of him in eternal glory."

What God did

I read this quote somewhere and saved it. I thought you might appreciate it. I suspect a number of my readers don't know this and may find it interesting.

"Ponder the achievement of God. He doesn't condone sin, nor does he compromise his standard. He doesn't ignore our rebellion, nor does he relax his demands. Rather than dismiss our sin, he assumes our sin and, incredibly, sentences himself. God's holiness is honored. Our sin is punished...and we are redeemed. God does what we cannot do so we can be what we dare not dream: perfect before God."

Ephesians 2:5 says, "Though we were spiritually dead because of the things we did against God, he gave us new life with Christ." God's solution is not to preserve dead people and somehow keep you going but to raise you from the dead.

Interesting walks with Nancy

I got up this morning with Nancy at 5:00a and we went for a walk around the lake near our house. It's dark now at that hour, but there was a crescent moon shining over the lake, no clouds overhead and we could see quite a bit. Suddenly there were five fairly large shadowy figures walking low to the ground right in front of us. One of them saw us and tried to hide in a little ditch on my left, right next to where we were walking. Sure enough, it was a family of raccoons. We stopped and the one in the ditch kept poking his head up to see if we were still there. Here is a list of what we've seen near our house on walking trips:

1. Coyotes
2. Rattlesnakes
3. Big horn sheep
4. Bull snakes
5. King snakes
6. Rabbits
7. Mule deer
8. Beaver
9. Elk
10. Prairie dogs
11. Mice (in the snow)
12. Mountain lion (tracks only)
13. Raccoon
14. Hawks, Owls, Ducks, geese, etc.
15. Frogs
16. Fish

You name it, we got it. It's like a little zoo out here sometimes. Black bear have been reported in the neighborhood but I've yet to see one. It's been a harsh winter and their looking for food. They turn over garbage cans and lick bar-b-Q grills.

A good read

Believe it or not, when I visited Seth and Noelle in Lexington, KY I did get some reading done. Of course Nancy happily caught me vigorously reading with Seth's camera. I don't know if my reading put the baby to sleep or if the reading is what knocked me out. Either way it was worth it. Seth sent me this photo and I thought I would pass it on to you.

Whose paying for the beer?

While we were in Lexington visiting Noelle and Seth, I was awakened at about 2:00a Sunday morning. I looked out the front window and saw hundreds of college kids partying in the front yard and in the street. They were everywhere. In fact, there was a cab line with kids waiting for their rides (good for them). Well it was the first weekend at the University of Kentucky. Would you expect anything different? In the morning I decided to walk down to Starbucks (2 doors down) and get some coffee. Here was the view from their back door.

I stood right here, laughing my head off at 7:00a. For those of you who have kids going off to college you certainly should warn them and have your little talk. However much good it will do, who knows. I suspect you've done your job, and it's probably too late to make too much difference in their lives the day before they leave for campus. Talk to them anyway, after all you're probably paying for the beer.