X-Country

Nancy and I went cross country skiing this morning. We drove up to the Audubon Center and skied around some of the lakes and then over to the S. Platte River.

The weather was beautiful, maybe 45 degrees, so the snow was melting quickly. Earlier this week we had a couple days of below zero weather. I think the high for those days was something like eight degrees and at night it would drop to -13. Brrrr.

There is something to be said for living in Colorado. We drove at most, about 5 minutes to this area and we were out in the wilderness within minutes. Guess what we're doing next weekend!

Youth!

Our good friends, Craig and Kathy sent us this photo the other day. We were living in Bowling Green, KY at the time and house sitting for one of my professors for the summer. I was in graduate school and Nancy was working at the police department. We'd been married maybe six months. Looking back, I have to say that youth is the first fifty years of your life, and the first nineteen of everybody else's!

For the life of me, I can't figure out what she saw in me. Look at those shorts! And yes, I was sucking in my stomach. At the time, I thought I was pretty cool. Youth is always ready to give maturity the benefit of its inexperience! Nevertheless, it was a fun time in our lives, and she still loves me after 37 years. That says a lot about her!

Government RFP for humor

Yes, it's true! The U.S. Treasury Department, The Bureau of Public Debt (BPD), posted an RFP for a contractor a few years ago to provide "Humor in the Workplace."  While the government sought humor, most of us no longer find amusing on the matter of public debt. Click on link below...

Government Humor

Carlsbad Caverns

Nancy and I visited Carlsbad Caverns on our way to Tucson. This is the way in, if you prefer not to take the 800 foot deep elevator. The cave was discovered by a cowboy in about 1889 who thought he saw a fire near his cattle. What he thought was smoke coming out of this entrance, was really millions of bats flying out to eat insects!

We went on a self guided tour in the cave in the morning, and then in the afternoon we hide a guide to show us through some private places, like the Kings palace below. This was the scene from a movie called Journey To The Center of the Earth. They camped out near here. Also, in the 1930's the local Chamber of Commerce used to meet here. It seemed pretty dark to me for a meeting.

Below is a small pool in one of the rooms estimated to be 14 football fields in size!! Whooo! That's big. The ceiling in that room was nearly 400 feet high.There is much less water in the cave now. The Park Service admits that the big parking lot positioned above the cave, has prevented water from seeping into the depths.

As a result, most of the "hangy-downies" and the "sticki-y-upies" aren't growing anymore. Another example of the "unintended consequences" of government interference. They did stop the Chamber Meetings and kept people from breaking off the stalactites and stalagmites. So some government involvement can be helpful. But do they really need the huge parking lot and 50,000 square foot gift shop, restaurant and movie theatre?  Just walk in the cave and see it yourself.

It's a wonderful place to visit and very interesting. I'm sure we'll go back. Take your own food though, the snack bar is not good.

Roswell

On our Christmas holiday, we stopped for the night in Roswell, NM to meet a few aliens. At the Holiday Inn Express we were greeted by this one in the elevator. It is everywhere in this town. We saw flying saucers and aliens galore.

Even on the way through Carlsbad, I met these two aliens at the gift shop. They wanted me to take them to my leader. I explained to them as politely as possible, we don't have any leaders right now. All we have is Chicago politics. They decided to go back home!

I love hiking

I enjoy hiking in the mountains, taking in all the beautiful vistas, and seeing new and different places. Sometimes when I hike, I get a little winded but that's only normal I suppose. I never complain. I merely think of the lifetime of enjoyment I've had in the great outdoors. Like I say, when a great trail shows up, give it a comfortable stroll, but don't look down.

"Incredible that God should unite with us."

It was Blaise Pascal who wrote "Incredible that God should unite with us." And incredible it is. Unfortunately, we are so preoccupied with ourselves, we've missed it. It's like we slept through it, along with His disciples.

While Jesus prayed in the final hour He asked His disciples to stay awake with Him while He learns the Father's will and His certain death. He simply asked His friends to stay awake with Him. As He returned to His disciples, He found them asleep. Nevertheless, He goes forward to meet death.

Jesus sought men but was not heard.

Jesus, while the disciples slept, brought them salvation. He brought it for all the righteous while they sleep, both in the nothingness before their birth and in their sinful state since their birth. He brought it for you and me while we slept.

Jesus prays only once that the cup should pass from Him, and even then with humble resignation; He prays twice that it should come if it must.

Jesus, seeing His friends asleep and His foes alert, commits Himself without reservation to His father.

"Incredible that God should unite with us."

What we did for Thanksgiving

No, we didn't eat Thanksgiving at home this year. We drove up to Tennessee Pass for Thanksgiving. On the way we checked into the Minturn Inn in Minturn, CO, so we would have a place to stay after dinner. Last year we had a frozen turkey for Thanksgiving. For the first two hours in the stove he enjoyed it!

We drove up to the pass and walked about a mile up to 10,800 feet where we had our Thanksgiving dinner. That's true. And, the turkeys weren't wild. They just went crazy when they found out what we planned to do with them.

Near the top of the pass is a yurt called the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse. Awesome name huh! Below is photo of Nancy standing in front of it. The temperature was about 21 degrees. Pretty warm for this time of year.

Inside, the yurt was warmed with a wood stove and filled with about 18 people enjoying Thanksgiving. We had a quaint little table by a window with candlelight.

I had Elk with a blueberry reduction sauce. Yummm. It was really good and I got really full. That's what you're supposed to do on Thanksgiving Day right? Gobble till you wobble.

Nancy had a traditional Thanksgiving meal with turkey. Her's was really good too. After dinner it was dark and about 9:00p. We had to walk a mile down the mountain to our car (in the dark with headlamps), and then drive 24 miles to our B&B in Minturn. We had a great time and enjoyed our meals a great deal this year. There is so much to be thankful for. God's grace and love to us is magnificent, and we continue to be overwhelmed by His riches in Mercy.

Thanksgiving

I won't say it's been a trying year, but this is the first Thanksgiving we had a turkey volunteer. Nevertheless, I'm thankful for many things, including my family. They are scattered all over the place but manage to stay in touch for the most part and we all share our love on the phone or by email. Many blessings to you all.

Nancy and I have some interesting plans today in the mountains. We'll share some photos as they become available. Love you all.

Balloons

We take walks around the lake near our house quite often. Seeing balloons is also a common site and they'll land in our neighborhood, at Chatfield Lake, or other interesting places.

This one had its steering mechanism go bad. It landed deep in the sand trap of the sixth hole at the golf course. The pilot called his friend and asked what he should do. The answer was curt: "Dummy, use your nine-iron!"

In God We Trust

I haven't told them about inflation yet.  When it comes to inflation, we're all in the same boat - the Titanic! But then, money isn't everything, In fact, it may be nothing sooner than later. Kids, I hate to tell you this, but prices are going up. That gumball machine will soon be taking bills!  So, for you youngsters, I guess the best way to describe inflation is, it's like being broke with money in your pocket.

I love my grandchildren but am concerned about their future. I know God will watch over them and I pray for them often. I also pray for our country and for our leaders. To avoid the coming mess, our leaders and our country must do what it says on our money: TRUST IN GOD

Fairest Lord Jesus

Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all nature,

O Thou of God and man the Son,

Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor,

Thou, my soul's glory, joy and crown.

Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands,

Robed in the blooming garb of spring;

Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,

Who makes the woeful heart to sing.

Fair is the sunshine,

Fairer still the moonlight,

And all the twinkling starry host,

Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer

Than all the angels heaven can boast.

All fairest beauty, heavenly and earthly,

Wondrously, Jesus, is found in Thee;

None can be nearer, fairer or dearer,

Than Thou, my Savior, art to me.

Once again, I couldn't resist

In the words of Ronald Reagan, "Government is like a baby - an alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other."

It's easy to be a hero from a safe distance

The grand kids dressed up for Halloween. Rapunzel is pictured below. My daughter made the dress herself, which is really cool. I guess she got the idea on her computer, you know, from the mane-frame!

Eli wanted to be the latest movie hero, Iron Man. My advice to him is "Cowards die many times. Heroes die only once. Those who look away and say they didn't see a thing live a long time!"

Nowadays the real hero in a movie is the one who sits through it.