Reindeer, bailouts, and lumberjacks!

I just returned from a trip to Alaska. I went to Fairbanks, Wasilla, and Anchorage on business. Fairbanks was 2 below when I got up in the morning. They said there was a heat wave going on. When I rented the car, they gave me an extension cord to plug it in at night! And, the hotel had an outlet to do just that! There was no freeze dried coffee in my hotel room. It was so cold, the coffee hitched a ride back to Brazil. In fact, it was so cold I saw a politician with his hands in his own pockets.

I decided to go to the Fish House for breakfast. Really! They said it was so cold the hens were laying eggs from a standing position. Anyway, a short drive from the hotel in Wasilla and I found the restaurant. It was a really nice place.

And no, the catch of the day was not fish sticks. I had eggs and reindeer sausage for breakfast. Really! The waitress came over and asked me how I liked the reindeer sausage. I told her I felt like I was eating Rudolf, but it was very good. I highly recommend the restaurant. Their menu is what interested me. Needless to say, people in Wasilla are a bit sarcastic. Oh, and by the way, my waitress was an NAU grad. She was thrilled to meet another Lumberjack!

Needle Mountains

Here is an old photo I found of Noelle in the Needle Mountains. We had hiked up to Twin Lakes and visited the resident goats. That was a lot of fun because they just wanted to follow us around. I just love the Rocky Mountains!

Paradise Forks

I kind of miss climbing with my son Tyler. He works and lives in South Korea now, so it's probably not going to happen very often. Not to mention the fact, that he climbs at a much higher level than I do. At the time of these photos he was attending NAU. Here are some shots I found of a trip we made to Paradise Forks, near Flagstaff, AZ. The volcanic rock lends itself to beautiful crack climbing.

Here is Tyler climbing out of the canyon below. I like the shot because it's the only one I have of him climbing "above the clouds," so to speak. We couldn't get enough of this place.

Here is a nice photo of Tyler and Dan at Paradise Forks. We've been close friends for a long time with Dan and his family.

Still safer than a car, but...

Here is a photo of the Continental flight that went down in Denver a few months ago (no deaths, thankfully). Then, a flight went down in the Hudson River (again, no deaths). Unfortunately, the flight arriving in Buffalo was not so fortunate. Your prayers are always appreciated for all the flying I do.

Devils Tower climbing

I was going through some old photos and thought you might enjoy these of Devils Tower in Wyoming. With a permit from the Park Service you can climb it all you want. So, when Tyler was in High School and we lived in Memphis, we decided to fly to Wyoming and climb it. We brought my friend Jeff along on the climb too.

Below is a photo of my shoes with Tyler and Jeff at the bottom of the first pitch (rope length). We climbed the Durance Route on a beautiful spring day. It's a total of about 8 pitches. You are rewarded with beautiful views of Wyoming and cows mooing in the fields below.

Tyler led the crux of the climb which was the second pitch. He did a great job considering it was his first multi-pitch climb. There isn't much climbing in Memphis, needless to say.

Below is a photo of Jeff belaying me up the 4th pitch. It was great having him with us. Jeff and I have been on a number of fun adventures together.

Recession

I like the government's definition: a recession is merely a downward trend of a sliding tendency. But things may be worse than they're saying. I know for a fact that Snow White laid off three dwarves! This year will go down as the year that went down.

Actually, a recession is when you have to tighten your belt. A depression is when you have no belt. So you see, things aren't as bad as you thought. And I especially like what Ronald Reagan said, "I am not worried about the deficit. It is big enough to take care of itself." But please don't think I'm negative. I do have solutions. In fact, here's one. The best solution is to sell New Orleans back to the French!

Vols

Here is Andy (my little buddy) enjoying the outdoors in Tucson. Wait a minute! What's that he's wearing? It's a Tennessee Volunteer cap! I think his Aunt Daisy got it for him. That's okay I guess, as long as it's not one of those Florida teams! Football is one of those games in which eleven men spend hours trying to move a small object a hundred yards. It's the same as the post office!

Football is supposed to build bodies too. Baloney! I watched four playoff games in January and look at my flab!

Babies

Well, my daughter Noelle is close to having another baby. This time it's going to be a girl. It's funny but just when they get little Andy settled down and sleeping through the night... they have another. I can hear them now... "It must be time to get up, dear." "How do you know?" "The baby's fallen asleep!"

Really, I'll bet this one will be a member of the British royalty - the Prince of Wails! The good news is they use mother's milk. It's the best thing for babies. It's nutritious, cheap, satisfying, and doesn't make crumbs!

Colorado Mountains

Last summer my son Tyler and his friends hiked the Colorado Trail. I stole these photos from his album on-line. You can see them on his blog here. This one of a Columbine really makes me long for the Summer. The mountains in Colorado are the best that time of year!

Here is a photo all of us mountaineers want to do; get above the clouds. I think this photo of Tyler was taken by David at the top Mt. Massive.

Learning

I really like this photo Noelle took of me, Seth, and Andy. We all had our laptops going and were busy working. It's truly amazing. Kids really learn a lot by watching us. But I still like what Louis L'Amour said in The Lonesome Gods, "There are many who assume that once they have become men there is nothing to be learned from books."

But the best quote from L'Amour was also in The Lonesome God's. "There was a cowhand once who said that Shakespeare was the only poet who wrote like he'd been raised on red meat."

Pagosa Peak

Pagosa Springs continues to get lots of snow this year. There is a good base at Wolf Creek for the skiers and snowboarders. Below is a photo I took of Pagosa Peak last December from Dee's back porch. I thought you might enjoy it.

The voice from heaven

The majority of people pass by Christianity as the voice from heaven (John 12:29): they hear it but do not understand it and take it to be thunder - or they hear the voice but do not see who it is who speaks (Acts 9:7).

Lazarus to be killed?

What it means actually to be Christian is seen here (John 12:10): the Jews wanted to kill Lazarus - because Christ had raised him from the dead. So dangerous it is to be raised from the dead - by Christ!

Grand Gulch Primitive Area

It was about six years ago Tyler and I went with Craig, Eric, and David to Grand Gulch for a long backpacking trip. Our goal was to find as much rock art and ruins in a pristine, rarely visited, primitive area as possible. We had GPS readings for locations, our backpacks, and lots of energy. Below are some of my best memories of the trip.

Here is a nice example of native American rock art. Hands covered in paint leave a lasting print on the rock. Today, I suppose it would be graffiti but now it's a national treasure.

Getting to some of the best rock art was not always easy. Below is a photo of us (the younger group) crawling along the edge of a cliff to get to some nice art. I'm glad their moms weren't here.

Here is a nice photo of Eric coming out of the "perfect" kiva. Perfect because everything remained much as it was 800 years ago. The site was well protected from the elements by the overhanging cliffs.

This fine example of an Anasazi ruin with a keyhole door left us speechless. Notice the ladder in front which goes down to the perfect kiva.

I hope to return to this area sometime. We were there over spring break and it was a little cold and snowy (Southern Utah does that). So next time, I'll do it later in the year.

Politics as usual

I love Bob Dole's book, Great Political Wit. In it he writes about an argument that erupted between Lady Astor and Winston Churchill. Lady Astor said in exasperation to Churchill, "If you were my husband, I'd poison your coffee." Churchill replied, "If you were my wife, I'd drink it."

At the National Prayer Luncheon, Hillary Clinton once said, "In the Bible it says they asked Jesus how many times you should forgive, and he said seventy times seven. Well, I want you all to know that I'm keeping a chart."

Politicians are like stand up comedians. They approach every question with an open mouth! And I just hate political jokes. But they always get elected.

All men are equal before fishes

According to Herbert Hoover, there were two things no man should be forced to do in public. One was pray; the other was fish. So he wrote a book on fishing, extolling its democratic joys, "for all men are equal before fishes."

Actually, fish are like Republicans and Democrats. "Are the fish biting today?" "If they are - only one another."

Change according to Solzhenitsyn

I happen to have a copy of the book From Under the Rubble, by Alexander Solzhenitsyn. In his chapter titled The 'Direction of Change' he wonders why there is a rebirth of Christianity in the Soviet Union even though it's "under attack with great brutality, while the rest of the world suffers a general decline in faith and religious feeling?" He talks about how they've passed through "bottomless pits" and suffered "utter exhaustion" and the one thing that cannot be taken away is "what's in their hearts kindled by an inner spiritual warmth." They were terribly treated and brutalized in the cold Kolyma (the harsh Siberian North). No one in Europe or America was treated this way for being a Christian.

"The return of Christian consciousness and the presentment of change - mark the special responsibilities of our time" He says. And he says Christianity is the fermenting agent, the "yeast of the world," and causes history to "rise like dough in a trough." Solzhenitsyn was convinced that Christianity alone possesses enough motive force gradually to inspire and transform our world. My question is, will we pass through "bottomless pits" and suffer "utter exhaustion" first, like the Soviets did. He quoted Like 12:56 "How is it that you do not discern this time?"

Two Brands Trail

Nancy and I went for a walk today on Two Brands Trail. It was only 39 degrees, so we bundled up and did the 3.5 miles in about an hour. It was supposed to snow, but as you can see it's pretty dry. We hike this trail often and see coyotes, pronghorn antelope, prairie dogs, rattlesnakes, and deer.


Below is a photo of our neighborhood taken from the hogback where the trail goes. Chatfield Reservoir is in the background. You can't tell from here, but it's mostly frozen over.

Prayer for the government

I really like what Ronald Reagan said, "We are told that God is dead. Well, He isn't. We just can't talk to Him in the classroom anymore."

I find it odd that you can't pray in school but they say a prayer just before every session of Congress. Goodness knows, they should. I think the prayer begins with: "Now I lay me down to sleep..." That's right. Those guys in Congress drink so much coffee, they toss and turn at their desks all day!

Nice in Portland

I spent the last few days in Portland, OR in meetings. As you can see, the weather was unusually beautiful for this time of year. I enjoyed three cloudless days. Unfortunately I was in meetings most of the time. I did get this nice photo of the Columbia River on the way to Riverside CC. My first day there was a little rough though.


When I got up in the morning I realized I forgot my belt. So, on my way to the store to buy another one, somehow I scratched a mole on my chest which then bled on my shirt from the inside out. I bought the $17.31 belt and decided to go to Starbucks before my meeting for coffee. As I got out of the car I caught my pants on something by the seat of the car and tore a small hole in my pant leg. I got my tall cafe mocha in Starbucks and saw a chair and table to sit down. Just as I approached the table, some lady jumped in front of me and took the seat, the last seat in the place. So, I went to my rental car to drink the coffee and spilled it on my shirt covering up the red blood stain. Somehow everything seemed better and Portland is dry and clear.

The economy

Here's a famous Ronald Regan assessment of the economy in the late 70's: "Depression is when you're out of work. A recession is when your neighbor is out of work. Recovery is when Carter's out of work." Hmmm. I think maybe all the politicians should be out of work.

Now we're looking at spending billions and billions more to get people back to work. And, now that Wall Street is getting billions and billions in bonuses (mostly bailout money), we can only assume that work is a very unpopluar way of making money. Hmmm.

They're teaching me you can't spend what you don't have, so have!

Hiking with Tyler

I was reminded today of hiking the Escalante in Southern Utah. Tyler and I hiked Harris Gulch in 1993 to the Escalante River and then explored Silver Falls Creek from the River up. It's a beautiful hike (backpack). In the 1880's it was a wagon route that let to a ferry at the mouth of Hall's Creek. We had the most spectacular campsite at the lowest point of the canyon near the river.

Perfection takes 31 years

It was 31 years ago on March 15 when Bobby Jones set a Denver Nuggets record for scoring the most baskets without a miss. He went 12 for 12. That record stood for 31 years until Nene of the Nuggets tied it last week in a 117-91 win against Utah. Nene scored 28 points in this spectacular win. I'm looking for a much better year for the Nugs in '09. They're certainly the best team in town right now.

Bluegrass at Joe's

Nancy and I went to a bluegrass birthday party last night for Joe. We had a great time listening to everyone jam and play their instruments. Of course I was asked to bring my instrument. Ha! Little did they know my piano lessons with Mr. Shot cost $2.00 per hour. One day, one of my neighbors offered me $3.00 an hour to give it up. And it's a good thing I didn't bring a piano. These people could play AND sing!

Before everything really got rocking... I stopped to pose with Joe, the birthday boy. Joe warned me I'd be around a bunch of hillbillies. You know, hillbillies get married young. Weddings aren't consummated until the bride is burped! I told Joe there is a secret for long life - get to be a hundred and then be careful. Now, Joe is at that age where everything is starting to click, his knees, his elbows, his neck... I know, I can hear him at the Y.

Carson and Anna came to the party too. Carson (on the left) is pursuing a career in accounting. I'm confused. The national anthem tells us that this is the land of the free. My accountant tells me it isn't. Anyway, we all had a great time. Thanks Joe.