Indiana

Then there is Indiana! Maybe I just haven't looked around the state enough... but I don't think so.

Oregon

Oregon is a very beautiful state. Below is a photo I took of Multnomah Falls near Portland. It's just a stone's throw away from the Columbia River. I can only imagine what Lewis and Clark thought when they first saw this waterfall.

Utah

Utah is also a very beautiful state. I took this photo near Bluff, UT in the Southeast corner of the state. The San Juan River runs just North of the cliffs you see in the photo.

Arizona

Arizona is a magnificent place and little understood. I took this photo of the Catalina Mountains just North of Tucson. The holes in the saguaro cactus are made by small owls that burrow inside. Sometimes you can see them look out.

Colorado

Colorado is beautiful place too! I've enjoyed this scene many times hiking into Lost Park in the Lost Creek Wilderness area. What more could you ask for in a state as beautiful as this?

New Mexico

New Mexico is a nice place too. As you drive along Interstate 25 North of Las Vegas, NM you can see these pronghorn antelope all along the road. They are the world's second fastest land animal, nearly as fast as a cheetah!

Beautiful Alaska

Alaska is a magnificent place. Everywhere you look there is a scene like this. Now if I could just improve my photographic skills, you would really get an idea of what it's like.

Ikea

Nancy and I went to Ikea yesterday to look around and have lunch. OH!! The mass of humanity! We waited in line 45 minutes just to get our food for lunch. Then we wormed our way through the isles in the store for the next hour and half with thousands of other people. Shopping in this place requires a black belt. When we left the place I heard some woman say to her husband, "I read about all the crime in the streets, so I didn't want to carry a lot of cash with me."

Niagara Falls

Nancy went with me to Niagara-on-the-Lake for a business meeting on Friday. I sat in the meeting and she toured around the area. Not really fair is it!

In the evenings we enjoyed visiting with friends we've known for many years all in a beautiful place. We had dinner at the Pillar and Post in Niagara-on-the-Lake and there was a wedding reception going on. I thought about the perfect salad for this young newlywed couple - just lettuce alone!

SNAKES!

I've never gone near a snake. I think we both like that! Some snakes can travel as fast as people. I'd like to bet on that. We were pretty sure this was a king snake and "harmless" as snakes go. Hmmm.... is that tent door open over there?

More rafting continued...

I forgot to mention on my previous post that we had a "spa day" on our raft trip. Gary and the ladies decided to enjoy a mud pack to improve their skin and remove unhealthy toxins. They just added toxins as far as I'm concerned, but it looked like fun.

We also saw a few lizards on our trip. This tiny one crawled up on Cathy's foot looking for a place in the shade I think. Anyway, we all made friends.

On our hike up to the rim we stopped to see the sites and look at the river. There was this nice little rock bench made perfectly for us.

Rafting the Colorado, cont.

Our trip on the Colorado River took us through Ruby and Horsethief Canyons. We stopped twice to overnight, once at Cottonwood and then two nights at Black Rock. The trip offered great weather, and beautiful vistas.

One day we hiked up a trail to the top of the rim. Below is a photo of Nancy and Joan taking in the views from on high.

The swimming at Black Rock was as nice as ever, except the water was a few feet lower than spring time. A favorite thing is to walk a half mile or so up the bank ( a 30 minute walk) and then float down through the small rapids with our life vests on (5 minutes down but loads of fun).

I took many photos of bald eagles and this was the best one I could get. He didn't seem too interested in us and certainly not fearful.

We spent a lot of time sitting in camp, eating and talking and deciding what to do next. There was lots of talk about Allison and Gary's upcoming wedding. And the food... there was so much food.

Rafting the Colorado

Nancy and I got back from a four day rafting trip on the Colorado River yesterday. We went from Grand Junction to Westwater, UT. We saw 4 bald eagles, 3 river otters, 1 king snake, 1 turkey, 1 coyote, and only a couple of mosquitoes. The trip was wonderful even with 100 degree heat because the water was nice and cool. More on this tomorrow!

Ruby Horsethief

Without my friends, Ruby Horsethief just isn't very good. Here's to missing my friends who couldn't make the trip. More photos to come of those who did!

Colorado River

Floating on the Colorado River is a special thing. It's like car camping without a car and without people around. You hear the birds, see the bald eagles, watch the coyotes, see the fish jump, and understand what God has created.

Rafting on Ruby Horsethief is a special place. It's quiet, serene, calm, filled with wildlife, and the swimming is wonderful. You float for hours without a worry. That's where I am now. See you soon!

Klamath Falls

My business travels take me all over the place including Klamath Falls, OR. This is Klamath Lake just a few miles North of California. The road follows the shoreline for about 5 miles and it's a beautiful site. As you round the corner going into Klamath Falls, there it is... Mt. Shasta in Northern California. Sorry. I didn't get a picture of the mountain.

Wedding

Nancy and I went to Bob Knapp's Granddaughter's wedding here in Denver the other day. It was a lovely wedding. The bride was really beautiful. And of course my thoughts wandered aimlessly to Niagara Falls. I really shouldn't be allowed to think too much. I thought Niagara Falls is probably most bride's second greatest disappointment.

Bob seemed happy about the event and it gave him an opportunity to put on a coat and tie. A "rare thing," he said.

Nancy took this photo of the shoes worn by each of the groomsmen. Converse I think. Anyway it worked with the black outfits and made everything a little lighter and more casual. They had cake and pie which was all really good.

Biking Vail Pass

Sunday, we drove up to Copper Mountain and rode our bikes up to Vail Pass. While I have to admit going up was not as good as coming down, it was really beautiful. The ride up was slow and gave us an opportunity to see the flowers, look at the creek, and take in all the scenery. The ride down was a blur.

At the top we enjoyed a small lunch and rested after the hour long ride up. It took only 15 minutes to get down! The weather was perfect and I ran out of water at exactly the right place... the top!

Reading the Bible

I think that searching for the right doctrine or trying to come up with a way of interpreting what you're reading in the Bible can create problems. If you have to fit it into some system, there is always this illusion that we must first have the doctrine in perfect form before we can begin to live, that is, we never get around to the latter.

When it comes to reading the Bible, I think you can and should read it without a commentary. Would it ever occur to a lover to read a letter from his beloved with a commentary! If I don't understand the language well, then I learn the language, but I don't read the letter with the aid of others necessarily. With the help of God, I can understand it.

SK writes, "In order for one to rely upon a person, one requires that he give his word on it: God likewise has given us his word, his word on it - Christ is the Word." What more is needed? Absolutely nothing.

Early Christians

Someone asked me once, why did the early Christians tear down all the ancient and magnificent structures in Rome when they took power under Constantine. Well, put yourself in their shoes. They were persecuted and murdered in Rome, most notably in the Colosseum shown below. They wanted it destroyed but were unable to tear it down. An earthquake in 847ad helped but even that didn't finish the job.

God's arrangement with us

I think perhaps God has simply made an arrangement with us. He didn't ask for our ideas and input and we don't necessarily like the terms he has for us. So we try to make it something else. I'm sure that if we could see the whole picture, we wouldn't worry about the terms, but simply fall on our knees.

The problem is life often turns sour. Someone lost their job, or got a bad report from the doctor and now have cancer, or lost a child in a terrible accident, or there is another Columbine tragedy. Something happens everyday. Most people believe that if we pray and live a life the way Jesus wants us to, then God will improve our lives. He'll turn bad things into good.

CS Lewis said this through his character Aslan, the Christ figure as he talks to a scared little girl: "I make no promise," Concerning what? The Lion makes no promise that Jill will not suffer. He will not promise her the Better Life. But he does invite her to drink the water she needs.

So what is it that we need? Do we need blessings? Do we need safety from things going wrong? God says, fellowship with me, there is safety to come into fellowship with me. Unfortunately, we changed the terms of the agreement with God. He refuses to guarantee safe passage to the stream of living water, we've looked for another stream and figured out how to get there. There is no other but we've pretended there is.

Generating Passion for God

By ourselves we can't generate true passion for God simply because we "try hard enough." There are no formulas that produce this passion. You can fast, read the Bible everyday, resist temptation, give generously, go to church every Sunday, and of course these are good things, but at the end of the day, they're not enough to fill us with passion for Christ.

True passion for God is a work of His Holy Spirit. He is the one who entices us and lures us to pay attention to Him and to ultimately find Him. God's spirit points the way by helping us to face the truth about ourselves, truths that will either destroy us and help us to find God. I think part of the job of finding God, is to honestly face those disturbing realities about ourselves which can easily destroy us. Doing this is a conscious choice.

I like what Crabb said in his book, Finding God, "The deepest pleasures in life don't satisfy, they point us forward." The problem is, I continually want what this life can't provide.

All nature's works His praise declare

All nature's works His praise declare, to Whom they all belong;

There is a voice in every star, in every breeze a song.

Sweet music fills the world abroad with strains of love and power;

The stormy sea sings praise to God, the thunder and the shower.

Ten Mile Range

Over the weekend we drove with Jim and Chris up to Breckenridge and stayed at Mark and Teena's condo. It was pretty high up on the mountain and had this beautiful view of Ten Mile Range. The high peak in back is Quandary, one of Colorado's fifty-four 14,000 foot peaks. We hope to climb this over Labor Day weekend.