Colorado Hiking

I found it amazing how busy this butterfly was, hopping from flower to flower. I suppose hard work never killed anybody. But then, relaxing is responsible for very few casualties.

It's so easy to walk around Colorado and miss the little things, the wildlife, the flowers, and the simple creatures that adorn our world. When Nancy and I hike early in the morning, just the two of us, we see so much more like, deer, elk, big horn sheep, fox, coyotes, bear and small creatures too. Add lots of people to the trail, along with their dogs, and noisy bikes, etc, and presto, they're gone! Then, you realize that creatures in the wild are native, and not in a zoo. They feel easily threatened by outsiders. So, you must meet them on their own terms.

In a sense, God is quiet in His creation as well as in His relationship with us. We go charging into His world trying to find Him and wanting Him to do things for us, making lots of noise, and we overlook Him, demanding satisfaction and immediate answer to prayer. Then we blame Him for not being there, yet we are the one's with a mental handicap. I Cor. 2:8f says; "the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age had understood, for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory, but just as it is written:

Things which eye has not

Seen and ear has not heard,

And which have not entered

the heart of man,

All that God has prepared for those who love Him.

For to us God revealed them through the spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God."

Vs.14 and 15 says; "But the natural man does not accept the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct him? But we (those who are spiritual) have the mind of Christ."

The passage goes on to say that Christians who have broken fellowship with God and His blessings can't see all of God's realities and the things He wants to reveal to them. But for those who are completely yielded to God and have surrendered their will to Him, there is no limitation to how such a person can understand and hear the mind of Christ. Ask God, "what would you have me do?" And then do it. By giving up our will and meeting God on His terms, we gain everything. It's like quietly walking through the forest, early in the morning, and waiting and listening... you see everything.

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,

Each little bird that sings,

He made their glowing colors,

He made their tiny wings.

I've decided that I'm missing the island time we had a few months ago. St John was a really fun place and we really enjoyed the laid back time and atmosphere, especially with our friends Mark and Teena. Can't wait to go back.

So for now, we have to say goodbye to all the beautiful fish, turtles, manta rays, squid, octopus, tarpon, and starfish. God willing, we'll be back!

Black Canyon 'Rocks'

We visited the Black Canyon of the Gunnison last week with our friends, Mark and Teena. What a beautiful place, absolutely stunning! None of us had been here before and we were really glad we could still hike around and see all the cool places. Below is our visit to the North rim.

We hiked along the rim and came to this place, which made for some nice photographs. The canyon is so big that you can't see the bottom or the top from this angle, with a camera.

The canyon is about 2,800 feet deep from the highest to the lowest point and of course you'll notice how narrow it is. This makes is proportionately the deepest and widest canyon in the country.

Exclamation Point, pictured below is the top of the highest point, called the Painted Wall. We had a snack here and then continued on our hike up to the top of Green Mountain. That's the Gunnison River cutting through the canyon at the bottom.

Careful Nancy! You're getting a little close for my comfort. This was taken at one of the many roadside viewing areas along the road.

There is a national recreation portion of the canyon on the East end. We took a boat ride down this area and saw this beautiful waterfall. In order to get to the boat, we had to walk down 232 steps and then hike down the river about a mile.

Early bird

The bad thing about being an early bird is that you have to make your own breakfast! This little hummingbird has taken up residence in the pine tree in our back yard and decided to start a family. She even has a home defense strategy. Her husband flies around the tree attacking anything that comes near, including that pesky robin and me! I could see the attacks everyday, but could never figure out why he was so mean. Then, Nancy noticed the nest on the limb.