Vacation

Vacation: use it or lose it. When life is as busy as ours is, it can be hard to schedule vacation time. My vacation year goes from July 1 to June 30, and if you've been following my life, you know that our July through the beginning of November and mid-December through January were characterized by foster children, and we're not really supposed to take foster children out of state. There are some who suggest a "stay-cation" but that's really impossible for us; a small town pastor is rarely not "on call."

So February came and we were looking at our schedule, and we realized that Jonathan will be playing soccer in April-May, and Andrew is going to play t-ball in May-June, and I don't particularly like to take vacation during Lent (though I worked with a senior pastor who took Holy Week as a vacation week). That left us with a few weeks in which to squeeze vacation... then we had to decide to go somewhere warm or cold.

Since we had been somewhere cold all winter, we decided on warm. Then Tara found a good deal on a cruise. We had never been on a cruise, so I was a little nervous about it. Would we get seasick? Would we get claustrophobic, stuck on a ship (or stuck in a tiny stateroom)? Would the kids enjoy it?

We headed down toward Miami, taking a couple of days' detour in Kentucky at the grandparents' house (and catching up with a friend for a tough trail run). Then we hit the road, and on the way, we were treated to an unexpected surprise... driving down I95 toward Miami, we started noticing tons of traffic at every intersection. We realized they were all out to watch the Space Shuttle launch. As we continued along the intersection, we kept our eye out... and got to see the launch! It was unbelievable. I never thought I would actually see one in person.

Some highlights from the cruise itself: I had seen all sorts of pictures of the Caribbean, but it was amazing to actually see how clear and blue the water was. It was amazing. I loved snorkeling; I wondered if I would like it; would I see fish? (answer: yes! yes!) The fish were all colors, shapes, and sizes. Imagine going to a store that specializes in tropical fish, but instead of having the fish in separate aquariums, they are all just swimming free through the coral, and you can swim with them and enjoy looking at them.

We seriously loved Antigua; our driver pointed in the direction of the Methodist Church there (I wondered what it would take to get appointed there). We loved the smaller islands - we had a great walk around St. Kitts that we enjoyed a lot. The weather was fantastic - while Ohio was getting yet another snowstorm, we were suffering through 80* and sunny.

On the return trip to Miami, we were making pizzas with the boys (as part of the kids' programming, which the boys loved). I was looking out the window, thinking I might see some marine wildlife (every wave "might" have been something), and off in the (not-so-far) distance I saw something... it could have been a fin or a tail or a wave. But then I saw a spray and I knew it had to be a whale. Then it blew again. By this time, I'd called everyone over, and then it started to show off. It was a humpback whale, and it jumped clear out of the water a couple of times! It sure looked like it was having fun!

It was a fantastic vacation - very relaxing, very fun, and nice and warm, and we got back in time for Lent!

Christmas Parade

Millersport puts on a nice Christmas parade, but wow, Gatlinburg's Christmas parade was something else.  We headed down the mountain around 3:30 and found somewhere to park (we found a really good spot, it turned out, as we were able to buzz straight out after the parade).  Then we walked up and down the "downtown" Gatlinburg area for a while, checked out a fun craft show (indoor), and staked out "our spot."  We found that many people set their chairs out the night before to stake their claim for parade-watching, but we (a) didn't have chairs; and (b) we didn't have chairs.  But we did have a blanket, and Tara found us a great spot by a trash can and a light post.  "Great" because it was a spot by the road and because we had something to lean on and because the odor from the garbage can was drifting the other way.  AND because the people next to us had two little boys, aged 7 and 5, with whom Jonathan and Andrew had a blast before the parade.

The parade itself was a lot of fun.  Not much candy, but I did manage to get hit on the head by a bag of M&Ms (when I was changing batteries on the camera) :-)  The temperature dropped while we were out there, but we dressed warmly - in many, many layers, and we bought hand warmers. 

Pictures will follow...

Just What the Doctor Ordered

After a long several months with four kids and quite a bit of personal stress, our family got to take a vacation.  We found a cabin in the mountains near Gatlinburg, TN, and rented it for a week of family time.  It was wonderful.  The Christmas lights are up and beautiful, and the Great Smoky Mountains are as fantastic as ever. 

I remember going to the Smoky Mountains as a kid - it was a lot of fun.  My parents even gave in to our persistence and allowed us to go (throw our money away at) a roadside attraction (where we met a girl whose southern accent baffled us - we were only familiar with the Kokomo accent - you know, the one where "wash" gains an r and short e sounds identical to short i).  I remember seeing a bear... or perhaps thinking I saw a bear and then being too embarrassed when it wasn't really a bear that I stuck to my guns and held to the story...

I have always loved being in the Smoky Mountains.  It has always captured my imagination.

So it was great allowing our kids to explore and play in the mountains.  Seeing them walk on the trail, playing together, bonding with one another, running, chasing, exploring - was well worth the trip.

Spring Break Part 3: Ft. DeSoto County Park

While we were in central Florida with our friend, we visited Ft. DeSoto Park, located on Mullet Island (yes, that's what it's called - I think I saw the guy who it was named after) off St. Petersburg. We decided that we should come back and spend more time there, so after Sanibel, we made Ft. DeSoto our destination.  They reserved a certain number of  "walk-in" campsites, so we took advantage of that to grab a Monday-Thursday night stay.

This was perhaps the most beautiful campground I've ever stayed in.  There were plenty of waterfront campsites, but (in order to not have to move mid-week) we stayed "inland."  So our water view was across the camp road.The breeze blew in off the water, keeping the campsite pleasantly cool even though the sun really warmed things up during the day.  Perfect weather for vacation!

We were on "relax" mode - we didn't make plans to go a lot of places or do a lot of things; but then again, we didn't need to, as there was plenty to do there in the park. 

We spent our time at the beach, checking out the fishing pier (and getting cast-net fishing lessons from a 12 year old), going to the old fort, riding our bikes, and of course, going to the beach!  We went to the beach every day, and a beautiful beach it was!  Uncrowded, nice sand, lots of space for the boys to play (and dig), and a beautiful place to watch the sun set!

 

On the last night we were staying there, I woke up very early in the morning - Andrew was coughing a little - just enough to keep me awake - so I decided to go out for a run.  As I was heading out of the park, I noticed a crowd gathering by the camp office.  I thought maybe they were meeting for an excursion or something, but when I returned, I realized that they were "walk ins" waiting to register for campsites for the weekend.  There were probably 50 of them there... before 5 am!  That's dedication!

That morning I ended up going for a 10 mile run/walk along the beach trails (note: one banana isn't enough fuel for that long of a run).  The beach road was closed from dusk to dawn, and I got there pre-dawn.  I didn't think anything of it until I got to the a bridge leading toward the beach... where there were large barricades proclaiming the beach "closed."  I ran past the barricades (and hid behind when a park truck came by - the park worker was taking down the closed signs).

There's something about an early-morning run anyway - I love watching the sun rise - but on the beach without another person in sight?... fantastic.  This was one of the best vacations I've ever taken.  Certainly the most relaxing and recharging!

Happy Birthday, Jonathan!

Our little boy is now 6 years old! He had a fantastic birthday - the grandparents came up from Kentucky to celebrate with him.

Instead of having a traditional birthday cake, which Jonathan wouldn't eat, he had strawberry/blueberry creme puffs. They were delicious!

As you might be able to tell, he loved them immensely!

Instead of getting him more toys for his birthday (his grandparents came through in the toy department with some cool Star Wars toys), we took him (and his brother, of course) to Kalahari indoor water park. This was his choice, and he had so much fun.  He was, however, not pleased with the rule that he had to try a water slide.  But he told me Thursday morning that he thought he could be brave enough to try the orange one.  We went there first with my promise that once he tried it, I wouldn't bother him about it at all during the day.

He loved it!

And went on it over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over.  And tried the blue one, too, and loved it as well!  So he and Andrew kept riding and riding and riding!  They had a blast!

It was an extremely fun trip with the family - and Kalahari is a great place to visit, especially when they're doing during-the-week specials (so we get the room and two days of the water park for less than we would have paid for one day's tickets to the water park) and when the place is practically empty (which is why they're running the great deals during the week while kids are in school)!

And a good time was had by all!

Spring Break, Part 2: Sanibel Island

When I think of a vacation to Florida, my first thought is... the beach. The one pictured to the left is our "night beach" where we went every evening to enjoy the shelling and the creatures in the tide pools.  Jonathan was very good about "saving" sea stars. There were some other creatures that we didn't quite know what they were, but we figured out that if you touched them, they would squirt at you.  This became Jonathan's favorite activity!  He and Andrew would search for them and try to get them to squirt water at them.

Camping at Sanibel was interesting; the one campground on the island only had a little corner dedicated to tent camping, and it was primitive. But it was also pretty well empty.  We were warned that the road noise would be bad, but it turned out that it just reminded us of home.  And just like home, the beach was an easy bike ride from the house/tent.  Except that here, the beach was, well, slightly different.  The Gulf of Mexico or Buckeye Lake.  Take your pick.  But I bet you won't see dolphins swimming in Buckeye Lake (like we did almost every day in the gulf).

Sanibel was a great place for us.  The atmosphere was extremely easy-going and laid-back.  The only time we even looked at a watch was on Sunday, when we wanted to make it to church on time.  We did some different activities, usually something in the morning, the beach in the afternoon, and the "night beach" in the evening. The evenings were the only time when we could go for walks on the beach; when we went to the beach during the day, the boys were all about playing in the sand (usually in a big hole - especially ones that other kids had previously dug).We took a bike ride through the "Ding" Darling Nature Preserve one day, and that was really nice.  Sanibel is also extremely bike-friendly.  There are bike paths everywhere (and bikes everywhere).  We were glad we brought ours (and the tagalongs for the boys).

It did rain one day, but that wasn't so bad, because it was Sunday; we spent all morning in church in Ft. Myers, went out to eat, and then went to a children's museum all afternoon.  When we returned, much of the campground was flooded, but our tent was almost completely dry (except for the corner of my blanket and Tara's sleeping bag - no problem: I threw them in the dryer and they were as good as new). 

We loved Sanibel, but we had to leave there on Monday, headed for Fort De Soto County Park (near St. Pete).  I'll cover this in my next vacation post.

What I did on my Spring Vacation

Before this April, I had never taken a vacation longer than 10 days.  We had not yet taken the boys on a camping vacation (though we have camped out several times with them).  The boys had not yet been to Florida.  All of that changed in April, as we embarked on a 3 week vacation.

Our destination: Florida. We got there via Kentucky (they've been to Kentucky before; that's where Grandma and Grandpa live - albeit on the other side of the state), Tennessee (a new state for them), Georgia (where we camped our first night), and finally, Florida!

We visited O'Leno State Park, where we hiked and saw our first (and second) alligators. It rained in the night, but it was dry in our tent, and by the time we got back from our hike, everything was dry enough to pack up and head on south.

We went to central Florida, where we met up with our friend, Richard Zinck. He's one of our snowbirds - winters in Florida, summers in Ohio (we decided that the snowbirds are the smart ones). We were planning on camping near his house so we could visit him, but he arranged a house for us to stay in!  We had a lot of fun in central Florida - we played a lot of mini-golf and shuffleboard, we visited the Tampa Zoo, we went to a really cool park in Lakeland, and we went to church with Richard.

We got to see all kinds of wildlife there - I saw a bobcat (which had unfortunately lost its battle with a vehicle), we saw an armadillo (also roadkill), there was an alligator in the pond in Richard's community, and then there was the little snake (pictured to the right).  Don't worry; it had already lost its battle with humans, too.

At the zoo, Andrew was having a good time until he got licked and "bonked" by a giraffe. As far as zoos go, Columbus Zoo is better!  At the Tampa zoo, we felt completely inundated by their marketing; everywhere you looked, something was for sale.  They even had a "feed the giraffe" booth ($2 for a cracker).  We stood in line but did not buy a cracker.  And the giraffe paid attention to us anyway. Too much attention, if you were to ask Andrew.

From Lakeland, we headed south to Sanibel Island.  This was a good choice of destinations for us.  We thought about going to the Keys, but it was going to cost a lot more and we would have had to drive a lot longer, especially to go out to Key West, and, well, honestly we didn't want to be in the van by this time!

In my next post, I'll take you to Sanibel.

Fear not.

I haven't abandoned this place.  I've just been on vacation.  When I get a chance, I will update the blog with vacation pictures.

Lake Michigan Trip (or, Camping Is For People Who Don't Live In A Trailer Park To Get To Vacation In One)

Last week we embarked on a family trip to Lake Michigan. We've been doing a trip there for quite a few years (since before Jonathan was born) and Tara's family all enjoys their Lake fix. In fact, her dad's side of the family owns several "cottages" there. We usually stay in her uncle's place when we visit (but we're usually staying with Tara's parents & her brother & his family - last year it felt empty with only us and her parents), but this time it wasn't available, and we decided to tent camp.

We actually love tent camping.

I was a little wary of camping in the Warren Dunes State Park, because I had the idea that we'd be camping on a moving, active sand dune. Picture (beach). That wasn't the case. The campground was just like every other camp ground. Some shaded spots. Some not-so-shaded spots. (We picked a shaded spot). They had their "modern" campground (meaning it had running water in the bathroom/shower rooms, electric hook-ups, and paved road) and the "semi-modern" campground (with "rustic" sites, pit toilets, one water source, and dirt road). We chose the "semi-modern" since we wouldn't be needing an additional $9-$11 worth of electricity. Or crowding.

The whole park was rather run-down and there was a lot of trash strewn about. I know the idea of not having trash cans in the park is so people will deliver their trash to the dumpster... not so here. It meant that they would throw their trash wherever they could stuff it.

Anyway, this post wasn't meant to be a critique on Warren Dunes.

We got there Sunday night, and after we set up camp, we made a campfire for the boys to enjoy. I have to brag that only once did I need more than one match for starting a campfire. Of course we loved sitting around the fire and roasting marshmallows (Jonathan doesn't think it's so boring anymore).

On Monday we decided to drive down and see if Tara's uncle might be at his place. We were not disappointed: not only were he and his wife there, but Tara's aunt and uncle from Texas and her aunt from Georgia were there as well! Then her cousin & her baby came over from next door. It was wonderful to get to see them all - it had been way too long!

When we got back to the campsite, we had lunch, and then Andrew took a nap. Jonathan and I went for a hike while he was napping. It was so much fun. He loved having the chance to get "Daddy time" for himself. We found one area where you could climb a really steep dune... if you didn't care about burning the soles off your feet! It was way too hot! We were disappointed that we couldn't make it to the top. Then we found that the path was flooded out and we could not pass. So we took another path and climbed another dune. Jonathan was a little wary of the dune: he didn't want to burn his feet (again). But when I got to the top, I knew he just had to see the view. Since he was nervous about the hot sand, I put him on my back and carried him to the top. We were both awed by the view. So awed that we stopped and said prayers, thanking God for making it.

After we returned from the hike, it was time to go to the beach. Jonathan and I determined that we weren't close enough to the beach to walk (disappointing - that is one huge benefit of Tara's uncle's place!), but that was OK. The beach was rather crowded, but nice. The water was choppy and cold! And the sky and the water were beautiful. We had a lot of fun at the beach. After we were done with the water, we just had to try climbing the "mountain" of a dune across from the beach. All but Andrew were successful in the climb. It was so clear that from the top,we could see the tops of the tallest buildings in Chicago!

We went back to camp for dinner, and then it was time for the sunset. We decided to go back to the beach to watch the sun set, and we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Jonathan zoomed all over the beach, and Andrew managed to get soaking wet. It was a lot chillier than we'd planned for - only Tara was really dressed for it. Well, Andrew was until he got his sweatshirt all wet.

As it was, the sunset was absolutely worth it.


On Tuesday after breakfast, we headed down to Union Pier to visit the other side of Tara's family. Her mom, aunt & uncle, 4 cousins (and 3 spouses), 5 nieces, and 2 nephews were all there. Jonathan and Andrew had a blast playing with Sean (and with Sean's toys) all morning. After lunch, everyone went to the beach. Actually, I went running, Andrew took a nap, Tara got a little introvert time, and everyone else went to the beach. When Andy got done napping, we joined them.

Jonathan had a blast, mostly not in the water, but sometimes he'd venture in. The water was too cold for Andrew, who kept saying he was "feezin' cold" - he wanted to cuddle in his beach towel. It was a lot of fun. Then it was time to go back to the camp; we had to make dinner and prepare to leave the next day.

We were so glad that we'd gotten ready in the evening, as early in the morning, the downpour started. It rained really hard! Good thing our tent was watertight! When we got up, we headed for the beach, because there was a shelter house there where we could make breakfast. We ate there (and the kids were delighted to find lots of bird nests full of baby birds all over the shelter house) and went back to camp to take down the tent. Not only had it stopped raining by this time, but the sun was out! It was easy to dry the tent well enough to pack it up!

On the way home, we tried to stop to pick blueberries... no luck :-( We barely missed picking season. So we stopped in Three Oaks (yes, Jenny, that's where Prancer was filmed) and played in the park (and ate lunch). We also stopped in Ft. Wayne and played in their park (and had dinner there).

Overall, though the vacation was short and we did a lot of traveling, it was very relaxing and we had a great time!

Camping!

We're camping out tonight in the back yard! The boys are too excited!

More Vacation!

OK, it wasn't originally planned this way. We didn't set out to have back-to-back trips like this (especially not right after the also-unplanned power outage). But back in July, when we'd originally planned (and usually taken) the trip to Michigan with Tara's family, the week we got her uncle's "cottage" was also the week when Tara was playing with the Lancaster Festival Orchestra.

So, unfortunately, we had to cancel.

We thought that we would probably have to wait 'til next year (ala Chicago Cubs fans, who really believe that this is "next year"), but then we got the good news: we got the "cottage" for the last week of September!

Due to brand new baby in the house, and something about another vacation trip with sister-in-law's side of the family, Tara's brother and family didn't come up this year, so it was only us and Tara's parents. It made the house seem almost empty!

We arrived on Monday evening (what a long drive!) "early" enough to go to the beach - good enough to wind the boys down and to get a little exercise after a long car ride .

It was good to get walking along the path to the beach (Jonathan only kind-of remembered the "Michigan house" but when we started for the beach, his memory got stronger).

We did not change into swim suits or anything, which was a sure guarantee that we would end up in the water and full of sand.

You can see that the boys have their routine down: Andrew gets busy playing, running, swimming, etc. while Jonathan gets busy working. I'm not sure what kind of engineering marvel he is creating here (no, he's still set on being a fire fighter or a police officer when he grows up), but he was working hard.

Here are my in-laws: isn't this a great picture of them?

As the sun was setting, we took some pictures. It was a beautiful sunset over Lake Michigan, and once it set, we headed back up to the "cottage" to get some rest!

Vacation: Hiking at Rock House

After naps on Friday, we decided to go to Rock House for a little light hiking. I think I'll let the photos speak for themselves (after writing, what, three blog entries this evening, I'm pretty much all out of words).

We've got a couple of little boys who love to hike!

Vacation: More Around the Camp

For some reason, blogger will only allow me to post 5 pictures per post, so here are some more pictures from around the camp, including our new tent! It's roomy enough to fit all of us plus our gear with space to spare.

We dragged the tent over into the shade for naps, which worked wonders. I got back to camp from the adventurous drive to fill the gas tank (no, I wasn't rushing in a panic because I thought the gas station would run out; I was rushing out in a panic because I thought I might run out) only to find both boys sound asleep and Tara stretched across both air mattresses in the one place where there was a draft of fresh air. Not wanting to disturb them, I found the shade behind the tent... and promptly fell asleep myself!

Eating while camping out is always fun. We discovered that we really badly broke campground etiquette, however, by not bringing a tablecloth. Every other (occupied) campsite had a tablecloth. Even the RV campers next to us, who were outside a grand total of about 3.2 seconds (just enough to get out of the car and go into the RV) had a tablecloth. We did not. Didn't bother us any. Camp food always tastes better anyway.

(After the week at the beach, one of our kids told me that he likes pretzels with sand on them. Just wait until he gets to go canoeing with Grandpa, who knows how to make sand-pancakes!)

This picture really should go after the whole vacation is done, but it's an "around camp" picture, so it will go here. Don't worry; we never closed the trunk or drove like this.

Vacation: Around the Camp!

We had tried camping in a tent with the boys once - this summer at Camp Sychar. It worked out well, so we decided it would be fun to do for more than one night. Here are some pics from around the camp.

The boys loved sleeping in the tent. It was perfect sleeping weather (though a little cool for some members of the family). Jonathan kept sliding out of his sleeping bag and, try as I might, I couldn't keep him in it.

Actually, sleeping was difficult the first night. Partly because we traveled on Thursday and then pretty much went straight to bed, but mostly because it was the first night sleeping in the tent.

One of the fun parts of camping is having a campfire. It's one of the reasons that car camping has any charm over backpacking (was it Jeff Foxworthy who said that camping is a way for people who don't live in a trailor park to vacation in one?) - having a roaring campfire.

Of course, due to our expertise with the Coleman stove (we got more practice during the power outage), the only "over-the-fire" cooking we did was marshmallows. I must admit that I am an expert when it comes to the perfect fire-toasted marshmallow.

We ended up having too much wood for our fire, so I made a nice, big roaring fire.

One family member let us know that the only part of camping that he didn't like was "just sitting there" around the fire. It was "a million boring" according to him.

Vacation: Hiking!

Last week we took a vacation to the Hocking Hills (as you probably already knew if you read my last post about the Indian Run). We arrived rather late in the evening on Thursday, so there isn't much to report about that. But on Friday we went hiking. It was a lot of fun. Enjoy some pictures of our adventures!

There's nothing like going out hiking on a cool (yeah, low 50s still seems cool - let's revisit that in January) morning (reminder here: I love mornings) to remind one of God's majesty in creation.



Though I usually like people photos, I thought the beam of sunlight streaming through the canopy of trees was photo-worthy and a great way to test out the new camera.

We found walking sticks (no, not the insect kind, one of which I found on the screen of the cottage in Michigan this morning, but the dead branch kind). This is also the Ohio State vs. Michigan ("this wouldn't be wrong without sports" photo).

Of course, Andrew needed a walking stick, too, and I managed to get a picture in which he is not swinging the stick wildly. Yeah, I mostly made sure his sticks were pretty small for a reason.

Andrew in a hollow log.

Jonathan on the other end of the hollow log.

We all love hiking together. I hope you like the photos.

Hocking Hills Indian Run

Second time's a charm, right? Two years ago, I ran in the Hocking Hills Indian Run 40K race with my friends Rob, Mike, and Matt. I found that I really like trail running. This year, as the run approached, Rob asked me if I was going to run it again. Since my family had experienced a successful night of sleeping in a tent, we decided to camp out together before the race. I will include a synopsis of that event in another blog entry, but this is about the run.

I had already decided on running the 20K instead of the 40, as I am not in shape to run 25+ miles at one time. My original plan was to meet the guys as they finished lap 1 so we could run the second lap together.

As it was, Rob was sick for the whole week before the race, and Matt wasn't running with us, but Mike's fiancee was. So we all opted for the 20K. Rob and Megan would run together and Mike and I would run together. We planned on about a 9-9:30 mile pace for the 12.4 miles. I thought I could handle that, because that's about what Blaine and I ran a month or so ago.

At the starting line, Mike and I decided to sprint out. heheheheh. I heard some really "cute" comments about it (some were profanity-laced, and others commented on how hardcore we were).

The run was mostly as I remembered it. I felt really good for a long time, including a jog up a little part of Steel Hill. We walked the rest of that monstrosity - no reason to kill our legs in the first half of the race! We did the first 10K in around 48 minutes... equal to the best 10K I've ever run (I've never run one in competition).

The last 3 miles were the hardest ones. The trails were more rooty than I had remembered, and the uphills took more energy as well. I walked 3-4 times (or was it 5-6?). It seemed like forever until we got to the campground, where it was wonderfully nice to see Tara and the boys there to cheer me on. Then it was on through the Old Man's Cave area and finally up the 1 mile long hill to the finish. Oh, did I mention that Mike left me in the dust at about the 9 mile mark? He came back after he'd finished to cheer me on up the hill.

I was excited to finish: my final time was 1:49:45, which was an average mile time of 8:51! And I was 3rd in my age group. Mike only beat me by some 8 minutes, averaging 8:11/mile. I was 45th out of 204 runners.

Vacation 9, in which we go for another Hike

On the last morning of our vacation (not counting travel days), Tara and I got up early and headed back to Zion. This time our destination was the Observation Point Trail.

Despite the posted warnings and the announcement that this trail was not for those with a fear of height, there was nothing scary at all on the trail. At the observation point itself, you could potentially be afraid, but nobody forces anyone to go by the edge.

The trail was beautiful and the scenery was awesome. This was a long-ish hike (we took a side trek up to the Weeping Rock that added an extra mile to the 8), but it wasn't really all that strenuous of a hike. It probably helped that we were hiking on a relatively cool day; it would have been pretty tough had it been 100 degrees! But anyway, the view was breathtaking.

We got a lot of different scenery, from the wide open expanse overlooking the entire park to narrow canyons. We saw burned trees (lightning strikes are apparently pretty common up on top), and we saw flowers. We saw all sorts of different colors and textures in the rock.

It's hard to describe what it's like to hike in a place like Zion. It serves as a reminder to me just how creative God is... though Ohio in the Spring is pretty with all the green and the flowers, there's nothing like mountains or canyons here. The beauty of Zion is why it's so popular. I can't imagine going during the busy season; (even as an extrovert) I like to enjoy nature in (somewhat) solitude. I remember meeting a young man in the Smoky Mountains who brought a poetry book to read in the backcountry; I thought it was a little much, because to me, the backcountry itself is poetry that is more beautiful than the written word can capture.

And with that, we left Utah for Las Vegas, from whence we flew to Chicago (but not before M-I-L "broke even" on a slot machine in the airport and not before our sunscreen got confiscated as we (unknowingly) tried to "smuggle" it past security in the bottom of my carry-on). Then, after a night blessed by loud notifications that F-I-L's blackberry had received incoming e-mails... at 2:30 am, we returned home.