To continue from last week… just because we are in a “desert” or on a “mountaintop” in our spiritual journey doesn’t mean that one or the other is easier or that one is less of an adventure. Everything we do…
Mountains vs. The Desert
Last week, I posted about remembering again how most people think of the desert and the wilderness as places to be avoided, metaphorically speaking. Our songs and sermons focus on getting out of the dry places, or at least…
Driving (Part of) the Whitmore Trail
I read about a 2 mile trail – round trip – to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The pictures were epic. The trail didn’t even look that steep. The only thing standing between me and the trail was a…
Pueblos, Lizards, and More on the Pueblo Alto Loop
There are members of my group who have wanted to hike the Pueblo Alto Loop for about 23 years. That was when they saw a photo of Pueblo Bonito on the cover of their AAA road map and decided to…
Honan Point: Best Views on Grand Canyon’s North Rim
I’ve always thought the views from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon to be better than the views from the North Rim. Part of it is that the North Rim is more picturesque, so looking at it from the…
A Time for Everything (Even the Desert)
In our walk with Christ, there are seasons: times of refreshing, wilderness seasons, times of great growth and of living out that growth. As Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 3, There is a time for everything, And a season for…
We, Like the Desert, are Beautiful
The desert is very dry, and as I said last week, it’s not very beautiful in places. But God created it, and so it is beautiful because He created it and He sees it as beautiful. There is a parallel…
The Ugly Desert is in God’s Design
Face it: many parts of the desert aren’t very pretty. I remember driving (well, I wasn’t driving, since I didn’t even have a learner’s permit then) across central New Mexico, and it was not particularly beautiful. In fact, it…
The 6 Best Day Hikes in Arches National Park
Arches National Park is one concentrated lot of sandstone – filled with arches, rock formations, and incredible views. Unlike many national parks, where you might drive an hour just to get between one hike and the next, Arches is small…
Walking the Zion Narrows
I first did the Zion Narrows in 1997. Or, should I say, I first set foot in the Virgin River in 1997, and we went around the first bend and turned around. The kids were too young; one of the…