Contemplating a longer hike in July, Brooke and I decided to start with a ‘trial hike' first. We carved out a few days and selected a section of the Centennial Trail that would take us right through the heart of the Black Hills. Brooke has done her share of day hikes, but this was her first multi-day, sleeping outside kind of hike. Her main stipulation going into the hike was that it be somewhat warm (she’s not a big fan of the cold).

Our plan was to cover 48 miles in four days – pretty doable when all you intend to do is walk all day. As it turned out Brooke is a solid hiker and we covered more miles per day than we had planned. We actually finished in three days instead of four. Our first two days were absolutely lovely. The final day we had a lot of motivation to put away the miles; we hiked that entire day with sub-freezing temps and snow falling around us! While this was beautiful it was not what Brooke had signed up for! Our forecast upon leaving showed each day in the 40's, but as it turned out Sunday never got above freezing (based on our water turning to ice as we walked). So Brooke was very thankful that we weren't staying out in the snow and cold Sunday night and into Monday.

As we popped out of the woods at Legion Lake, the southern terminus of our hike, we still had one obstacle between us and hot food, hot showers, and warm beds. We still needed to hitchhike back to our car. Fortunately, the first car that went by Legion Lake drove us the 10 miles or so to the town of Custer and dropped us off at the town center. Unfortunately it took us about a half hour (walking/standing in the freezing snowiness) to get our next ride. Although the beauty of it was that the fellow took us all the way to our car which was 35 miles away and could have been another 2-4 different hitches. We gorged ourselves on McDonalds once in Rapid City and used all of the hot water with our lavish showers.

From my standpoint the hike couldn't have been much better. It was awesome sharing one of my joys in life – hiking – with the woman I love. The conversations were wonderful as well. And of course the entire experience was peaceful and scenic. Her perspective is a bit different. She's not exactly "sold" on backpacking. While enjoying some parts like being outdoors and active as well as the relational aspect, there are other things she could do without (discomfort, boredom, and cold!).

It sounds like we will be going ahead with a July hike, so Brooke can give summer hiking a whirl.

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There were moments like these:




And there were moments like this:


Brooke pumped her fist and hollered with glee when we saw the one mile to go sign:

Spring might not be official until March 21st, but in my book March 9th is a better landmark. The 9th being the day this year that marked the time change and thus the extra hour of daylight that we've all been enjoying. And South Dakota must have agreed with me because we had the loveliest weather that weekend. Here are a few pictures from a dayhike that Brooke and I took on the Centennial Trail here in the Black Hills. We had a great time welcoming spring.

This Wednesday at youth group we played a game where there was a person in the middle of the big circle wearing a blindfold and wielding a standard pool noodle. Appropriately this person is called the “Blind Thwacker”. The goal for everyone on the outside of the circle was to see if they could touch the Blind Thwacker without getting hit by the noodle. It really was a blast; lots of laughter! But you’ve got to see what my wife Brooke did when she got the noodle in her hands. Everybody’s jaw dropped . . .

Unfortunately I only have about ten seconds. She went on for about a minute strong. If you loop it you get the idea. That's my ninja wife ;-)

Before our trip to Jackson, Wyoming Brooke had never snowboarded before. The first couple days she soaked up pointers from Mark & Jess and enjoyed the green runs of the beginner lifts. But by day three she was riding the gondola with the rest of us and even going down a couple 'double blue' runs (very steep). I'm glad that my wife is tough, willing to try new things, and open to the idea that winter actually can be fun ;-)

Brooke & I and Mark & Jess Schmerse spent a great week in western Wyoming. The main event was skiing and boarding. We skied a day at Grand Targhee and a couple days at Jackson Hole. The area has seen over 300 inches of snow already this year! Our first base camp was Driggs, Idaho, a fun little mountain town. Our other base camp was Jackson, Wyoming - a gorgeous town surrounded by amazing mountains on all sides. In the evenings we played cards and Settlers of Katan, and there was even a day of snowshoeing outside of Yellowstone Nat'l Park. It was also a blast getting to take in the Tetons. Aside from picking up a cold, the entire road trip and vacation was wonderful.

Growing up I always looked forward to the month of December. My mom had a special way of celebrating the Christmas season. My two sisters and I would receive some kind of gift every single day of December leading up to the big day on the 25th. As you would expect with the sheer amount of gifts, they were quite small. Sometimes it would be a pen, a pack of ball cards, a couple quarters, a bit of chocolate. But even if it was new toothpaste it was always exciting. A neat twist was that sometimes we would find a note instead of a gift. On that note would be a riddle or clue as to where to find that day's present. What kid doesn't love a hunt for hidden treasure?! Yeah, my mom is pretty great.

There were other traditions. Due to our Swiss heritage we started celebrating Saint Nicholas Day on December 6th. We knew on the night before to put a pair of shoes outside of our bedroom door. As we awoke in the morning we would peer outside our door to find that our shoes were filled with candy and fresh fruit and other goodies. It didn't take me long to start putting my biggest pair of shoes out there (i.e. here come the snow boots!) or even a couple pairs of shoes ;-)

But December 1st was always ornament day; we would receive an ornament to add to our annually growing collection. Often they were tailored to our interests. For example, December 1990 I was excited to have a Cincinnati Reds ornament...celebrating thier World Series run. Another year it was a mini-trombone (for some reason my instrument of choice). I have this picture in my head of one particular ornament. It was a nativity scene engraved into some kind of lightweight metal. And in addition to baby Jesus, Joseph, Mary, shepherds, magi, and animals there was of course the star shining down on it all.

December 1st of my youth was marked by the innocent excitement of ornament day and daily Advent presents. December 1st now comes loaded with more complex layers such as World AIDS day and the realization that millions of kids are afflicted with this disease. So life is more complex, but it opens up the door for a richer, fuller beauty. Just like that star at the nativity, the earliest followers of Jesus believed that He was the light shining out of the darkness. And today I'm moved by people who live in the same way - sacrificially, lovingly, longing to make a difference in their community and beyond. Our lives can be a beautiful light shining in the darkness, and that's beautiful.

Labels: AIDS, Christmas

This site is pure genious. It is so many things all in one:
1) tangibly supports the global poor through donating food
2) raises awareness about the global poor through education and statistics
3) personal tutor for improving your English vocab
4) challenging! (so for I topped out at level 41...where are you?)
5) brilliant 'business model' (advertisers pay for all the rice)
6) heaps of fun! (just about borderline addictive)

My friend Rachel Sparks has gotten herself in over her head. Right where she belongs. Having assembled a team, she's in the process of producing a documentary on child sex trafficking in Thailand. Please check out the TRAILER. I'll be awaiting the full release in 2008.

• OUR LOVE AFFAIR: A recent Gallup poll finds that 1 in 5 Americans drinks bottled water exclusively, finding tap water to be taboo.


• BAD TASTE: Yet in a blind taste test, 75% of New Yorkers preferred city tap water to bottled water.


• NOT AS SAFE: US Environmental Protection Agency safety standards are stricter for tap water than for bottled water. Bottled water plants must test for certain impurities once a week while most cities test their water hundreds of times per month.


• A recent university study found that about 50% of bottled water samples had twice the amount of bacteria as Cleveland tap water.


• WASTE: If Americans were good at recycling it would be one thing, but as it stands an appalling 2 billion pounds of plastic a year end up in land fills or by the side of the road due to bottled water.


• FRIVOLOUS SPENDING: Bottled water costs about 1000 times more than tap water.


• TIME FOR CHANGE: San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Ann Arbor, and New York City have at least one thing in common . . . they have all started campaigns to banish bottled water. In San Francisco, for example, it is now illegal to use municipal funds to buy the stuff.

So if it tastes worse, isn't safer, costs more, and pollutes the environment . . . how long will it be before we see the death of bottled water? Are you willing to change your habits?

P.S. Did you know that up to 40% of bottled water is simply purified tap water anyway? Both Coke and Pepsi's subsidiaries (Dasani and Aquafina respectively) share these 'noble' origins.

Please click HERE to see a selection of our wonderful wedding photos. Casper Hamlet was our photographer and he did a phenomenal job!



Please, humor me...look at the slideshow ;-)