Our own Walden Pond experience

I love being with my boys in the mountains. We had our first outing yesterday in our new canoe and it was a great time. Henry David Thoreau went to his Walden Pond for some R & R and yesterday we went to a lake much like I imagine Walden might have been for Thoreau. We stopped by and picked some peaches and then we headed for a lake down a gravel road that allows no motors over 20HP to enter. It was an an unusually cool July day and we stated until 7pm. The frogs were the only sounds around (besides my 2 kids chattering) and I had a good book about Heaven. We did some fishing (I read and laughed at Cay casting over and over) and swimming. It was more relaxing than any beach trip might I add. We had our very own private beach in the middle of the lake since the water was down for some unknown reason. The beaches I like involve no blistering sun, no sand blowing in my face, no salty ocean water, no tide coming up to worry about, nobody smoking nearby, no one drinking and picking fights next to ya, no scantily clad women parading by, no views of ridiculous tattoos on people who should not be showing that skin anyway, no lobster-baked people yelling at their kids, and no airplanes flying by advertising anything. Just frogs and fish, a few friendly kayakers coming down from the river, cool fresh water, and trees: just the way I like it!


A truly good book teaches me better than to read it. I must soon lay it down, and commence living on its hint. What I began by reading, I must finish by acting.

Be not simply good - be good for something.
Henry David Thoreau

Be true to your work, your word, and your friend.
Henry David Thoreau

Begging for Prayer: A video on the newest nation in the world and why it should matter to you.

“The government in north Sudan will not change,” Nhial told CT.“The American government cannot stop war in Sudan by words only. They need action. I’m saying this because more than two million people were lost during the war and the number is going up. We need help, and we need help today. We are dying. We are crying to the world that we need help.”

What makes me sad is that if I didn't follow a rather small non-profit from Alabama I don't think I would even know about the Holocaust currently happening in our world...her quote continues...

Nhial asked the Western church for prayer as independence day approaches. “On July 9, we are going to be a nation, and we need prayers,” he said. “We need to be covered by prayers. We need Christians all over the word to pray for us and rescue us. We are begging them.”

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?"
1 John 3:17

This country's plight has haunted me and J for a long time now since we knew their independence day was coming and everyone knew that would mean violence. We were so excited to be a minute part in working with Make Way Partners to put an orphanage in Sudan and watch it fill up with 500 orphans (through their newsletter "watch") only to find out recently they are all in grave danger along with thousands of innocent people around them. To put it in its most basic form: the Southern part of Sudan contains more freedoms (Christians) and more oil (money/power). The two are a toxic mix to Islamist in the North who want one and not the other (and I bet you know which). How can I do anything about what is going on in Sudan? Those quotes above make it shockingly apparent.

Furthermore, this blog post :http://kimberlylsmithblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/today-we-face-our-worst-times-with.html makes it even more clear (don't read it unless you are seriously ready to have a talk with God about lots of things) that I am to do more than pray.

To be totally honest, it sometimes disgusts me to live my life in America. I am still grappling with what this means. Every day I seem to be more thankful, though, of what we have and how God truly has blessed America. AND more keenly aware of the heroes that create/ed this place like our forefathers/troops/citizens/civil rights leaders/politicians (yes, even them throughout history) and normal folks who won't rest until they see change, etc. I even struggle more with hearing my kids whine and fight over light sabers knowing so many kids are starving/ dying of diseases from dirty water. I am ashamed that it took me a while to share this for some folks around thinking I am crazy for caring about people so far away. For some folks thinking it's prideful "oh she thinks she is so holy for caring for them". OR for some folks thinking "oh, the world is so bad and there is not much I can do about it" OR for some folks thinking "why did she share something that would make me so sad." Well, I finally said, "WHO CARES WHAT THEY THINK." Put it out there because what breaks God's heart (and I know this does) SHOULD break all of our hearts.

"Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn."
Romans 12:15

"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."
Galatians 6:2

Video: Independence Day for South Sudan | Need to Know

"So that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it."
1 Corinthians 12:25-26

You can read a full article from Christianity Today here on the situation there: http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctliveblog/archives/2011/07/southern_sudan_1.html

If you want an outlet to give check out this website: http://makewaypartners.org/.

River Rats and Lake Joc

The summer really is getting into a rhythm. Yes, I have 145 students and yes J has a load of farm work to be done but I can just about sum up our life lately in a nutshell. They typical week has looked been full of water: pool, pool, river, river, lake, pool, river, lake, tennis (Fridays!), hiking, church, and then start over. I love being a teacher and being married to one!

We had some fun taking 14 kids (and 2 fabulous and brave house parents) to a local waterfall. The four of us took 16 kids and brought back the same amount after playing for 3 hours and hiking over a mile with them! Fun times!

We have been tubing a few times with friends and family and have loved that 2 hours float that we turn into 3 hours of floating, swimming, sunning, snacking, and skipping rocks.

The kids and I (and J too) are enjoying a new pool access that we have so that is where we are spending most of ours spare time. The boys love to go to the indoor pool in the evening and get in the hot tub..odd, but they like it. After working on the computer quite a bit I don't mind getting in there one bit either!

We had a really great family camping trip in June to a local mountain lake. The water is super clear and cool and the lake is full of waterfalls to explore. We made so many wonderful memories there boating and exploring

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There is really no place I'd rather be than on a mountain in a river. I could skip a year at the beach, but would not want to go a month without smelling the mountain air and feeling its chilly water! If I ever wondered if I could be happy living in a city, I think that I've decided in my 30's that I would never feel at peace there! I have to be closer to some water and mountain laurel!

Also, J used to love fall and winter for hunting and such, but he has finally agreed after almost exactly 10 years of marriage that winter is the pits and summer is the best. It is about time.

Western Adventure Part V: Sequoia National Park and King's Canyon

We left the High Sierras and headed back through the San Joaquin Valley (think loads of fruit) to Sequoia National Park. Here we saw the General Sherman Tree (the largest tree on Earth!)and went atop Moro Rock. The road to Moro rock was an adventure in itself (see photo of the road and its switchbacks up the mountain). We then climbed over 400 steps to reach the top of this giant rock (6,725-foot elevation). The stairway is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The view from the rock encompasses the Great Western Divide. At Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks, live the five largest living giant sequoia trees in the world. We also found two "baby" bears and a mama that they had almost surpassed in size!

In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.
John Muir

This tree was once a saloon!

Tunnel Log is a tunnel cut through a fallen giant sequoia tree in Sequoia National Park in California. The tree, which measured 275 feet (84 m) tall and 21 feet (6.4 m) in diameter, fell across a park road in 1937 due to natural causes. The following year, a crew cut an 8-foot (2.4 m) tall, 17-foot (5.2 m) wide tunnel through the trunk, making the road passable again. You can see the van going through in the pic!

Grant Grove is home to the General Grant tree, a.k.a. "the Nation's Christmas Tree".

I think I said this in the first post, but CA has to be the most interesting of the American states. Two more things we saw there that you don't see where we live are wind farms and oil-drilling. You can see both in these pics.

King's Canyon: This place has some extreme elevation changes 6K-over 14K and is even deeper than the Grand Canyon. When we finally got to the bottom I was a bit freaked out b/c it was getting dark and the river at the bottom was RAGING scarily almost over capacity and onto the road. The waterfalls were flooding the picnic areas and well, I decided I would not be camping down thee for the night!

Cool Fact : The snowy, saw-toothed mountain range is over 400 miles long and 60-80 miles wide SO the Sierra Nevada range exceeds the whole Alps area- French, Swiss and Italian. I did NOT know that! Palisades Crest in the Kings Canyon area has six peaks itself over 14K.

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.
John Muir

2011 Wild Western Adventure Pt. IV

These cool arches can be found in the Alabama Hills area of Inyo National Forest.

Heart Arch!

More than 100 movies and TV shows were filmed in the Alabama Hills just outside of Lone Pine, CA. The Lone Ranger, Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and John Wayne movies. More recent movies included "Tremors" and "Iron Man" were filmed there and then of course, the Flintstones was also filmed here. It was a really cool area with lots of neat dessert views, arches, and high sierra views. The most recent film action there is the new Subaru commercial.

Many folks wanted to know what a bear box looks like so here it is. This box is where campers put all their toiletries and food. It is bolted down and has bear-proof lock on this steel box! This is one of the only amenities of camp grounds out west. This and a pit toilet and MAYBE a water tap for a few campsites to share.

Mono Lake is an interesting place that we passed through after leaving Sonora Pass. This extremely salty desert lake (yes, that is strange) has its own special kind of brine shrimp. They are minute little things that can only be found in this lake. The lake formed after volcanic action occurred in the Sierras. Mono is considered one of the oldest Lakes the planet. This photo is a shot of the "tufts" that form there. I had never heard of this word. They are basically limestone towers composed of carbonate materials. This place is quite interesting to biologists because it is such a strange but successful ecosystem.

I had never seen a real sheepherder before. This man has a very lonesome job herding sheep with his border collie dog out in the middle of nowhere. Still, after reading so many Bible stories about sheep herding it was cool to still see that there are sheepherders out there with rods driving sheep.

(from Bodie.com)
Bodie is an original mining town from the late 1800's. What's left today stands in a state of "arrested decay" and is maintained by the California State Parks System, who took over the town in 1962 to make it a State Historic Park.

In 1859 William (a.k.a. Waterman) S. Bodey discovered gold near what is now called Bodie Bluff. A mill was established in 1861 and the town began to grow. It started with about 20 miners and grew to an estimated 10,000 people by 1880! By then, the town of Bodie bustled with families, robbers, miners, store owners, gunfighters, prostitutes and people from every country in the world. At one time there was reported to be 65 saloons in town. Among the saloons were numerous brothels and 'houses of ill repute', gambling halls and opium dens - an entertainment outlet for everyone.

On a daily basis miners would emerge from the mills and head for the bars and the red light district to spend their earnings. The mixture of money, gold and alcohol would often prove fatal. Bodie had the reputation of being one of the most furious, vehement, violent and lawless towns in all the Mother Lode. Law and order took a back seat to doing whatever was the inspiration of the moment including putting a bullet into someone as the only way to settle an argument. $75million in gold was taken from Bodie Butte. This was one cool town almost untouched over time. I had never seen a more intact ghost town. We saw some in CO when we lived there, but none this sophisticated.

We toured through Bakersfield and back up towards Fresno area where there were load of orchards and family-owned farms. We stopped at a great fresh fruit market and I could have spent about 100 bucks on fresh cherries, plums, peaches, blueberries, oranges, dried fruit, homemade pies, smoothies, and parfaits. We were on our way to Sequoia National Park and King's Canyon...that'll be in the next post!


Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.
John Muir