cleanness of spirit -purity of heart
Yesterday morning I awoke with a smile on my face. The morning sunlight illuminated my tent so my awakening was gradual. I sat up, glanced over at a still-sleeping Mike, and strapped on my boots. I walked down to the lakeshore and sat down on a rock. Across the lake were mountain peaks that still had snow on them. My goal for the day - to touch snow. Mike and I would be going for a hike.
After a nice cup of coffee and cup-o-noodle breakfast Mike, Nicole, Melissa, and I played a few games of hearts, a game that I had taught them the night before. After running the table I was seriously shaking - god, I love that game. The girls were going to go swimming and Mike and I were going to go hiking.
We placed the canoe into the crystal clear water (no really. We were up at Fallen Leaf lake next to Tahoe, and you could still see the bottom some 10+ feet down) and launched into calm waters. We looked up and noticed a thunderstorm crossing over the mountains, but I was adamant on going hiking - "Come on Mike, It will be an adventure." Our destination was straight across the lake from our campsite. Once we were in the middle of the lake, about 15 minutes into the trip, the clouds became more menacing. Mike was concerned about the lightning, which started to worry me - being in the open lake with a medal rod running the length of the canoe - yeah, it didn't seem like a good idea. We doubled our paddling speed and soon made it to the shore.
Funny thing about mountain hiking, distances really play with you. About 20 minutes into our hike, still days away from the snow, the thunder and wind picked up. We decided to turn back. By the time we returned to the canoe the wind was creating very high waves. We decided to stick close to the shore for our return trip. Traveling with the waves was ok, but soon we found the waves crashing against the side of the canoe and we almost toppled over. We headed to shore.
Over the next hour and a half we carried the canoe along a trail back to the camp site. Needless to say, we were (still are) sore from the experience. Wow, it was so much fun.
Anyway, I'm back from my much-needed vacation. Ah, time to face reality once again.
After a nice cup of coffee and cup-o-noodle breakfast Mike, Nicole, Melissa, and I played a few games of hearts, a game that I had taught them the night before. After running the table I was seriously shaking - god, I love that game. The girls were going to go swimming and Mike and I were going to go hiking.
We placed the canoe into the crystal clear water (no really. We were up at Fallen Leaf lake next to Tahoe, and you could still see the bottom some 10+ feet down) and launched into calm waters. We looked up and noticed a thunderstorm crossing over the mountains, but I was adamant on going hiking - "Come on Mike, It will be an adventure." Our destination was straight across the lake from our campsite. Once we were in the middle of the lake, about 15 minutes into the trip, the clouds became more menacing. Mike was concerned about the lightning, which started to worry me - being in the open lake with a medal rod running the length of the canoe - yeah, it didn't seem like a good idea. We doubled our paddling speed and soon made it to the shore.
Funny thing about mountain hiking, distances really play with you. About 20 minutes into our hike, still days away from the snow, the thunder and wind picked up. We decided to turn back. By the time we returned to the canoe the wind was creating very high waves. We decided to stick close to the shore for our return trip. Traveling with the waves was ok, but soon we found the waves crashing against the side of the canoe and we almost toppled over. We headed to shore.
Over the next hour and a half we carried the canoe along a trail back to the camp site. Needless to say, we were (still are) sore from the experience. Wow, it was so much fun.
Anyway, I'm back from my much-needed vacation. Ah, time to face reality once again.