Time Flies When You're Having Fun ...at the Women's Retreat

The Women's retreat at Flathead Lake was thoroughly enjoyed by 21 women. I loved speaking on shalom & restoration via the Biblical feasts, but am relieved to have the retreat so well received & now past. Laura's lodge was perfect for this number of women. Thanks to anyone who lended prayer support. The talks were taped & will be shared with at least one unsaved Jewish woman, so I'm continuing to pray for this outreach.

Kim Williams Nature Trail & "The M"

The Hallelujah Hikers so enjoyed our last hike up the Rattlesnake Canyon Trail, we decided to hike one or two more weeks despite the cooler weather. This first photo was taken from the trail to "the M" looking towards the Rattlesnake Canyon to the North of Missoula.

Although hunting season has started & Monday was overcast with temps in the 40's, the Hallelujah Hikers climbed Mount Sentinel to the East of the University of Montana campus. Our Fall coloration has lasted over a month already because we have not had the series of hard freezes that we sometimes get by late October. Part-way up the trail to the white-painted "M" on Mt. Sentinel, I took this shot toward the start of the Bitterroot Mountains & Highway 93 that lies at the foot of the Bitterroots.

This is the center of the University of MT. campus as viewed from about 1/2 way up the "M" Trail. The building to the right is the University Center where only 5 nights earlier we had heard Michael Reagan speak.

Before hiking the "M" trail, we hiked the 5 mile round-trip Kim Williams Nature Trail that runs from the University along the right bank of the Clark Fork River as it enters Hellgate Canyon. InterState 90 is on the other side of the river.

These were my four co-hikers. Three are retired school teachers & the other retired last year from an administrative job with the Forest Service. We are all in our late 50s & early 60s. We wore several layers of clothing on this hike due to the low temperature & a cold breeze.

We discussed how to reach other women for Christ at our second Fall retreat starting tomorrow. It will be held again at Laura's lodge by Flathead Lake. Laura has on the blue coat with light grey pants. (I'm baking two challah loaves & cooking chicken soup with matzah balls for tomorrow evening even as I work on this blog entry. I'm also the main speaker, so I'd appreciate any & all prayer support.) We prayed for several homeless men that we passed one by one along the trail. We also sang our usual praise songs. These hikes are always multi-faceted & up-lifting.

Deer - no, mountain lion - damage

My sister & her husband took almost three weeks to drive with my parents about 7000 miles. They drove to Wisconsin & crossed into Canada from there. After viewing Niagra Falls from the Canadian side, they crossed back into New York State & traveled along the Northern East Coast to view the Autumn leaves. Only once did they come close to hitting a deer...somewhere in upper New York. When they were within 10 miles of home, a grown mountain lion ran out of the trees & smack into their car. Mike, my brother-in-law, is a true mountaineer. He grew up in Western Montana & has been a sawyer for a living - essentially living & working in the forests. He had never heard of a mountain lion doing such a thing, until one bunged up his fairly new car!

Date Night with Michael Reagan

Louis & I try to have dates a couple of times a month. Wednesday night was one of the best we have had recently. Key components included:

. Receiving free tickets to the Friends of the Family Banquet at the U. of M. University Center Ballroom. Those tickets were selling for $75 each from the Montana Family Foundation.

. Being serenaded by soothing harp music, ( performed by the sister of Esther's best friend from Valley Christian School days), while we ate appetizers, baby spinach salad & rye rolls, sliced London Broil, Sicilian vegetables & potatoes with chive & garlic butter & Montana huckleberry cobbler.

. Listening to Michael Reagan, the keynote speaker, talk about being twice adopted... once as a baby by Ronald Reagan & Jane Wyman & then again as a child of God. His speech was probably a summary of his recent book by the title "Twice Adopted". His candor was refreshing yet thought-provoking as he gave unique insights into the Reagan family.

Rattlesnake Trail Hike Revisited

The viral season has started. Since I am preparing to speak at the Lolo Community Church Women's Retreat next week, I just knew I would get to fight off the flu first. As congestion begins & I feel the tickle in my throat, I praise the Lord that now I will be more dependent on Him & can give Him the glory for whatever happens with the two retreat talks. Despite the start of the symptoms, I joined the Hallelujah Hikers in this week's hike... a rehike of a favorite trail, like the Kootenai one was two weeks ago.

We returned to the beaver dam & the old homestead site that we had explored last spring. We had been so taken with the wild iris & lilac hedges in full bloom that we never noticed this old car, half buried in the weeds in the ancient apple orchard, until this trip.





The golden larch were just starting to color.

Psalm 1 - Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord & in His law he meditates day & night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water...

The foliage along Rattlesnake Creek was beyond its peak coloration, but we enjoyed the beauty that remained as we exercised.

As if the Fall coloring in our yard & down the driveway, with our newly planted maples were not enough, the Hallelujah Hikers left in the 40 degree temp. to hike 9 miles of the Rattlesnake Trail. Thankfully the day warmed up as the sun came out.

Choices

Out of the blue, I was asked by the director if I would like to be trained to take & read ultrasounds at First Way Pregnancy Center in Missoula. Although they would like RN coverage full-time, they would settle for three days for now. It's a combination ministry & "some pay" type of job. I have wondered if there were other ways I should use my RN background other than just at church camps. Well, here is an "open door" if there ever was one. Should I walk through it? Am I biting off more than I can chew? Everything is easier to get into than out of...yet, if this is of the Lord, I desire to follow His leading. Decision-time approaches.

Kootenai Creek - More Fall Foliage

I tried to photograph the rain from a dry spot under a rock ledge, but it doesn't seem to show up.

We saw this type of jointed grass everywhere along the trail.

God places some blues & greens together that we might not think go together well. Yet, they blended well with the Autumn leaves.

The uphill side of the trail was just as pretty as the creek side.

Hallelujah Hikers return to Kootenai Creek at the Height of the Autumn colors

The Hallelujah Hikers took their second 2007 Autumn hike entirely in the rain... at first it was only misty rain & later it started to pour. The Fall coloring was spectacular!

Kootenai Creek trail is one of my favorites. You follow the creek for 2-3 miles very closely.

At times the trail gets fairly steep.