Summer Playtime

My grandnephew, Conner & grandniece, Caimbrie came this week to share much of a morning. Both Conner & his Mom, Kylie, are allergic to cats & so can't visit at our home in comfort. When my sister, Esther, called about the visit, we opted to meet at the Florence park. Florence is not yet incorporated as a town, but has done many things that are town-like... for example, erecting this park for the children about 5 years ago.

Conner loved the challenge of the monkeybars & Caimbrie always tried to do - with help - anything big brother did.

There are many areas in this play park to enjoy vicariously through the children. I had a great time watching the children play & catching them in their smiles with my camera. Esther assisted Conner & Caimbrie with this sandscoop at various times. Other times it was slides, swings, a fireman's pole or tire ladders, etc. Such fun lived through others!

Mosquito & Deer repellents

Louis heard somewhere that spraying Listerine on your body was a great mosquito repellent. As this year has been particularly bad with mosquitos whenever I am outside working in the yard or garden & I was already covered with mosqito bites, I decided to try this remedy. It works for me. Since I started using the Listerine, I have only gotten one additional bite in a whole week. Try it & see if it works for you.

We also read that Ivory soap is especially abhorrent to deer. If placed in your trees, they will leave your apples alone. So I tried them in my flower barrels by the gate, as you can see above. So far, so good. My plants in the barrels last year had been nibbled nearly to death by July 1st. Not so this year. I have seen at least one deer sniffing & turning away!

8th grade week at Camp Utmost 2009

In January, when Pastor Art called to request me for his nurse at Camp Utmost, I almost turned him down outright... Yes, without even taking the request to God. I had helped him with the 7th graders last year. It was the most difficult camp week in which I had ever worked. Now this same group of campers were the 8th graders. I didn't want to consider volunteering with these campers again. I delayed my answer & finally prayed about the week in June. It seemed I should say "yes", although my flesh fought that answer. I still felt reluctant as I arrived at camp this year. I should know that God would not place me in the same classroom again, if I had learned the lessons He wanted me to learn during that trying week a year ago. This year the week with those same campers became one of my favorites! We had 52 campers, but only 9 of those were boys. How that changed the complexion of the week! Sometimes the campers were all at one place together, like at the chapel, campfire or the waterslide. Other times, like at the teaching times, the campers were separated so certain topics could be discussed freely. One of the boy cabins had 3 counselors & 4 campers, (as pictured above); the other boy cabin had 3 counselors & 5 campers. Nearly all the boys had accepted Yeshua as Savior last year & had matured quite a bit. This year was perfect for discipling those campers.

I also had a preconception about one of the four girl cabins. Almost all the "girlie" campers, who spent an hour getting their hair & make-up just right in the mornings were all in this cabin. I thought that would probably be a problem cabin at least in attitudes. I couldn't have been more wrong. Nearly all 12 campers in that cabin accepted Christ on the second day of camp!! We never did have a problem cabin this year.

What we did have is counselors not feeling up to par. Yet, God sovereignly took care of those situations, as well. For example, one of the girl counselors was in her first trimester of pregnancy. She got married last November & miscarried her first fetus during the winter. We gave her crackers for her nausea & extra rest during the day. When I left on Thursday evening, Pastor Art's sister took over as camp RN. She is an OB nurse from Billings & was anxious about being the camp nurse for even two nights & about 1+ day of activities. Only God knew that her one main patient would be this counselor, who needed her expertise! Isn't that just like Him, to turn all my preconceptions around & bring the exact person needed to care for one of His children in need!

Sleeping Child hike, Skalkaho Falls & Hummingbirds

The Hallelujah Hikers hiked south & slightly east of Hamilton in the Sleeping Child area today. It was a vertical mountainside hike among burned trees. Multiple wildflowers carpeted the mountainside. These two wildflowers were new to me. Does anyone know their names?

After three hours of hiking, it began to rain; so we drove the Skalkaho Road to see the Skalkaho Falls in the drizzle.

Coming back along the Skalkaho Road, we stopped to see the hummingbirds which tend to hang out at a Steak Restaurant. The outside porch is lined with hummingbird feeders, so we sat at the outside tables & watched the aerial display put on by these tiny birds. Since the restaurant was closed, we didn't have to pay a cent to see them fly straight up & then dive straight down - turning at the last minute before contacting the ground or bushes. They seemed to never tire of this maneuver.

Although the lighting was poor because of the overcast sky & rain, I still took several photos of the hummingbirds as they slowed down to drink at the feeders.

Boulder Creek Trail & Falls

This past Wednesday, the Hallelujah Hikers chose to hike up the West Fork of the Bitterroot at Boulder Creek Trail. Over 4 1/2 miles along the trail & into the Selway Wilderness is an upper & lower falls that make the hike well worth the effort. The elevation starts out a bit higher than previous hikes, so I nearly stepped on this 2 foot long rubber boa. These snakes reside in Montana at only certain elevations & are not a threat to man. I accidentally hit this one with the side of my foot & stunned it enough to have time to snap a picture before he slid off into the bushes.

The canyon is rimmed with craggy peaks & filled with every Spring wildflower we had already noted on our other hikes this year. If you double click on the picture to enlarge it, you can see some of the white blooms of the buck brush & bluish wild hyacinth blossums. We saw more Clematis, like that below, than on any of the other hikes we've taken.

Nearer the falls, the rocky rim becomes more dramatic, even as the trail becomes steeper.

We are in the midst of the snowmelt from last winter, so at times the trail turned into a streamlet, at other times we crossed mini-falls of the melt-off.

This view is what is seen looking west as you approach Boulder Creek Falls. Quite spectacular. This photo doesn't really do justice to the grandeur of the area.

This is the upper falls, which I hiked to first. The remainder of the hike - another 4 1/2+ miles -was downhill from there!

This is a good portion of the lower falls that winds through a rocky chasm, making a thunderous noise on the way. I couldn't get a shot of the entire falls because of the nature of this winding & terrain, which made it too treacherous for me to venture any closer to the edge.

We have one more hike planned before we take a summer break. I hope to share that with you in a few days. Praise the Lord with me for the beauty of his creation even in its fallen state.

Back to Hiking near Kootenai Creek

Penstemmon was in full bloom on Wednesday's hike. The creek was roaring by the trail much of the hike. The mountains had good snow pack this winter & the warm 80 degree days have filled the creeks & rivers to capacity with all the snow-melt. If you click on the picture below, you can enlarge it & see some of the Wild Hyacinth blossums. The hiking pace of the Hallelujah Hikers has picked up over the three years, so we hiked past our previous turn-around points & past the sign announcing that we had entered the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness.

As the below view opened up, we stopped to eat our packed lunches. Such beauty only 2-3 hours up a trail near our Bitterroot Valley. I never tire of taking these mini-vacations which always leave me praising God.

God's hugs

When my focus is on the Lord or others, He often shows me His approval by giving me what I call "hugs".

A week ago Wednesday evening, I finished my packing for a four day visit to Spokane before rushing to the VBS planning meeting. One of the other planners, Trish, was also talking about leaving for Spokane to attend the "Women of Faith" Conference. She was taking a friend with her, who claims to be an atheist. I'll call Trish's friend "F" in this blog. F. had decided to attend with Trish to gather facts to help refute Christianity...along the lines of Josh McDowell & others. We prayed for F at the end of the meeting. The next day our Bible Study group also prayed for F. After the Bible Study, I talked with the Lord the entire drive to Spokane - mentioning F several times.

I was attending the conference with my friend, Julie, who lives at Harvard Park in Spokane. (See above photo.) You have read about Julie in this blog back in the Fall & again when her husband, Chuck, died in January. For a couple of months, Julie & I have planned this visit. Julie reserved a roll-away bed so I could stay at Harvard Park with her the three nights I would be in town. When I arrived at the retirement home on Thursday, Julie helped me unload my bags. She introduced me to the assistant manager of the facility at the front door. The assistant manager asked if Julie had told me about the snaffu regarding the roll-away bed. I thought, "Oh, no, I don't have enough $ to pay the $75 a night to rent their guest room. Maybe I can just sleep on Julie's floor."

The assistant manager continued, "It was our mistake that the reserved roll-away is being used elsewhere, so you won't mind sleeping in one of our rooms, will you? I'm on my way now to make it up. Do you like golf? This sample room will have a golf theme." We entered the elevator & rose to the third floor. All the way at the end of the hall was this sample room, across from Julie's apartment! It had its own bathroom, kitchenette, sitting area & the bed area pictured above. Because of a mistake, I was given this apartment free of charge for the three nights. That was hug #1!

Julie treated me to a delicious salmon salad dinner at Twiggs as we caught up on each other's lives. We both like to walk after dinner, so we spent a delightful evening in Manito Park...smelling the scent of lilacs in full bloom throughout much of the park. Some of the cherry trees were still in bloom, as were the rhododendrons of all colors & many other new plantings. We chatted a lot about Chuck as we walked, since he was very much on our minds. One hug, after another.

The next morning Julie drove us to the Spokane Arena for the "Women of Faith" Conference. Julie's driving us around Spokane was another hug of sorts, since I was able to make the entire trip on one tank of gas by not expending any during my stay in Spokane. Besides, Julie knows the streets & short-cuts in Spokane so we arrived timely both days & left without getting tied up in traffic jams. We entered the arena & headed for fairly close seating to the stage area pictured below. Friday was general admission so we found good seating & started down an aisle. Who should we see ahead of us, but Trish & F! Trish had told us that we might not meet F, since she didn't want to sit with the church crowd. God overruled & led us directly to her. It was almost like He said, "You have been faithfully praying for F. Now you will know what she looks like & have a chance to chat a bit with her, so you can continue to talk to Me about her after the conference." Another Hug! Nothing is better that knowing you are in God's will...receiving His affirmations. Trish took the above photo of Julie & me after I had taken one of her & F. As you can see below, the arena had not filled up yet.

The conference was good, although my age showed by the fact that I thought the worship music was too loud - I couldn't hear the words. My time of fellowship with Julie was better than the conference. We ate at Klinkendagger's Restaurant, overlooking the Spokane River raging with the Spring melt-off. The grilled trout with hazelnut sauce was so scrumptious, as was the rest of the meal. We ambled through Riverfront Park after the meal. Never running out of things to share with each other. So went the whole week-end. A wonderful vacation from the day to day pressures we each face. At the end of the conference, Trish slipped over to the nosebleed section where we had assigned seats for the main part of the conference which had started Friday evening. She told us that F had been extremely attentive throughout the conference & was asking a lot of questions. Trish felt F was taking some beginning steps towards getting to know the Lord rather than wanting to refute the fact of His existence. God is so good!!

Hayes Point Hike in the Blue Mountain Recreation Area

Today's hike was a strenuous 6+ mile hike up to Hayes Point in the Blue Mountain Recreation Area west of Missoula. At the summit of Hayes Point, we could see snow-covered Lolo Peak Near the summit we also passed this stack of rocks & wood which we called a "bamah" - the Hebrew transliteration for "high place" - because that is what this reminded us of. We have been studying Ezekiel where God was condemning Judah for worshiping at such bamahs.

The Blue Mountain area has Shooting Stars with multiple blooms from one stalk. This one has five blossums, but we found some with seven blooms on a single stalk. Quite unusual.

We hiked through meadows of Arnica & multiple-blossumed Shooting Stars.

Beyond the Arnica & other wildflowers we saw vistas of the valleys around Missoula. This view is looking north towards Frenchtown & the mountains beyond it.

Happy Memorial Day!

Rattlesnake Trail with the Svecs

Thursday, my niece & family visited from Billings & hiked with me 1 1/2 hours on the Rattlesnake Trail to the West & down the mountains from the hike I took the day before. The day was much warmer with no wind, so it was comfortable walking. Five year old Corbyn had a grand time climbing rocks, picking wildflowers for his Mom & playing with the fuzzy caterpillar that he found along the trail.

Oregon Grapes were in full bloom, as were many of the other plants I already photographed for you on earlier hikes this Spring. The only wildlife we saw were a few squirrels that scampered across the trail.

Justin carried Gavin in the backpack & sometimes Corbyn too. Kristin carried Brayden in a front pack & shielded him from the sun as he slept. Gavin slept about half of the hike, as you can see from this picture. He didn't mention a neckache when he awoke, but his position was as you see here for at least 45 minutes.

Mt. Jumbo Northern Loop Trails & Sheep Mountain Hike

Arrowleaf Balsamroot blankets Mt. Jumbo above the Lincoln Hills area of the Rattlesnake. The Hallelujah Hikers' Wednesday hike was around 8 miles of Mt. Jumbo trails & Sheep Mt. Trail. The early Spring flowers were beginning to fade as later Spring flowers were starting to bloom. On Sheep Mt. we even saw the elusive Fairy Slippers in some of the more protected areas of the forest.

Larkspur dotted the landscape with the Balsamroot early in the hike.

Further on, Indian Paintbrush & Lupine were starting to blossum amongst the
Arrowleaf Balsamroot, creating a garden effect.

Our hike was a cool 40-50 degrees with a strong wind making it
feel even cooler. The vistas & wildflowers were worth the

effort, as was the fellowship amongst the hikers. The view below

was taken from Sheep Mountain, looking back at Mt. Jumbo, Mt.
Sentinel behind that & the Bitterroots in the distance beyond Missoula.
We continue to count our blessings in being able to hike such gorgeous

country so close to home.

A Hike in blues

Our last Wednesday Hallelujah Hiker trek was up the face of Mt. Sentinel to look out over Missoula and enjoy more of the Spring flowers. We returned through the forested Hellgate Canyon Trail & Ken Williams Trail.

We saw several wildflowers in blues, such as numerous clumps of Bluebells.

The Larkspur was just beginning to blossum.

Around half-way up the face of the mountain, we sited this bluebird perched on a dead tree over-looking I-90 & East Missoula.His mate joined him out further on his branch. She's on the far right

with only a blue tipped tail.
If you click on any photo, you can enlarge it.

We stayed fairly close to town on our six-mile hike, since you still get into snow at higher elevations, as this broader focus shows.