Weird

I turned down a fishing trip on a blue ribbon trout river tonight. I was planning on going but when I sat down and thought about it, I just wasn't that excited about it. I would rather stay home and be with my family than get up at 5am and catch fish. I wonder if this is what growing up feels like. Whatever it is, it feels weird.

Back From Vacation

Well, I am back from vacation, feeling rested and refreshed. We got to see a lot of friends and enjoy some time away. We spent an afternoon walking around downtown Bend going into the shops and walking along the river. We camped for a couple days but with 5 boys ages 6 and under between our two families, it was quite an ordeal. I led worship at our old church, that was fun. I got to get out fishing a couple times and had a good time doing that. I pulled a 16 1/4" rainbow out of the Crooked River Saturday evening which equaled the largest fish I've ever caught in a river. I wanted to take a picture of it but by the time I got it to hand and measured it against my rod, I didn't want it to be out of the water any longer so I held it up quickly for my buddy to be jealous of, and then slipped it back into the water and it said "goodbye" with a splash of it's tail as it swam away. It was long and slim with brilliant white on the bottom and dark blueish green on the back. Speckled and spotted with the trademark rainbow-red stripe. Man, talking about it makes me want to go fishing.

Vacation!

We are packing up and heading off to sunny central Oregon in the morning! Going to take some time off and just relax and by "relax", I mean camp and fish. I'll be doing something at Faith Christian Center in Bend on Sunday, our old church. Either a special song or leading worship. Should be nice to see some old friends and visit some old fishing holes. Sweet, sweet vacation.

The Design with garlic and butter

There is something about being on a river when it is early and light is low. When the sun peeks sideways through the evergreens, cedars, hemlocks and pines. When the spray from the water rises to cool your face. When it's quiet except for the sound of the river. When if you didn't know better, you might think you were the first human ever to lay eyes on this scene. To get away from your cell phone and just to be away. I remember getting away a couple of years ago. A couple of us got out and took our 4x4s as far as we could push them. Then we loaded up our packs and hiked in the rest of the grueling way. Hiking past old growth logs that were pushing through the soil when Columbus shoved off, and waterfalls you could measure in football fields. Wanting to quit but pushing on because the reward, we were sure, was "just over that next ridge." We made it to the shore just before nightfall, enough time to set up camp and get some freeze dried dinner hydrated. We wriggled into our sleeping bags and drifted off, our minds occupied with the morning's quarry. About 5am we woke without an alarm and got our gear on. We pushed off into the water in search of anything that swims. We caught our share of beautiful little brook trout and as we made our way around the lake I stopped and found a big flat boulder to lie down on. The July sun was hot even way up in the mountains. I managed to nap a little bit even though every chipmunk in the brush had me reaching for my bear spray. We stayed up there for 2 nights. I remember thinking as we were making the trip back down, that the entire world could have ended and I would not have even known.
I think the reason that being out in nature is such a refreshing thing is that nature, in most cases, is still how God designed it. The trees, the water, the air, the mountains are untouched by human hands. A small glimpse into the mind of God. His design for our planet is still intact and nature continues on the same as it has since He spoke it into existence. Something about that resonates with me and makes me want to go and experience the unspoiled. I'm not going to lie to you; if I can experience a few of those unspoiled brook trout on the end of my fly rod and pan fried with a little garlic and butter, it makes the design seem a little sweeter.