By now we are certain that things will be uncertain. By now we know that something will happen to turn our special day into a harrowing scramble for survival. By now we just go ahead and call it the “date of uncertainty.” Because somehow, the combination of Joe and I going out together is a recipe for some kind of disaster. Every Mother’s Day and birthday since Joe learned to drive, his gift to me has been a day out for just the two of us. His intentions are simple: Buy a sna

This year, it seems like we have found ourselves in slippery situations more often than we’d like. The reason for this boils down to a...

High in the mountains, hidden in small pockets and nooks in the rocks and grass, there are puddles of water. At first glance, these...

“Wait! Sorry guys – here’s another one!” “Okay, I’m coming – oh! Another! And another!” The boys stood patiently as our short afternoon hike was again interrupted. By Kelly and me. We just couldn’t help it. It started with a small patch of mountain bluebells. We were all trekking along at a brisk pace, the way we like to hike, when I stopped dead in my tracks. The flowers, some of them so blue they seemed to glow, were too stunning to pass by. But when I got out my camera to

It was our third backpacking trip in the Wind River Mountains. When we started out from the trailhead, with breakfast in our stomachs and...

Chapter 2: The most important thing; the story of Whisk the squirrel In the little village of Cranberry by the sparkling Cranberry bog,...

There is little need for talking about it; there is just doing it. One of the things we learned in our backpacking adventures is the need...

In the dark of night, in the cold of a deep pool in a rushing stream, a mayfly is hatching. This mayfly does not look like a typical fly....

“Just make sure you are having fun . . . you are having fun, right?” - man to us when we were NOT having fun   Mount Sneffels. Sounds like a wimpy, pathetic mountain with a runny nose. But with its spiny, jagged ridges, steep couloirs, and an altitude of 14,155 feet, this mountain is no wimp. In fact, it is more of a bully. We should know. We have been on it three times. The first time, two years ago, we knew nothing. We set out with our brand new snowshoes and slogged our wa

It was some of the roughest terrain we have ever encountered. Nothing could have prepared us for it. As we hoisted our heavy backpacks...

Part 3: The Sacrifice of Christ Introduction The more you mature as a Christian, the more interested and awed you should be at what Jesus...

Chapter 1: The Cranberry Island; the story of how things began The Cranberry Island, as it is called, is not really an island. There is...

“A moose that walks slowly toward you may be attacking.” - sign              We were getting impatient. It seemed like we had been stalking this moose for hours. All so we could get a good picture without getting attacked. Because that is what moose do. A moose may decide he wants to attack, and there is nothing you can do about it. There are no tricks to deter him. If he is in a bad mood and you are in the way, then you may be the victim of his fury. I understand that. And I

It’s easy to say that we are relying on God to supply our needs and give us success in our endeavors. But how often do we show actual...

One of the most amazing and encouraging things about being a Christian is that someday, although your body may die, you will live again...

Have you ever made things right with someone after a fight? It is difficult and requires humility, but the restoration it achieves always...

©2025 by Daniel Venturo Iridescent green and blue. White wing patches. An extremely long tail. He flies through the grasslands, on his...

“Why sleep outside when you’ve got a house?” - Hudson the mouse   Among the things that we decided were important enough to bring with us...

“Someone’s fixed a rope,” a fellow climber called up to us from the notch, “so you’re good!” We were on the summit of 14,155 ft. Mt. Sneffels in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. The weather was spectacular, the view was breathtaking, but our feelings were mixed as we crouched on the rocky crest surrounded by empty sky, the highest point for miles around. We were exultant in our triumph, apprehensive about what was yet to come, shaky and on edge from the effects of the adre

Many people are afraid to come to Christ because they believe He will shackle them to a list of religious rules. They recognize that...

Great Sand Dunes Tiger Beetle Fascinating, strange, exotic bugs. Australian deserts are alive with them. Amazon jungles crawl with them....

The south face of Humboldt Peak I cringed every time I thought about it. That long, sawtooth ridge sweeping up to the summit was locked...

Want to Listen? In the silence of the night, a lone coyote prowled. Overhead, a full moon cast its silver light. It gleamed off the quivering aspen leaves and created shifting shadows on the forest floor as it sifted through the spruce boughs. The silence was eerie, broken only by the stirrings of a mink in the leaves or the soft murmur of an owl in the trees. Quickly and quietly the coyote moved, her quavering nose close to the earth as she searched for promising smells. At

Should you go against the current? I guess that depends on the direction of the current, the direction you want to go, and how much...