Have you ever taken the time to notice the treasures under your feet? Whether you’re walking on the beach, along a trail, or in a gravel parking lot, there are interesting and sometimes spectacular rocks you can find—if you’re looking for them. The sun smiled down on the glassy surface of a lake high in the mountains. Jagged spires ringed the sapphire pool, reflecting their massive outlines into its dark depths. At odd intervals, a chunk of rock came loose on one of the pinna

It is inevitable. The slog, that is. We can’t avoid it. It is part of every hike, every backpacking trip, every climb, and even every...

The hot spring in this area was part of Sawtooth National Recreation Area, outside of these beautiful Sawtooth mountains. As usual, we...

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...

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...

“Wait! Sorry guys – here’s another one!” “Okay, I’m coming – oh! Another! And another!” The boys stood patiently as our short afternoon...

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

“Just make sure you are having fun . . . you are having fun, right?” - man to us when we were NOT having fun   Mount Sneffels. Sounds...

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

“A moose that walks slowly toward you may be attacking.” - sign              We were getting impatient. It seemed like we had been...

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...

“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

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...

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...

Have you ever heard of a cholla (pronounced CHOY-uh)? In case you haven’t, it is a large cactus that grows like a bush, its thick green...

We had been looking forward to paddleboarding on this river for a long time. When we pulled up to our campground, I looked out the window...

We don’t like rain. Not at all. The mere mention of rain makes us shudder. We absolutely loathe rain. Rain is a trial to be endured. And...

Photo by Jenny Venturo We are not a typical family, and we have never done things in the typical way. Nobody who travels full-time in an...

Photo by Paul Venturo “Ouch!” My elbow hits the counter. My leg knocks something off the shelf. I pull and strain. By the time I get the...

Photo by Jenny Venturo Dad is in the passenger seat. It is funny to see him there because he usually drives. And he does not look very...

Photo by Paul Venturo When I was in high school, we had a cheer that went, “You’ve got to want it to win it, and we want it bad . . .” I...

Photo by Jenny Venturo It’s inevitable. We have an amazing day packed with adventure. But the day must end—and we must clean up. It is...

Photo by Jenny Venturo I look above me--mist. I look to my right--mist. To my left? More mist. Looking down at my feet is my only...

Photo by Daniel Venturo You step into the ice-cold water. You wonder whether you really want to do this as the water rises about you. You...

Photo by Jenny Venturo “There’s a storm coming, just so you know.” - lady we should have listened to   “Guys!” I looked around at...

Photo by Jenny Venturo Little does Dad know that an Amos Situation is about to strike. Maybe you are familiar with the Scripture passage...

Photo by Paul Venturo Yes, Icelandic State Park looks pretty "northern" if you get the right angle. Icelandic State Park, way up in the...

Photo by Jenny Venturo The sun was just sinking under the hills when we pulled ourselves up the last rock to the top of a small mountain....

Photo by Paul Venturo It certainly wasn’t Colorado. And we were a little sad to be here. We had left behind the glorious snowy mountains,...

Photo by Paul Venturo The loose rock in this picture is called "talus." Scree is a type of talus consisting of very small pieces of rock....

Photo by Jenny Venturo The north face of Humboldt Peak after a heavy snow. Gale-force winds and severe altitude sickness prevented us...

Photo by Paul Venturo Harsh, cruel wind bit into our skin, and icy, cold snow crunched beneath our feet as we turned and left behind yet...

Photo by Jenny Venturo People often say that looking forward to something is almost as exciting as the thing itself. Anticipation, in...

Photo by Jenny Venturo Stuck. No power, nowhere to go, nothing to do but play in the snow. We hadn’t been expecting 15 inches of snow to...

Photo by Jenny Venturo Humboldt Peak is known for its wind. As we huddled together at 13,288,’ we knew that it was no joke. Every time a...

Photo by Jenny Venturo Our site at Grape Creek campground, CO, has a beautiful view of the Sangre de Cristo mountains. Right out of our...

Photo by Jenny Venturo “Arrest! Arrest!” we all shouted frantically. No, we were not witnessing a crime. There were no policemen, police...

Photo by Jenny Venturo “If for some reason you find yourself in Guymon, Oklahoma, it’s a nice place.” That review said it all. To put it...

Photo by Paul Venturo “You’ve gotta go to the Wichita Wildlife Refuge,” our uncle told us. “The mountains there are huge .” So we decided...

Photo by Jenny Venturo When we pulled into Fort Richardson State Park in northern Texas, it was raining. We were all grumpy because we...

Photo by Jenny Venturo Our campsite at Dana Peak campground was nice and spacious. There was a grassy “yard,” and right down the hill...

Photo by Paul Venturo Excitement rose within me as we drove down to the water. We were fishing saltwater again! When we got there, I...

Photo by Jenny Venturo When you live on the road, holidays are always different. This past Valentine’s Day, we were in southern New...

Photo by Jenny Venturo Staying near Mount Graham this week, I am reminded once again of how I—of how all  of my family—was made for the...

Photo by Joe Venturo I am finding that I have certain presuppositions about different parts of the country—then, when we actually arrive...

Photo by Joe Venturo It hadn’t looked like our kind of resort. In my mind, a “resort” should consist of secluded camping cabins in the...

Photo by Joe Venturo We love lists and we love animals. So it is only natural that we would keep an animal list, to record every new...

Photo by Paul Venturo Boondocking—it’s a word we have thrown around for a long time, yet we never took the plunge. Until this week. For...