I know that for most in today’s high tech world it is too easy to stay glued in front of your laptop, video game or TV and miss the amazing expose of God’s creative powers. Yesterday, we went hiking with a group from our New City – Barrio Nuevo. We do this often and it is a surprise how many of our kids and adults will get up early to do something different.
South Mountain is directly behind where we live and is always a great place to go hiking, biking or for a drive to see the valley or the sun rising or setting. I decided to do something different, easier than usual, we would drive to the top of the summit and then hike down instead of hiking up and back down. (This is a tough hike especially for little kids.) As we drive the winding road to the top it is crystal clear and as we get closer it becomes obvious that we are actually the first to be on top this morning. We joked about how we thought there would be more people on top because of the holiday week. We walked around and then did a group picture in the rock house. We had a good size group including my puppy, Freckles, aka Kong. As the group began their descent I got back in the van. Roger followed me back down the Mountain, I know that most don’t consider something 2600 feet a mountain but for flatlanders it is.
We raced down the hill and came across a few bikers and joggers making the trek up. This is a tough climb go over 1500 feet up and towards the bottom there was some crazy mom with her kids and dogs walking on the road. I know that Roger behind me cried out to himself, “What are you doing!” We made it to the bottom and Roger followed me to the ending of the trail that wasn’t too far away. As we pull up in this area there are a couple of cars that are parked. So we began to walk along the trail that goes around a large water container and circle up a paved road only to see Sammy, Matt and little Bookie flying down the trail.
Wow – I was pleasantly surprised that the leaders of the pack had made it down so incredibly fast. Ah – the rest should be down in a few minutes after them. Well, this turned more into at least 30-40 minutes. I knew that Joe with his little kids wouldn’t be down quickly. So last but not least is Terrance with a few of the kids along with my puppy – Freckles. While the slow hikers were making their way down a few of the more adventurous climbed up the mountain close to us and made it to the top. I know that not everyone is crazy or willing to do this. So I got a few pics, which I promptly posted on Facebook. We welcomed the last few back down and made our way back to the vehicles.
What a great morning to be out hiking and enjoying the awesome view of the Phoenix valley. We decided to visit one of the favorite places for youth of all ages – McDonalds. It is amazing what you can get off of their dollar menu. So each of us splurged and got $2 worth of breakfast or snack. A great way to start a vacation day!
God’s creative ‘footprint’ is so wonderfully amazing. I know that as my wife would say it is too easy to walk by something and really not SEE what is there. So today I opened my eyes to really see.
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