I have been trying to decide the best format to write this.  The question was whether or not to put it all in one post or split it up among three separate posts.  I guess the three posts will have to do, one for each week I was gone, since too much happened where God's hand was at work.

      Back in September, my family and I went to a couple of homeschool conferences in New Mexico.  Since the conferences were both in the same week, we decided to do some vacationing in nearby areas, most noteably the Grand Canyon in Arizona. 

      Tim, Philip, myself, and three other friends decided to go on a hike down to the bottom of the Canyon, spend the night, and come back up the next day.  I'm telling you, that is such an awesome place.  The view at the top is nothing compared to actually going down inside that HUGE chasm!  What a catastrophic disaster but with such strange and alluring beauty!  The size of the whole thing is beyond comprehension - it just kept going and going.

      But once we got to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and set up camp along Bright Angel Creek, a mere 200 yards from the Colorado River, I felt very small.  The only place to really look was straight up, and even then we could only see halfway up the Canyon walls.  It was easy to step back in history and imagine the emotions and wonder that the first explorers to enter the canyon must have felt.  Words cannot adequately describe that experience!

      God's hand was at work in other ways than just the grandeur of the Canyon; He was specifically looking out for all of us.  The first example of this was when we had reached the halfway point, next to a small resting area.  There was a little bit of shade there, which I eventually decided to take advantage of.  After sitting down for a few seconds, I looked down and realized that my left leg was appr. a foot away from a baby rattlesnake.

      My natural reaction was to jump out of the way, which I did.  (It wasn't until later that I realized rattlesnakes respond to quick movement.)  Fortunately the snake was cool and content and didn't feel like moving, or I would have been toast.  It couldn't have had an easier target than I was.  This picture was obviously taken from a safe distance with zoom.  God must have given that snake some laxative or something.  Though I look back now with some amusement, I still thank God that nothing happened.

      We made it down to the bottom and the campsite without anything else happening.  After we got there and set up camp, three of the guys went to the creek to stack up some rocks and make a small pool deeper.  One of the guys had just set a rock down on the pile when a scorpion came scurrying up on top of the rock!  It must have been there all along, but thankfully decided to attack after the rock was in position.

      That night was rather neat also.  We got to watch the sunset turn the rocks and cliffs a kaleidiscope of bright orange, yellow and red.  We spotted a Canyon critter scavenging for food climbing out of one the backpacks a mere four feet away from us.  It turned out to be a Ringtailed Cat; it had the body of a cat and the striped tail of a raccoon (and no, I'm not kidding).  We went to a session on bats taught by a park ranger.  I always thought bats were neat little critters anyway, but after that, I kinda want to have a couple around me all the time.  They are so beneficial to have around, and all these myths out there about them diving at you or getting stuck in your hair or sucking your blood are totally false (the park ranger said so).

      The next day we hiked back to the top along the Bright Angel trail, which followed a creek half of the time.  Going up is so much harder, especially since the last half of the trail consisted of switchbacks.  The rest periods came frequently and more so the higher we got.  Though exhausting (a long 7 hours), it was a beautiful climb.  The view that waited for us at the top was spectacular, including a rainbow several miles away over another part of the Canyon.

      Here we are at the top.  Even though we were smiling, we were completely drained of any energy (well, except for Taryn :)  I was so tired that I didn't feel like eating, even though I was hungry.  I was so disappointed - we had a steak dinner at an expensive restaurant.  Completing the hike was such a great feeling of accomplishment, though!  I want to go back!

I COULD SETTLE FOR A SLOW-DOWN

      I'm sure this statement applies to just about everyone out there.  But what a summer I've had - definitely one to remember!  Summer drought, heavy thunderstorms at the end of that drought, a softball championship trophy to cherish, and many Civil War reenactments - it just doesn't get much better. 

      But just so it doesn't appear like I'm a happy-go-lucky kid, there has been a fair share of "life's other side", such as answering the excruciatingly tough questions of life and looking for another job in the midst of my own "job drought."  And yet the summer isn't through yet - I've got more things coming up such as the Minnesota State Fair and a hiking trip to the Grand Canyon!  I haven't been this busy for several years!

      First off, we just went through a pretty serious drought where it didn't rain for about two months.  Obviously this causes the farmers' crops to dry up and die, which then forces the farmers to start feeding their livestock the winter hay way to early.  So after much prayer, we finally got rain.  Starting with two thunderstorms where we got golfball-sized hail (good for crops too ), this past week has been all rain every day.  Much, much needed rain!  So I am extremely grateful for this rainy week.

      Of course, I have already posted stuff on my reenactments before, so I won't add anything other than during these reenactments, I have been getting a crash course on barn dancing as well as proper etiquette to go along with that.  This is the first year I have ever tried dancing, and it is so much fun.  (Of course, it gets even more fun when I get familiar with the different dances from the Civil War.) 

      But one thing I have noticed are the manners that the men were supposed to practice.  (My sergeant has been very helpful in teaching me these customs.)  For example, it was considered rude for the man or woman to touch hands, so either one or both of them would wear a pair of fine gloves.  The first thing my sergeant taught me was a lady was not supposed to be left unattended on the dance floor.  Any lady that was escorted onto the floor for a dance was to be escorted off as well.  One thing I try to do is look for ladies who don't have anyone to dance with or hang back out of shyness  and see if they would be willing to dance for a song.  Dancing is so much fun when you do it the way it was done during those times.  I was struck by how polite and respectful the man was expected to be toward the ladies.  It was very chivalrous (that concept has gotten such a bad rap these days, but it makes me wonder what would happen if it came back into practice in our society).  Anyway, I can't wait until the next time.

      The highlight for the year though was when the softball team I play for won the League Championship Game!  It was a first time for us!  I don't have any pictures of the trophy or the games .  But I play for a church team, and what an awesome team it is.  It is made up of guys who love the Lord and live it out both on and off the field.  We finished the season with 15 wins and 2 losses!  It was great!

      Now that I'm finally caught up to the present, the big thing that's going on right now in my life is my search for a job.  I do have a job in construction, but with the housing market slowing way down, work has been very inconsistent for me.  Since the future doesn't look very promising, I have decided to look elsewhere.

      It's been difficult to decide this.  I have had this job for about 8 1/2 years and I work with all of my four brothers.  It has been great having that environment to work in and I have learned so much and had fun doing it too; but life moves on, and I must go with it.  Yesterday I had an interview for a job with Cabela's and it seemed to be promising, but we'll see.  It's on a part-time basis for now, as it will keep me going until I find a full-time job.  If anyone has any ideas for jobs or job openings for that matter, don't hesitate to let me know .