This past week, I decided to break away from work for a couple days and take the boys on a camping trip. For a week and a half, we have my sister’s son visiting us, and my boys are having a great time with their cousin. They’ve been playing on the waterslide we built on our property (about 200 feet long!), roasting marshmallows on the campfire, lifting weights and playing video games – good boy stuff. But for a bit of adventure, we went up to the Gifford Pinchot National Forest just outside Randle, WA, which is only an hour and a half from our house. We set up our camp, and went for a 7 mile hike up to Blue Lake. My nephew Michael couldn’t quite make it all the way, but the boys and I had a good dip in the cool, clear lake, then caught Michael on the way back down.

Our campsite was beautiful, right next to a nice stream, and we ate well, told fun stories, had a good Bible devotion time, and counted falling stars and satellites.

The next morning we packed up camp and headed up to Tongue Mtn. This hike was a bit shorter, and Michael made it all the way. Adam and Andrew coached him along to bag his first peak with spectacular views of Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens.

On the way back, we stopped off to see an old cave where Indians used to live 6000 years ago, and catch final views of God’s beautiful creation. It was a highly successful trip where memories were created and we praised God for the opportunity to witness His wonder in His world.