What is my preference?

Sure, I am generally a good person.  I recycle, help Meg reasonably often around the house, give time and money to charitable causes.  But, so often I prefer to follow what my ego defines as  pleasure rather than what God calls me to do: to love unselfishly and honor Him and His creation with my surrendered life.

"God's call helps us to discover each step of the way, how we are to be a loving person in our world despite our chipped, flawed condition."  Joyce Rupp

Succor Creek, Malheur County

Leslie Gulch, Malheur County

Scenes from Leslie Gulch and Succor Creek

The whimsical and striking features of Leslie Gulch began with a major volcanic eruption about fifteen million years ago.  Over the millennia, the forces of nature have created shapes that challenge one's imagination.  The features are made up of volcanic ash, known as Leslie Gulch tuff, heated and compressed in the volcanic dynamo. The tuff is composed of rhyolite, a mineral that is rich in silica.

This whole area including Succor Creek provides great hikes and mountain biking.  Spring and fall are the best times to visit, because the temperatures are the best.  Spring, of course, provides the added benefit of wildflowers.

Leslie Gulch, Malheur County

Leslie Gulch, Malheur County, SE Oregon

Leslie Gulch, Malheur County

Leslie Gulch, Dago Gulch, Malheur County

Leslie Gulch, Malheur County

Swallowtail, Leslie Gulch

Succor Creek

Succor Creek

Succor Creek, Malheur County

Succor Creek State Park, Malheur County

Troop 514 at Succor Creek and Leslie Gulch

Six Scouts from Troop 514 and myself and a dad of one of the boys enjoyed a fabulous outing in the canyon country of Malheur County, OR. The scenery there reminds one of Utah, as massive cliffs and whimsical rock formations reach skywards. We had a nice blend of older, experienced Scouts and younger, new scouts.  The older boys did an excellent job of preparing meals, leading hikes, and playing games with the younger ones.  They were excellent role models.

We arrived Friday evening and set up camp at sunset.  Saturday was clear and warm.  After breakfast we drove from our campsite above Succor Creek to Leslie Gulch.  The boys hiked, "bouldered," and enjoyed the magnificent scenery.  By that evening it had clouded over and started to rain.  Despite rainy Sunday morning weather, the older Scouts cooked sausage and pancakes, and we enjoyed an excellent breakfast before packing and cleaning up.

Enjoy these pictures.  I will be doing another post of just scenery soon.

Leslie Gulch, Malheur County

Leslie Gulch, Malheur County

Leslie Gulch, Malheur County

Succor Creek breakfast in rain

Leslie Gulch, Malheur County

Succor Creek, dutch oven cobbler

Succor Creek, in the rain after breakfast

Leslie Gulch, Malheur County

Succor Creek campsite

Staying faithful

As I am often pulled this way and that, evaluating/facing the duties and temptations I face, I have come to realize that only love is strong enough to keep me faithful--to God, to Meg, to family and friends.

Wallowa County, Snake River canyon

Ladd Marsh, Union County

The Wallow Mts above the town of Halfway in Baker County

Meg and I overnighted in Halfway a week ago before heading off to hike the wildflowers of the upper canyons above the Snake River.  Located in Baker County, about a three hour drive from La Grande, Halfway is a sleepy ranching town set in a beautiful valley beneath the Wallowa Mts. The area was evaluated in the mid thirties as a potential ski resort site that Averell Harriman wanted to develop to increase the ridership for the Union Pacific Railroad.  Instead, Ketchum, ID, was chosen for Sun Valley.

In any case, the small bed and breakfast, Pine Valley Lodge, suffices as an exceptionally cozy and comfortable place to stay without any of the fancy trappings of a resort. The community is down to earth and the people strongly connected to each other.

At this time of year, the hills outside of town are alive with the yellow arrowleaf balsam root wildflower. Its name comes from a combination of its leaf shape and the fragrance of its roots. It is a common spring flower in the Great Basin areas of the west. Native Americans used various parts of it as a pain reliever, and to treat colds, burns, wounds, insect bites and swelling.

From a photographer's standpoint, these flowers and the snow capped mountains behind them provide some of the most spectacular pictures in Oregon!!

Wallowa Mts, balsam root, halfway, Pine Valley Lodge

Wallowas

Baker County, Wallowa Mts. halfway

Wallowa Mts, Halfway, Baker County

Wallowa Mts, Halfway

Wallowa Mts, Halfway, Baker County

Mother's Day

God--and mothers--draw us to what is living, what is loving.  Happy Mother's Day! These are pictures of Dr Helen Johnson, an exceptionally loving, giving and compassionate pediatrician who blessed Meg and my lives as we worked with her on trips to Ecuador with Global Health Outreach.

GHO Ecuador

GHO Ecuador

Imensity

 I took Meg back to where I had hiked with the Scouts last week. Continuing upwards into a canyon that rose far above the Snake River, in the Hells Canyon NRA, Meg and I were reminded of the immensity, the infinity that surrounds us.  It is both humbling and awesome to be part of such a vast universe.   The wildflowers along the Snake river had diminished, but the higher we went, the more profuse they became, This week the red Indian paintbrush had appeared, to complement the yellow balsam root and the purple lupine. We hiked high into the deepening green of the canyon, deeply breathing the fragrances and the freshness.

Wallowa llamas

Hells Canyon NRA

Hells Canyon Snake River

Hells Canyon

Snake River canyon

McGraw Creek Snake River Hells Canyon

MeGraw Creek drainage