Paulina Lake Kayaking

It's so awesome.

As soon as the paddle hits the water, this immediate sense of calm and serenity invades you. It's amazing. "He leads me beside the still waters...He restores my soul."

I bought a kayak to celebrate sending in my manuscript for my book (Craigslist, used...), and am planning on some hot summer days on Sparks and Hosmer, once the Cascade Lakes Byway opens. Little did I know that at 6,300 feet that Paulina Lake would have snow on the shore. It did, but it was so cool. And relaxing. And serene. Just what I needed as I ran my sermon through my mind. And then ran it out of my mind. And just relaxed and enjoyed the quiet peacefulness. 

It's so awesome.

It you look closely you'll see how amazingly clear the water is. 
Almost makes you want to get out and swim.
Well, almost...

I never go out without my Crystal Lite in my Mongo Gatorade jar....
And what great, cold, wet legs!

Yes, the 14 foot kayak is longer than my car. 

And I was going to go to Paulina Falls, but the snow got in the way.
Yes, the Stop sign on the right side was correct...

Skiing after New Year's at Mt. Bachelor!

An out of town friend was visiting her mom in Redmond during Christmas with her two sons and one son's girlfriend, and we went up skiing.  It was great snow and a great experience.  Here's Caren and me.

See the awesome camera atop my helmet in the pic below?  Go-Pros are expensive helmet cams.  This one is a Go-Amateur, on a small flexible tripod and duct taped to my helmet...

And Devon is Caren's 22 year old son who I followed down Pine Marten.  I should have asked him to go slower, but he was having too much fun!

What We Did on Christmas Break

Do you ever wonder what pastors do with their kids on Christmas break?  The kids and I have gone skiing every Christmas break since Adam gave Eve her fig bikini.  This Christmas the snow was rock hard and icy so we did the second best thing....

Climbing at Smith Rock.

Be sure to also watch each of the short video clips below.  And that's me behind the camera.  I'll climb with them next time...

Enjoy!

And here are the awesome videos.

2-3 minutes in length, and you'll love them!

Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway

Wow...what an amazing drive, right here in Central Oregon!

The Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway is a 60 mile scenic drive around the base of Mount Bachelor.  It's called one of the nation's most important byways by Scenic America.  It passes through the heart of Central Oregon, with multiple views of the towering Cascade Mountains as a backdrop.  Sparks Lake, Little Lava Lake, Elk Lake and many others are within a short hike of the byway. 

The mile-high area is punctuated by dark lava flows, pumice fields, lofty mountains, and deep chasms, which show the evidence of the volconac activity that formed it.  Enjoy the pics below!

Hart Lake @ Holden Village

Late in August a group of 16 from our church and 4 from a neighboring church went to Holden Village for a wonderful time together.  The food was excellent, the fellowship and conversations were excellent, the weather was beautiful, and it was an awesome time together.  Holden's programming left a bit to be desired, but everything else far exceeded our expectations. 

Below are some pics from a group of us who went to Hart Lake.  Wonderful hike.  The next blog entry has pics from my solo hike to Holden Lake and a video I made there.  Enjoy!

Holden Lake @ Holden Village

Below are pictures from my solo hike to Holden Lake.  Keep scrolling for the posted video...

In the far distance you can see the Holden mine tailings.  Holden Village is just to the left of there.  Yep.  Way left...

While I was up there I had this grand idea of making a Lutheranism 101 video.  Great idea.  Bad video.  The bugs were worse than the birds in Hitchcock's "The Birds."  Click on it for full screen and count the bugs on my head.  Here are some other highlights:
00:35--Zion Lutheran Sweepstakes announced.
12:00--Interrupted by a young couple hiking.
16:15--Inhaling a fly...
17:20--Young guy swimming in the frigid lake.
18:45--Bikini-clad young gal in the lower left hand corner...

Yeah, I think I'll do a re-do...