A Way We Go . . .: Shape Up or Ship Out. Or Both.

Me and my dashing personal driver.

Grand Canyon National Park. Arizona. We hiked a little around the North Rim. The South Rim is by far the more popular view, but we'd heard a lot of people recommend the North Rim, and since it closes due to winter weather, we decided to check it out while we could. The North Rim is less desert-like. Is that a word? There is far more foliage than the South Rim. We liked it very much.

Some of the trails were very narrow and exposed along the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

I told CBR to hold onto his sister.

He's quite literal.

This day was really low key. We did some hiking, but mostly just sitting and looking. Thinking. Looking. Thinking. It was a reflective day.

By now, we've seen some pretty amazing landscapes. I'm blown away by how I've experienced God over the last several months. I've felt Him in ways that I wouldn't have at home. I've seen Him not only through the people we've met, but also through nature. I see evidence of Him everywhere, and it moves me. I see His hand at work in our family too. This experience has stretched me. In some ways it's been so much harder than I expected. When you don't have friends, family, cell service, or TV to distract you, the confusion of life strangely seems elementary. I'm so thankful for these days . . . these months . . . some of the most lucid I've had. I've become vividly aware of the love affair we're wrapped up in with Jesus. He's crazy about us. But here's the kicker -- He doesn't love me because of who I am. He loves me because of who He is. I'm thankful to have this unique opportunity to be reminded of that. However, I don't want to be just reminded. Our family is praying about how this truth will move us to action.

Now, the Grand Canyon is nice . . . but one of my new favorite places is Saguaro (pronounced suh-wah-roe) National Park in Tucson, Arizona. The Saguaro is a HUGE flowering cactus (the Arizona state flower) only found in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona and Mexico. It was fantastic!

These things are so gigantic. The black holes you see on them are from the Gila woodpeckers. They nest here for a year, and then move to another cactus. Each time they move, their deserted hole becomes a home for flycatchers, owls, or wrens.

Saguaro Cactus Fun Facts: They are extremely slow growing. A 10 year old plant might only be 1.5" tall! Saguaros can live to be 150-200 years old, which can put them up to 60 feet tall. When they are fully hydrated, it can weigh between 3200-4800 pounds! It is the largest cactus in the United States. After the blooming flower on the tip begins to die for the season, a fruit begins to ripen. Before the fruit opens, you can cut it open and eat it -- there is also a sweet jelly inside. It's extremely popular amongst the locals, but they have to beat the birds to it.

I'm on a cactus roll.

When we were in Joshua Tree, as soon as you cross out of the Mojave Desert and into the Sonoran Desert, you see these funny looking things pictured below everywhere. We thought they were some sort of desert bush. No. Since you can only find the Saguaro Cactus in the Sonoran Desert, you will also only find the odd things pictured below in the Sonoran Desert. Why? I'm glad you asked. Because they are dead Saguaro Cacti. Who knew that the green part shrivels up and disappears, and that these woody ribs are what actually hold the cactus upright. The ribs are lightweight and relatively strong, and are commonly used in roofing materials, as southwest home decor, or to make shutters or furniture. The Indians used the cactus ribs to make cradles. I know - it's positively astounding.

The woody ribs of a dead Saguaro Cactus.

Consequently, in order to take this picture I am also leaning out the window of a moving motor home.

Aw shucks, let's all hang out the windows.

Here's a great pic of what may be a 50 year old cactus, a tiny infant compared to the two mature ones behind, then the woody ribs of a dead cactus to the left.

Traveling in a motor home ANYWHERE near the Mexican border often lands you in a special border patrol lane where they circle your rig with a police dog and ask probing questions until the officer gets the "all clear" from the inspecting canine.

We settled in Tombstone, Arizona for a few nights. Tombstone is about 34 miles from the Mexico border. This eensy weensy town is most remembered by it's rise in popularity in the west as mecca for silver mining. It was certainly a wild west town, and western legends like Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday teamed up for the famous gunfight near the OK Corral. Tombstone might be one of the last truly authentic western towns left in America -- it's too tough to die.