These Boots are Made for Hikin'...

...and that's just what they'll do!

I'm getting really excited about our trip to Colorado starting Labor Day weekend. My brother-in-law and I made plans to explore another '14er in the Colorado wilderness while I'm there. For those of you who aren't familiar with the term, "14ers" refer to Colorado's mountain peaks that exceed a 14'000 ft elevation. There are around 54 of them in the state (can't remember the exact number) and the experience of God's beauty, the physical exertion, the whole package, make it a hobby that I can't get enough of...OK maybe my 32 yr old body needs a few days rest in between the hikes. It's been too long since I hiked my last 14er, and the Nevada desert has got me thirstin' for another one.

Anyway, I spent my birthday money at REI on this pair of hiking boots. Thank you everyone!! They are SO much better than my old ones - they fit better and weigh less. I'm convinced that my old ones were designed for hiking from Alaska to San Diego with a 50 lb pack on my back - much more shoe than I needed for a short day hike. As you can see, they are Asolo, which was the same brand as my last pair. They're great quality boots!

The last time I remember being so excited about boots was the summer before I started the Air Force Academy. I wore them everywhere (even hiked them down into the Black Canyon with Paul Sigafus) so that I could break them in before the next four, long, wearisome years began. VERY long, VERY wearisome years....ANYWAY, my intent is to do the same with these boots in the next two weeks before they take their maiden 14er voyage! I wonder what my boss would say if I wore them to work with khakis - I already talked him into a goatee! Maybe I shouldn't push my luck, huh!?

Graham...which peak are we going to hike!

What's In a Name?

I know it's been a long time since I've posted on here, but I'm excited to have a chance to sit and reflect on the last couple months.

I can't pass up this opportunity to share a story with you. At the end of July, I traveled to southwest Iowa to attend a funeral for my Grand-Uncle...is that the right terminology for my Grandpa's brother? Anyway...it was a wonderful time of fellowship with some family members that I hadn't seen in eons, and it was a wonderful celebration of Uncle Carl's life.

Sometimes along the road of mourning and sadness, God gives us little bits of humor in places we least expect. The sleepy little hollow of Hamburg, Iowa (not so sleepy anymore for reasons not mentioned here) was one such place during this trip. We were driving into Hamburg (population 1,240) on the last day of our trip when a particular restaurant caught my eye.

Yep...that's right. "Ye Ole Yack-N-Snack." Now most people probably identify the word "yack" with talking alot, but I came from an upbringing where the word had a double meaning. Not to turn the blog sour, but when I was a kid we had a dog named Dagwood. In our family, the word "yack" referred to Dagwood's action of vomiting after eating something digestively challenging. With that in mind, you can see how I got quite a chuckle from the name of the joint. Needless to say, I wasn't tempted to eat there : ) Maybe an even better name would have been "Ye Ole' Snack-N-Yack!"

We decided to park across the street from the restaurant at an old-fashion, soda-fountain drug store. I love drug stores that hold onto this tradition - especially Jay Drug in Shenandoah, IA. As we were heading in to order up a cold treat, I noticed the name of the drug store...Remember, this is right across the street from the Yack Shack.


God bless my Grandma who was with us, but we had to explain the humor of the name to her. I guess it's a sign of our times, huh!? I'm sure this drug store has been in business in Hamburg for a long time, but never had I taken notice of it, or the irony of it's name.

I've got to hand it to Hamburg, IA for creativity - whether it was intentional or not on their part. I sure got a good laugh!