Valentine's Day: Ice & Sand

Happy Valentine's Day from the San Luis Valley!  :)  We had a fun afternoon excursion which included a short hike to Zapata Falls and exploring the  infamous Sand Dunes.  We were energized by the majesty of nature...We love our new home! 

Over looking the Valley, at the beginning of the trail.

Zapata Falls

The coolest part was watching the waterfall silently flow behind 2 feet of clear frozen ice.

Slip 'n' Slide!
The Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the Sand Dunes.
Driving to the dunes...
"Where man himself is a visitor who does not remain." - 1964 Wilderness Act


It was like walking in a really cold desert.




That's "D +R" not "P + R"  :)
This guy walked right in front of our car as we drove slowly...
Mt. Blanca in the sunset's light.

The Shack

 I (Rebecca) just finished reading The Shack, by William Paul Young.  I'd heard much controversy about the book, so I read it with a critical eye.  I've concluded that it's very interesting, thought-provoking, and I felt encouraged and blessed as I read it.  On the other hand, its theology isn't entirely biblical, specifically in regards to the characters of the trinity and in the problem of suffering/evil. Overall, I agree with my former theology professor, Craig Smith's advice: 

"Read it, but read it carefully. The power of teaching theology via narrative is that

it can sometimes bypass the mind and take root in the heart without the reader being

aware of what is happening. In the case of The Shack, there is some potential for this to

be damaging to the development of a healthy Christian worldview. On the other hand,

for the Christian whose worldview is firmly rooted in Scripture and who reads

discerningly, reading The Shack may be an extremely edifying experience....

...Apart from theological issues, The Shack is worth paying attention to as a cultural phenomenon. A great many people have read/are reading/will read this book and they are not all Christians. In fact, the book is being read by startling numbers of non-Christians who are very interested in talking about the ideas it contains. As Christians, we must be ready to take advantage of interest in The Shack as a bridge to sharing the Gospel. If we are ready to do this, we may well find that The Shack provides an important intersection of faith and culture, allowing us to make a significant impact in whatever spheres of influence God has given us."

Click here to find helpful resources on The Shack.  This link includes articles on the book's theological strengths and weaknesses, and also includes a helpful article on how to use the book as a tool to start conversations with non-believers.

Deric's 26th Birthday, 2-8-09

Deric turned 26 on Sunday.  Only bad part of the day was that he was sick with a terrible cold. We managed to celebrate, though, and started the day right: sleeping in and then a big birthday breakfast, complete with Reese's-Pieces waffles.

The Birthday Boy.
After church, we attended a membership class (figured it's good to become church members if we're on staff!).  I brought a birthday cake to share.  

After the class, we went for a drive, just to explore our new town.  We ended the day with  delicious "take and bake" pizza and four back-to-back episodes of LOST (yes, we're officially addicted!).  

Quick trip to Ridgway, 2/4-2/5

Wednesday morning we left Alamosa and headed 4 hours northwest (mainly west) to Ridgway--a town of 800 40 mins. south of Montrose.  It was a gorgeous drive over the mountains, with bright blue skies and sunshine.

Blue Mesa Lake is absolutely stunning.  I'd seen it once before, in the summertime.  Winter is just as magnificent!
We stayed at the Kriegshausers' house (Rebecca's good friends from Virginia), but also got to hang out with Ben and Rosie Cubbage, who moved to Ridgway in November.  It was so refreshing and encouraging to be around old friends again!!

Good times were had by all!

Ben and Rosie live in this super-cool yurt!
It has no electricity or plumbing (it's heated by a wood stove and propane space heater), but they LOVE it! They're so adventurous!! :)

Birthday Train Ride 1-31

My (Rebecca's) 28th birthday was yesterday, and Deric surprised me with an all-day adventure that took us from Alamosa to the small town of La Veta and back...aboard a train on the San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad!!  We left at 9am and traveled 3 hours through the majestic Sangre de Cristo mountains.  The weather was perfect--clear, sunny and in the 30's-40's--so we took lots of photos!  We stopped briefly in Fir (La Veta Pass), which is the US's highest railroad point (9,363 feet) before continuing on to La Veta.  We had one hour to explore La Veta (which was about 15 minutes more than we needed.  It's a small town!).  Around 1:45pm, we boarded the train again and headed back to Alamosa, arriving there around 4:30pm (we traveled faster on the way home because we didn't have any freight to haul.  On the way to La Veta, we were pulling several cars filled with soybeans).  It was a wonderful way to celebrate my birthday because it combined several things I love: being with Deric, being surprised, adventure, exploring, and seeing new places.  Plus, we really got a feel for the culture, geography, and history of the San Luis Valley, the place we now call "home." 

About to board, with my coffee and my ticket.

This train station was built in 1907.
A cluster of Fourteeners: Mt. Blanca (14,347 ft.), Mt. Lindsay (14,037 ft.), and Ellingwood Point (14,042 ft.)

The next few are from our brief stop in Fir.

It's not every day that I'm nose-to-nose with a train engine!

It was chilly at that high elevation (over 9,000 ft)!

Our first glimpse of Mt. Mestas.

We had a mile-by-mile guidebook with photos, history, and other information about the sights we were seeing, which made the ride even more interesting.

La Veta's depot.

a crazy sculpture we found.

Main Street.

Random and funny wall mural.

This was our first store to explore.  I took this for you, Gramps and Gram.  Maybe you could move to Alamosa and open up a shop like this.

Our train, minus the freight cars.

That dark mound is what they call a "volcanic plug," whatever that means.

Deric packed a picnic lunch, which we ate on the train.

There's a little deck with open widows on the front of the dining car.  It was chilly, but very neat!

I spent some of the ride talking to family & friends and/or listening to birthday messages. :)

We brought the old camera and had fun with it.

DEER!

Someone's yard, about 15 miles west of Alamosa.

Steeping off in Alamosa.

After our train ride, we headed to Wal-Mart to kill a little time before dinner out at Chili's.  It was a fun birthday!!