Valerie – Page 63 – Valerie's Voice

Memorable Hikes – Tucson, Arizona 2003

Continuing my Friday series on memorable hikes…

In 2003 we went to visit friends who spend their winters in Arizona, away from the Minnesota cold, snow and ice. They bought a lovely town home in Tucson and we enjoy visiting them, over a long weekends, in February, when it works.

There is a lot to do and see in the area where they live: Tuscan Botanical Garden, Saguaro National Park, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, DeGrazia Gallery, Old Tuscon Studios, Mt. Lemon and the Santa Catalina mountains, good restaurants and several places for hiking. Sabino Canyon is one of those places.

Sabino Canyon is a desert oasis in the Coronado National Forest. When you arrive at the park you can take a tram up the canyon and walk back down if you desire. That’s a great way to hike! But there are several trail options available to hike back down. We have hiked in this canyon on several different trips. On this day in Sabino Canyon we were casually hiking down along the canyon in the beautiful, warm, sunshine. There was water in the canyon; water pools in the canyon during winter months and being near water while hiking is a always a treat. As we were walking we caught up with a couple in front of us that had stopped on the trail. They pointed to a rattlesnake coiled up in the sun on a rock along side the trial. We tiptoed past it and kept on going. That’s the first time, and hopefully the last time, I see one of those snakes!

Other than the snakes, the desert landscapes in this park are beautiful and it’s especially nice when one can enjoy warmth and sunshine knowing it’s cold and icy back in Minnesota.

Seed Exchange

I went on a field trip to the Faribault Public Library.

The Thomas Scott Buckham Memorial Library in Faribault, MN.

This was my first visit to the Thomas Scott Buckham Memorial Library housed in a historic building in downtown Faribault. It dates from 1929. The first thing I noticed was the stone plaque outside, standing tall, with the Ten Commandments written on it. That was a pleasant surprise.

I was curious to see a Farm Animal Portraits exhibition by Julie Fakler that I read about on Minnesota Prairie Roots. They were delightful to look at.

After I looked at the artwork I took myself on a tour of the library. I really enjoyed the children’s area. It’s a very spacious and colorful with a lot of kids size table and chairs, kid friendly posters, special areas for toddlers, an inviting information desk, and lots and lots of books and dvds, of course. There is a lot of natural light coming in through windows and it’s very inviting. I trust it gets used a lot. There were no children there during the hour I sat there. It must have been nap-time.

I like this colorful, fun rug in the children’s area.

There were a couple of artifacts in the library. One was an old bookshelf with glass doors storing old books.

A beautiful antique bookshelf with old books.

But the best discovery was how they re-purposed an old card catalog cabinet. They are using it as an heirloom seed exchange.

The re-purposed card catalog cabinet with a hi-tech computer close by.

The seeds are in brown envelopes divided by varieties and placed in an old library card catalog cabinet. Apparently, interested gardeners can “borrow” seeds from this cabinet, bring them home to plant in their gardens and then at the end of the season bring more seeds back to the library to restock the cabinet for next year. What a clever idea.

The sign painted on the side of the old card catalog cabinet.

I hope this seed exchange works well. Since this is my first time at the library I do not know how long the program has been in place.

The library has its own organic garden…I will plan to visit again next summer to see it in bloom.

A Week in Winter Wonderland

Last week it snowed one day, and then another, and then another and for some reason the snow mostly stayed on the tree branches making the world around us a winter wonderland. For me it was breath-taking. Everywhere you looked the trees were frosted. I tried to capture a few photos.

The first snow – ice crystals clinging to tree branches and glistening in the sun.

The second snow – Evergreens along County Road 9.

Second snowfall – we went snow-shoeing on French Lake.

Overlooking fresh fallen snow on an open field.

The third snow – walking in vehicle tracks on Crystal Lake.

Chunks of ice carved out of Crystal Lake, preparing a hole for a polar plunge (which we did not stay to watch.)

Continuing to walk all the way across Crystal Lake.

Into the woods on the other side of Crystal Lake.

A lone pine cone hanging on to a snowy branch.

Stunning beauty all along the Highway 3. I can only imagine what it would look like with blue skies.

Every branch (and every tree) is covered with snow.

Memorable Hikes – Itasca State Park, Minnesota 2011

Continuing my Friday series on memorable hikes…

My husband and I went camping in Itasca State Park. This park is a beautiful treasure in Minnesota. In this park, the headwaters of the Mississippi begin. We camped here with our boys when they were younger, but this year it was just my husband and I.

It’s always fun to say “I’ve walked across the Mississippi River.”

One afternoon we took off hiking on a trail from the campground, and I was in the lead. As we were walking along I noticed black in the treetops above me, on my right. I stopped to look and noticed there were two black cubs high in the tree…so then I thought…hmmm, where’s mama?

I looked to the left of the path and there she was, staring right at us. At that moment I couldn’t remember what I was suppose to do. We’ve been to so many parks and read so many signs telling one how to react to bears…black bears or grizzly bears… play dead for one and act big for another, but in this moment – when I needed to know – I forgot! So we stood there, and then slowly stepped backwards. The cubs climbed down the tree, walked over the path in front of us and joined their mama, all the while the mama kept her eyes on us. And we kept our eyes on her too!

When the cubs were safely with their mama we watched them scamper off into the woods and we kept going on our hike, happy to have had a safe, and memorable, encounter with the black bears.

Billy Graham

I saw this image on a billboard today. After hearing the sad news of Billy Graham’s death this morning, I was surprised to see this billboard already on display along 35W a few hours later.

Billy Graham was 99 years old. Today the world mourns his passing, yet celebrates the amazing life of this good and faithful servant of God. He was a powerful man of prayer, and a man of positive influence. He touched the lives of so many people around the world.

Here is a link to the official obituary for Billy Graham.

In 8^th grade my church youth group went to see the movie The Restless Ones, a Billy Graham movie. After the movie I went up to talk to a counselor, but half way there I got nervous and turned around. Years later, when Billy Graham came to Minneapolis in 1996, I went through counselor training for the Minneapolis Crusades so I was available for others if anyone wanted to talk after Billy Graham spoke. What an interesting twist.

My own two sons, and their youth group at the time, went to hear the evangelist. Afterwards kids were running to the bus when my youngest son accidentally ran into a fender and cut open his leg. We wrapped it, got on the bus, and kept his spirits up while we drove back to Northfield Hospital’s emergency room. He had several stitches that left a scar on his leg for many years.

I think I will always remember where I was when I heard the news about Billy Graham’s death; just as I remember where I was when JFK was shot, or when the planes flew into the Twin Towers in NYC on 911.

The Jetsons and Starman

Sometimes when I’m caught in heavy traffic I have thought about the Jetsons. The Jetsons was a cartoon show on television in the 1960’s and I used to watch it as a little girl: George the father, Jane the mother, Judy the daughter, Elroy the son, and Astro their dog. It made an impression on me.

The cover of 1963 The Jetsons comic book.

The Jetsons had the coolest vehicles called spacemobiles…and they traveled fast through the interplanetary expressway. In rush hour traffic I have envisioned being in spacemobile rising above the traffic and zooming home, leaving the mess behind!

The other day I was looking through a box of books and found an old comic book: The Jetsons, Volume 1, January 1963, published quarterly, “Now only 12 cents!” What fun!

Also, the other day a friend, not knowing about this comic book I just uncovered, suggested I look online at pictures of “Starman”, the name of the mannequin dressed in a spacesuit orbiting the universe in a bright red, Tesla Roadster. The photos are interesting, intriguing, and a bit eerie. Click here to see photo. The roadster might even crash into earth some time in the next million years, click here for article and photo with short video of traveling by Earth.

So to see these amazing images from outer space and then look at an antique comic book from 1963 depicting the same theme felt like an intergalactic experience!

Stopping by for a picnic on a “planetoid”.

Back to the comic book: the Jetsons take nutrition pills as their dinner; George, the father, says in a huff “keep your synthetic shirts on”; they take their dog Astro for a “float” instead of a walk; and when they have to use an airplane to fly to Hawaii because their spacemobile breaks down (darn – I guess there will never be a vehicle that doesn’t break down) the kids think the airplane is an antique. Although not featured in this particular comic book, I do believe the Jetsons had picture phones…like Skype or FaceTime!

Here are a few photos of pages from the comic book.

The first page of the comic book…notice year on time box in upper left corner: 2062 A.D.

Afternoon float and inter-canine intercoms…o my.

I’m still wondering if someday we couldn’t find away to rise above all the traffic and use space as our freeway. Hmm, just think…no snow removal… construction zones… no traffic jams…

Memorable Hikes – Bayfield, Wisconsin 2014

Continuing my Friday series on memorable hikes…

In 2014, an article in The Washington Post read “An estimated 94 percent of Lake Superior is covered with ice, enabling sightseers to visit the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore’s sea caves for the first time since 2009.”

Before 2014 I did not know there was a possibility of walking on frozen Lake Superior to visit the sea caves. We explored the sea caves while kayaking one summer, but to see them in the wintertime was intriguing. I love Lake Superior and I loved the idea of walking on it. As soon as I learned about this opportunity we recruited some friends and headed to Duluth for dinner and an overnight, and drove to Bayfield, Wisconsin the next day. A beach near Bayfield was the designated entry point for the trail to the sea caves. There were throngs of people with the same idea. It quickly became a very popular attraction that winter, which made for congested parking and long lines – but it was worth it.

We bundled up in our warm, winter gear, grabbed our hiking poles and walked out to see the beautiful dazzling ice formations, crystal caves, and icicles hanging everywhere off the cliff faces along the Apostle Island National Lakeshore. When the lake is not frozen the sea caves are very popular places for exploring with canoeists and kayakers. But at this point in time people could walk through, and crawl under, these same sea caves and it was awesome!

A Favorite Hymn

Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all nature,
O thou of God and man the Son,
Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor,
thou, my soul’s glory, joy, and crown.

Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands,
robed in the blooming garb of spring:
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer
who makes the woeful heart to sing.

Fair is the sunshine, fairer still the moonlight,
and all the twinkling starry host:
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
than all the angels heaven can boast.

Beautiful Savior! Lord of all the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor, praise, adoration,
now and forevermore be thine.

We sang this hymn in the worship service we attended for our granddaughter’s baptism on Sunday. The ceremony was precious, and brought tears to my eyes. More tears of joy surfaced as we sang this closing hymn. It touched my heart in a special way as it brought me back to my childhood. I remember it as one of the first hymns I loved singing when I was a child. Songs are powerful and stay in our minds; they often trigger certain feelings and memories. I was happy to have this special memory from my childhood church be brought to my mind on this very special day.

Memorable Hikes – Malawi, Africa 2009

Continuing my Friday series on memorable hikes…

This is about the hike that wasn’t.

Our youngest son, Tim, planned our first trip to Africa. He was living there when my husband, oldest son and myself went to visit. Tim met us at the airport as we stepped off the plane. It was so exciting to be in Africa!

A photo of a page from the photo book I made from our trip.

We met the rep from the rental car company and picked up our car. We were soon on the road starting our adventures. The first days were spent at a rustic lodge in Liwonde National Park in Malawi, Africa. We went on an exciting canoe safari and saw hippopotamus’ up close, and in this park we saw elephants in the wild for our first time (but not our last).

Our first hippo sighting from our canoes.

After a couple of nights it was time to head to the country of Mozambique to see where our son lived. However, the morning we were to leave we had trouble starting our vehicle at the lodge. After several attempts the car finally started and we drove to the park entrance. We had to turn in our permit to the park ranger and by automatic reflex we turned off the car. This time it wouldn’t start again.

Photo from our safari in Krueger National Park…there was no hiking in this park…must stay in the open-top jeep with your guide.

We called the rental company and they said they would send someone right away but of course we were a couple of hours from the city, so we each took out our books and started to read. After a while I decided I wanted to take a walk. My oldest son said he’d go along so we started walking down the road. Immediately the park ranger came running after us and said in broken English…”No! No walk…elephants.” So, of course we had to go back to the car.

Finally two mechanics showed up at the park to fix our car. Thankfully they could do it on the spot and they worked quickly. Soon we were on the road again driving to Mozambique.

A photo of a photo of the sunset we saw as we were paddling back to shore from our canoe safari.

Shortly after we arrived home to the USA I noticed an article in the newspaper about a young mom and her baby attacked by an elephant in Kenya, Africa and they died. Of course I immediately thought about our attempted hike in Liwonde National Park. I guess the ranger knew what he was talking about.

Impromptu Hike

The sun was shining, the snow was glistening and the woods were calling. Fortunately, we had no where we needed to be so we headed out to Big Woods State Park to hike in the winter wonderland.