You are currently browsing the monthly archive for May, 2008.
On this day 55 years ago, 2 people reached the summit of Mt. Everest for the 1st time ever. I have a slight fascination with this huge mountain that holds that highest peak on earth. I have never missed an episode of “Everest: Beyond the Limit” on the Discovery channel. “Into Thin Air” is a book written by Jon Krakauer that really got me interested in the whole thing though. “Into Thin Air” is where I have learned the most about what it takes to get to the top of the mountain. Basically, this trip was a disaster and the deadliest season of climbing. 15 people died that month and 8 of those died on the same day.
The elevation at the top of Mt. Everest is 29,029 feet. I had a hard time walking up a hill in Colorado without feeling out of breath at 14,000 feet. I couldn’t imagine being at 29,029 feet, even if I was breathing from an oxygen tank. Reaching the summit of Mt. Everest has to be a life changing event. The will-power that it takes to get to the top is something that only a few people have. What really stinks is that as soon as you reach the top, you can’t stay and celebrate for long. Your body can only keep functioning in the “danger zone” for so long. I am amazed at what people go through just to say they’ve been on top of a mountain.
The main thing the resonates with me time after time when reading about Everest is the lenghts people will go to in order to accomplish their goals. They train for years, some lose arms, some get severe frostbite, some even leave friends behind to die so that they can reach the summit. Blind people, teenagers, and even leg amputees have made it to the summit. It really is amazing. One of the craziest stories is about a guy named Beck Weathers. Click on the link and go read about him. He was literally left for dead mulitple times, but somehow lived to tell his story.
So, in honor of this anniversary of reaching Mt. Everest for the first time, what’s the hardest you’ve ever worked to acheive one of your goals? Leave some comments and let me know!
So here is the (not) highly anticipated PART 2 of our trip to Colorado. We woke up Tuesday morning, left Colorado Springs and headed north for Estes Park. Estes Park is right outside of Rocky Mountain National Park and it really is a very neat town with a lot to do. Our time in Estes Park was a lot more relaxed and we didn’t have a lot of stuff planned out to do. I also unfortuantely came down with a sinus infection or cold that had me feeling not so great for a good chunk of the time we were there. It still didn’t stop us from having fun. Here are a couple of highlights from Estes Park.
- We stayed in a cabin right on the Fall River which was really nice and peaceful. When we got there, Ashley and I sat out by the river for awhile - she slept, and I read some of my book.
- Wednesday was the best weather we had the whole time we were there. Storms (snow and rain) were looking very likely for the rest of the trip, and for once the weatherman was actually correct. So we took advantage of the good weather on Wednesday and went on a fly fishing trip with a guide from Kirk’s Fly Fishing Adventures. We actually had 2 guides come out with us for the first hour which was really nice of them. This meant we each had our own guide to teach us - neither of us had ever done any fly fishing before so this was great. It got ugly from the start though. Ashley caught 5 before I even caught 1. She ended up with 9 trout from the Big Thompson river to my 3. Ashley was a natural, either that or she had a better teacher. I’m not really sure.
- After we finished fishing, we had some pizza for lunch and then hopped on some bikes to take a 9 mile loop around town. We made it close to halfway and then turned around. I got killed on the bikes by my wife again. The air is so hard to breathe and a constant uphill climb wears you out so quick! The road we biked down provided an incredible view of the surronding snow capped mountains.
- Thursday and Friday are a blur and I really can’t remember what we did each of those days. We didn’t do a lot of hiking as we had hoped for 2 reasons: 1-We were tired and I was still sick 2- There was so much snow on the trails that you needed snowshoes to get very far.
- We were able to finally get to the top of Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. The elevation only gets to about 12,000 feet up there. On our way up it was snowing off and on and the temperature was rapidly dropping from the upper 50’s to the 30’s and below. When we made it to the top, the snow blew in and created a complete whiteout. I have never seen anything like this before or been in this type of weather. The wind chill at that time was 5 but I think it got to at least -5 in the next 30 minutes as we drove to different places. On the bottom of the mountain, the weather was the exact opposite - sunny, but still windy. We also visited Bear Lake which was 90% frozen over still. This was one of the lower lakes in the park, but it was still frozen solid. It made for some beautiful pictures.
If you ever get the chance to head out to the western part of our country - you’ve got to go. It’s so different from what we are used to. It sure was nice to get home though and find it easy to take a deep breath again. Maybe you eventually get used to the thinner air with less oxygen, but I sure didn’t. Overall our trip was a blast and we made lots of memories to last a lifetime.
Vacations are one of my favorite things in life. Even if it is for only 2 or 3 days, a vacation can make a difference in my life for months at a time. I love to take cheap vacations - like a simple camping trip to Brevard. The only thing we pay for is food - and we normally eat well - and gas, which isn’t so cheap anymore these days. Sometimes cheap vacations just aren’t enough though. You’ve got to go high-dollar sometime - and if you don’t know by now, we’re not rich. So how can we do this then?
Colorado wasn’t exactly a high-dollar vacation, but it wasn’t a cheap one either. We knew from the start that it would require a significant amount of money, so guess what? We started saving for it. For me, it’s hard to imagine putting a vacation on a credit card and then paying for it for the whole next year. (This is why we went to Asheville for our honeymoon and not Jamacia or Mexico - it would’ve put us in debt - and that’s close to the worst way to start a marriage.)
When I’m on vacation, I don’t want to worry about how much money I’m going to spend. I want to live it up and go all out (within reason of course). On vacation, I want to do things that we normally wouldn’t do. I want to do things that I can’t do at home. I didn’t go to Colorado to experience the same thing I can experience at home.
While we were in Colorado we got a guide for a fly-fishing trip, we went on an awesome train ride and upgraded to the nice compartment which was 100% worth it, ate out at nice resturants we wouldn’t normally eat at, grilled out a nice steak which we normally don’t do at home very often, stayed in a nice cabin by the river (had 3 free nights in a hotel at the beginning of the trip), visited Royal Gorge Park, and rented bikes for a day. Don’t forget about the cost of plane tickets either.
While we were there, we enjoyed every minute of it. We didn’t feel bad spending the money because we had saved. Once we were close to the end, Ashley and I spent about 15 minutes going through everything we spent to get an idea of how we had done. We realized that we had used up most of what we had saved, and then we didn’t really do anything else. I would have never enjoyed this vacation if we had not saved for it. Also, please understand that this isn’t the type of vacation we normally take. Last year we spent a week at the beach with friends and didn’t spend much at all. This was just as fun, but it’s fun to splurge sometime and do something different.
Vacation is important for your mind, heart, and body. It relaxes you and refreshes you. It relieves your stress. It strengthens your marriage. It gives you lifelong memories. It adds 10 pounds to your weight (the only negative about vacation). We all need vacation, so save for it. Don’t take a vacation and then pay for it later. I set up a special account just for vacations and I take money out of each check I get and put it into this account. I also make the money hard to access. If I want the money, it will take 3 days before I can access it, and I am limited in the amount of transactions I make. Keep it separate from everything else. Also, even if you don’t have a vacation planned, start putting money aside for a special trip anyway. You’ll be thankful you did.
Our next trip is to Charleston in July for 3 days. Lodging is free (Thanks Kelly, you are the man!) and it should be relatively inexpensive. Time to start saving now so we can eat GOOD and of course take our hosts along with us for a good meal!
On May 17th we flew out of Raliegh, NC to head out to Colorado for the week. It was a fantastic trip where we spent the 1st half in Colorado Springs, and then the 2nd half in Estes Park (Rocky Mtn. National Park). Here’s a recap with a few pics for those who are interested.
Colorado Springs
- We arrived in Colorado Springs and went straight to P.F. Changs before we settled down at the Hampton Inn. This was my first time eating there and it was incredible.
- After eating we went to Garden of the Gods. It really is an incredible place that just doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the mountain landscape around. The best thing about it was that it was free (one of the few free things in the whole freakin state).
- Sunday we took a ride on the Royal Gorge Railroad and spent the day near Canon City at the Royal Gorge Park where they have a huge bridge crossing the park. The train ride followed along the Arkansas River which was full of water from the tons of snow melt.
- Sunday night I had one of the best dinners ever at Texas Land and Cattle. They have a smoked sirloin and I got the biggest one they have. It was out of this world. There’s one in Charlotte - road trip anyone?
- Monday we went to Pike’s Peak. At the top, the altitude is 14,100 feet. Let’s just say the air is a little harder to breathe up there. There was still tons of snow and it was rather cold. On the way back down I started to get a pretty bad headache followed by some serious nasuea. Yes, that’s called altitude sickness. It still was an awesome trip up and down the mountain.
Next up - Estes Park
One of my favorite worship songs ever is Wonderful Maker. I know it’s old school and should probably be taken out of the regular rotation for sets, but I love it. Here are the lyrics (chris tomlin):
Wonderful Maker
You spread out the skies over empty space
Said “let there be light”
Into a dark and formless world Your light was born
You spread out Your arms over empty hearts
Said “let there be light”
Into a dark and hopeless world Your Son was born
You made the world and saw that it was good
You sent Your only Son for You are good
What a wonderful Maker
What a wonderful Savior
How majestic Your whispers
And how humble Your love
With a strength like no other
And the heart of a Father
How majestic Your whispers
What a wonderful God
No eye has fully seen, how beautiful the cross
And we have only heard
The faintest whispers of how great You are
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I’ll be heading into the beautiful state of Colorado soon and have been thinking about this song. It’s amazing to see the incredible creation of God. I love going up to Brevard, NC and go there numerous times a year, but I’ve only been to Colorado once. At the time in my life when I went, I didn’t have the same appreciation for the outdoors that I do now. It should be a great time and you’ll be seeing a few posts about the trip soon.
My goal in life is to always be content. If I only have $1 to my name, I want to be content. If I have $1 million. I want to be content. I would be willing to step out on a limb and say there are a lot of people with over $1 million who are unable to find contenment. I always try to remind myself of this principle every day. Each night when Ashley and I pray together, we always thank him for His generosity to us and for the favor He has shown to our family.
Ashley and I have been blessed beyond reason in our marriage. We have never been without. We live in a house, we have 2 cars, we can go out to eat (but don’t too often b/c it’s a budget breaker - more on this in another post), we have cable and internet, we’re about to take a trip to Colorado, I’ve got more guitars than I play, and the list goes on and on and on.
With all of this, it isn’t uncommon for me to want more. Sometimes it’s expensive stuff like an HDTV, sometimes it’s a boat (normally about the same time each year which is right now). Every now and then I will want a new 6 string, or a new amp or something musically related. I know without a doubt that none of this would bring me more happiness in my life. It actually would probably lower my level of contentment.
Here are some of my favorite verses on contentment:
*1st Timothy 6:6-10
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
This next one is one of my favorite passages in the whole good book.
*Phillipians 4:11-13
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
I think the keyword there is “learned.” Contentment is not something that comes naturally. Nobody had to teach us to say “that’s mine” when we were growing up. We live in a society that always wants more, more, more! It’s hard to be content in this world, but I am learning to live a life of contentment. I have every reason to be content. A God who loves me as His own child, and a loving wife who surpasses my highest expectations. Sometimes I’m just a slow learner.
So, what am I doing here in the blogging world? I’m not much of a writer. I won’t be making many compelling arguments trying to convince you of something. I may say things that make you laugh. You may laugh at the general idea of me even having a blog. Some things I write will reinforce the notion that I shouldn’t have a blog.
Basically, I’ve started to read a lot of blogs and figured that it was time to start my own. Some of my favorite blogs to read are Personal Finance blogs. I’ll have some of my favorites over there on my blog roll. I may post some things on this subject from time to time.
Here are some other topics I will be likely to post about: Canoeing, X-box, Finance, Music, Christianity, Grilling, My wife Ashley, and who knows what else. The door is wide open.
So keep reading, and don’t laugh at me. (but if you do it’s understandable, b/c my wife has already laughed numerous times!)
