Just for our American readers:

Happy 4th of July!

Summertime!

Time for watermelon, bonfires, hotdogs, marshmallows…  

Thank you, Lord, for special times and special blessings!

The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.  Ps. 74:16,17

   Once again for our anniversary, Robert and I headed  south of the border for a few days in the White Mountains of New Hampshire to enjoy some free time, rest, and hiking in the Presidential Range.  In addition to some strolls along our favourite paths (“The Basin” and “Sabbaday Falls”), we hiked two more 4000+ footers in the Presidential Range – Mount Liberty and Mount Jefferson.  Though Mount Liberty was the longer hike, Mount Jefferson was the more challenging due to the very bouldery path, necessitating a lot of scrambling.  During both hikes, Robert managed to read Scripture while we hiked – the gospel of John on the way up Mt. Liberty, Romans on the way down, and Ephesians on the first part of the path up Mt. Jefferson.  When the path started requiring the undivided attention of our eyes, we turned to Scripture memorisation, sharing previously memorised verses, so that by the time we arrived back at the foot of Mt. Jefferson, physically tired but spiritually refreshed, we both had the first chapter of James memorised and had shared many insights that had come to us as we memorised and thought about those verses!  Overall, this anniversary was one of the best – if not the best -ever!  Thank you, Robert!

  Here are a few photos of our trip:

Heading up Mt. Jefferson – The first part of the trail was easier, but it got rockier near the summit and at the very top we found ourselves inside a cloud – very damp!

“Sabbaday Falls” – an easy trail to a very pretty waterfall.

Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. 
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God!  Ps. 90:1-2

   For our 31st anniversary this year, we were blessed to be able to go camping in the White Mountains for a few days.  Thank you to all at home who “held the fort” and looked after younger ones while we were gone!

While there, we did a number of small hikes to some very pretty waterfalls.

   We also did two longer hikes, each 6-7 miles with 2500-2700 feet of vertical ascent.  The first was over two peaks (Mount Jackson and Mount Webster) and the other was a hike up Mount Eisenhower.  The trail up Mount Eisenhower was well maintained thanks to the work of a dedicated man, J. Rayner Edmands, who in the early 1900’s did much work to make the path pleasant to hike, so there was much less “scrambling” up boulders and steep spots than on many longer trails.

We are thankful that the Lord allowed us this special time together to enjoy His beautiful creation!

For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.  Isaiah 55:12

  Work on our extension is progressing.  We now have balconies on the north and south sides and energies have now been turned towards finishing the inside of the extension.  The next step is putting on window frames, mouldings around the windows and doors, and all the wainscot.  As you can see from this photo, there is a lot of wood to be stained and then varnished!   But with teamwork, considerable progress has been made in staining the wood.  Hopefully by next week we will be ready to start putting up some of the wood! 

This past week, Robert and I celebrated our 30^th anniversary by climbing Mount Washington, the highest peak in the American northeast:  about 10 miles round trip and about 3800 feet of vertical ascent.  It took us 11 hours including an hour lunch break and lots of stopping to take pictures, but we did it!!!

  The day started out overcast and the top of Mount Washington was hidden in cloud, so we weren’t sure if we’d end up going all the way to the top but as we started back on the upward climb after lunch, the cloud started breaking up and by the time we reached the top it was quite clear (visibility of 50 miles) and *very* windy – wooshhhhh! The view was really pretty.  There was a little snow left on the slopes of the facing mountains.

 One of many beautiful waterfalls on the
Ammonoosuk Ravine Trail on the morning ascent.

The mountain tops are hidden in clouds.
We wonder if it will be worth climbing to the top.

 Getting higher and above the tree line.

 We took a lunch break in the Lake of the Clouds Hut.

The clouds start to lift as we hike higher!  What a view!
We look back at the Lake of the Clouds Hut where we ate lunch.
Can you see it?  It is the tiny white dot in the middle right.
Lake of the Clouds is to its left.

Mount Washington is reputed to have some of the
worst weather in the world, including record high wind speeds.

We made it to the top!
And it was definitely windy!!!

 One of the spectacular views from the top – thank you, Lord, for the beauty of your creation and for making it possible for us to see it!

The path is extremely rocky, and is marked by “cairns” – piles of rocks.  You can see one in the left foreground.  To the mid-right, you can see a snow patch on the slope of a nearby mountain – Mount Jefferson, I think.

Mount Washington and Mount Jefferson are part of the Presidential Range in the White Mountains.  Does anyone know how many US presidents have mountains named after them?

   After our hike up Mount Washington, we were in need of some easier days!  We spent the next two days shopping and doing some really easy hikes.  The next day we headed over to “The Basin.”  As soon as we stepped out of the van at the trailhead, a man came rushing up yelling at us to bring ropes and blankets as a child had fallen into the very cold water of the extremely rapid river and was trapped in the water.  911 had already been called, but we went running with ropes and towels and our big thick cotton blanket.  The boy’s father had jumped in to help his son and he, too, was trapped in an eddy of water:  no way to get up or left or right because of the cave-like overhang and the river in front of them was much too rapid to cross without being swept downstream over the rocks and boulders.  The police arrived shortly after us and pulled them both out but had no supplies so we wrapped them in towels and blankets until the ambulance arrived a little while later to warm them up.   What a blessing no further harm had occurred!

Along the trail to “The Basin”

 On our third and last morning, a lady approached us just as we were leaving the campground, asking if we had booster cables as her car wouldn’t start.  She seemed to have been camping alone with her two girls.  We gave them a boost and a Gideons’ New Testament.  We then had a lovely drive along the beautiful Kancamagus Highway, with stops at some scenic lookouts and a short hike to the lovely Sabbaday Falls before enjoying some further sight seeing, supper, and an uneventful drive home.

Sabbaday Falls

  We got home after everyone was asleep, but the next day the family had a lovely surprise for us after supper.  While we were away, they had made us a *huge* card with all sorts of little cards inside as well as giving us a lovely gift.  What a very special anniversary celebration!  Thank you all!!!

The very special card – outside and inside.