I hope to see you, Mr. Elk!

Ate here & will sleep there . . .

2nd Heaven . . .

So, we just checked into a place we have NO business being at: Elk Mountain Resort. Oh my . . . .

http://www.elkmountainresort.com/?src=ppc_google_emrbrand

Colorado National Monument Hike

The Midge and I went for a short hike today:

RV Dia Nueve

Day nine saw Steamboat Springs. Cool town: lots of lazy-river-tubing-action . . . and really good New York style pizza slices ($2.25 with green Tobasco sauce, of course).

Day Ten involves some ice cubes, a nine iron, and a new KOA in Grand Junction. Re-entering civilization: going to Border's later this morning. Ahhhhh

Funny: not so ha-ha . . .

I've been eating Psalm 27 for a while now. Here's what struck me from it today:

"For he will conceal me there when troubles come;
he will hide me in his sanctuary.
He will place me out of reach on a high rock."

(Verse 5 NLT)

I love you, Father.

Funny: ha ha

Top Ten Names of RV's Found On-Site in Gypsum, CO. (From the home office----which is currently parked in Gypsum):

10. Cedar Creek (YAWN!)
9. The Wanderer (Errrr, whatever)
8. The Alumascape (Guess what it's made out of?)
7. The Nomad (DUH)
6. The Escapade (Belonging to Lis and Ben Wilcox. "Do we have to take off our clothes in public now?" Well, any scandal will do.)
5. The Road Ranger (Owner [hopefully a guy] must want to be either Chuck Norris or Mel Gibson [pre-conspiracy theorist, mugshot Mel])
4. The Prowler (Who wants to park next to that? Meow. They'll probably try to break in to my sweet rig.)
3. The Sportsmen (Ever seen the SNL cartoon: The Amibuously Gay Duo?")
2. The Zanzibar (What the . . . .!?! Complete with airbrushed tigers on the back. Ewwww . . . scar-ry!)

And, the number 1 RV name for the summer of 2007 is . . .

1. The Alpenlite (I have absolutely NO idea what that means, whether or not it's really a word, or what the country of origin is)

RV Park Trash Talk

Dude 1: I see your rig only has 1 slide-out.

Dude 2: Yeah, well---at least it goes out farther than yours!

Self-potrait

{Taken from Dictionary.com; too striking a resemblance not to pass on to my public}

Word of the Day for Sunday, June 24, 2007

jejune \juh-JOON\, adjective:

1. Lacking in nutritive value.
2. Displaying or suggesting a lack of maturity; childish.
3. Lacking interest or significance; dull; meager; dry.

Recipe for Baked Shower Shoe(s)

1. Procure one (1) pair of black (uncertain whether BLACK is necessary, but can attest only to this color--actually, BLACK is not a true color at all. Thanks go to Beth E. Racine, of Elgin, for recently correcting me on this gi-normous point of fact. Way to go, Beth! Watch out, Jeopardy! ! [Note: for whatever reason, the creator(s) of the show Jeopardy! chose to spell it with an exclamation point (Or, exclamation 'mark'---depending on where you were educated) Bonus question: Are titles of TV shows italicized or set in quotation marks? Or, put in appropriate context, Answer: What are quotation marks? Question: These are put around the titles of TV shows when unsure as to the correct punctuation.] shower shoes. (AKA "Flip flops." Note: use caution when referring to shower shoes as "flip flops." Apparently, this is either a cultural or regional term. I was recently given a weird look and weirder remark by a Latina (Hipanic?) girl of approximately eight years of age when I used "flip flops" [the term not the items] in her presence. She left me feeling old, whiter-than-white, and uninformed as to the more hip, or--Hispanic, term for rubberized, thonged [hint: also use caution when using the word "thongs." Some may misinterpret this as the female undergarment. E.g. my grandfather still refers to waterproofed slip-over, foul-weather booties as "rubbers." Sounds harmless until he is staying at your house and yells, "Honey, where did you put my rubbers?" to your grandmother while they are vacationing from Florida, and your friends are over to play.] footwear.)
2. Thoroughly marinate said footwear while showering for approximately 11.5 minutes. (NOTE: Assuming you use hot water {temperature relative to skin sensitivity, etc.} & have access to shower. I.e. Not staying at an RV park that requires you to obtain a key to shower stall from owner between the hours of 8am and 9pm [Mountain Time Zone]. Apparently, one bad apple does indeed ruin the bunch as the reason given for locked shower stalls was the unclaimed diarrhea sprayed bathroom incident following one hour (at least!) of cleaning done by two women employed by said RV park. [unsure of the relation of two women; however, I am assuming some measure of familiarity due to close quarters within said bathroom stall. I have cleaned several bathrooms, and I would not enter a cleaning partnership in such tight space without a degree of relation suitable to the situation. E.g. kin, carnal knowledge, Biblical knowledge, or exorbitantly high hourly rate of wage.] Footwear may be worn on feet or left on floor to soak while showering. {This would, of course, diminish the effectiveness of shower shoe defense against floor-borne bacteria, fungus, or communicable disease}
3. Pat dry.
4. Position shower shoes (or, shoe if cooking for yourself.) in direct sunlight.
5. Let bake for approximately two hours. (NOTE: use caution as over-baking may cause bubbles to arise in sole. Unsure as to permanence of over-bake bubbles. {Check this site at a later date for more information as to whether bubbles diminish or not. So far, assume permanence.}
6. Enjoy!

***Important: if showering in RV park which requires use of key to utilize facilities, do not forget to return aforementioned key to owner. (Unsure of penalty for failing to return the key to owner. Assume the worst, though, as owner is still frothy-mad at aforementioned diarrhea-sprayed bathroom incident.)

Friday----finally

Other than sending out some postcards to all the underaged twins I know, I ain't got squat to do . . .And, it's glorious!!!

RV Day 2

Last night was just making it to Des Moines (boring).

Today we made it to a KOA in Western Nebraska (just east of Cheyenne, Wyoming).

Tomorrow, we plan on visiting Cheyenne, and then we will drop south through Rocky Mountain National Park as we head towards Vail (our weekend destination).

I've enjoyed the quiet so far. Driving when you are not in a hurry with nowhere to be is a great feeling. It is very peaceful here at our campground. I hope we can start getting some better views as we head west . . .

Just Like Me

I think many men struggle with what they see in themselves. So many guys either grew up without a father at all, or they grew up with the strain and struggle of not wanting to replicate certain parts of their perception of their dad. In other words, I think many boys either do not know who to be (for lack of role models), they just know who they DON'T want to be.
Apart from the arguments as to nature verus nurture, genetics versus geography---guys have to make choices based on what they have seen or experienced. When I've done certain things, said specific phrases, or reacted with instinct or emotions that surprise me---I often do not have to look far to figure out where I got them.
Recently, through retrospection and reflection, I have taken stock of who I've become, or, better, who I'm becoming.
I was recounting some things I've done to a friend of mine. I was telling her a few crazy stories from my younger days. A few of those tales I had not thought about for some time. I even surprised myself at how emotional I became as I recalled these experiences. I could not explain them--other then to say, "Well, that must be who I am, I guess."
It's been a long road for me on my spiritual journey. While I try not to segregate or compartmentalize the aspects of myself (e.g. physical, emotional, spiritual), I can acknowledge that each area has progressed at sometimes much different speeds.
Part of what's been tough for me as I reckon God has been the concept of Him as Father. Additionally, how can Jesus be my Spirit, brother, friend, and dad all at the same time? My father is my master? I have a bit of an authority issue anyway. Complexity.
I am starting to get the sense that parts of me that have been previously inexplicable can be decoded when illuminated by the light of my adoption (however slowly I've come to accept/acknowledge it) by God.
As I drove home later that night after the conversation with my friend, I was overwhelmed that perhaps what I considered oddities in my character and behavior, Christ might consider resemblance. I have a hard time admitting this at all. I want to be my own man, my own person.
I get to see kids who are having a hard time take comfort when they see that there are other children going through the same crap they are. They take solace in the notion that they have peers that are "just like me." When you start lining up the similarities, the gap between feeling misunderstood and isolated narrows so that pain is eventually lessened and experience unravelled.
What makes me different than others might, at the same time, have made, or be making, me more like someone else. Maybe someone else is seeing me and getting to know me, as I let them, and thinking, "Hey, Ben is just like me. We share some stuff, some pain, some experiences, and some traits. He often talks like me. He sort of looks like me. Sometimes, he's just like me."
That can be overwhelming to hear for a guy who's never quite liked himself much. For a guy who's taken quite a long time to accept the things he cannot change and all that serenity stuff. For a guy who can give more than most but receives very little. To hear that, to begin to feel that comfort---that's more than a little scary.
Just like me. Maybe I am getting there . . .