Amazing Weekend And A Hike To Remember

The last few days have been nothing short of a really good time. Friday, I worked harder than I've ever worked physically before. Scott put me in charge of digging pretty big holes in river rock which was excrutiating work. After digging eight of these holes over the course of five hours, I was extremely exhausted. Yet, I would soon discover that I dug those holes for the purpose of being filled with concrete. I thought, "Oh yeah, no problem, I'll just wheelbarrow the concrete over, tip, and pour." Wrong. That's exactly what I was to do but it sure as heck wasn't "no problem" seeing as concrete is beyond heavy and the task was some of the hardest labor I've ever undertaken that took well over 3 more hours. All in all, the money I made for the day was well earned and I went home feeling like jello. Friday night, I spent with Karilyn sharing with each other our testimonies which was a good deal because I got to learn a great deal about how God works in so many amazing ways. I also enjoyed the time spent with her because she's an incredible person to chill with.

The next day I woke up early to ensure that I'd be up and ready for the Walk For Life put on by Carenet. The walk was really pretty sweet being that it was a beautiful morning and our trek was along the strait of Juan De Fuca. In the afternoon, Karilyn and I caught each other for lunch and walked her dog, Lia, who I absolutely adore. Lia reminds me a lot of my dog Dale in her younger days which is why I couldn't help but feel attached to her right away. Saturday night, the Upper Room held yet another great service that I really was moved by. The sermon was about memorials to the times that the Father has cradled us in His arms and showed us His amazing grace and glory. My memorials aren't in the form of rocks like the sermon talked of but rather I still drink and eat out of the cups that I used in jail where I was saved. The cups serve as a constant reminder to myself that I need to remain humble as I take up my cross and follow Christ and love everyone as God loved me. After the Upper Room, we headed back to our house for the usual Saturday night social that involved a lot of pizza, a lot of people, and a lot of fun. I ended up reliving some old times when a game of charade was begun and that was a lot of fun. I am really thankful to be blessed with meeting some very amazing people.

Sunday, began as always with a wake up call that sounds like, "Get up Danny! It's time for church bro". Stoked, I shot out of bed ready to rock and roll onto church. Church was awesome making me feel like I'm just hanging out with God and friends there. I love knowing now more than ever, I'm not alone, I will never be alone, as long as I always love God. After church, David drove us to the Sequim spit, which is a really long sandbar. In fact, it is the worlds longest sandbar at 7 miles long. We ran into Bekah and Chris when we got there who joined us on our little adventure walk. Afterwards, it was onward to rock climbing with Karilyn, Casey, Jeff, and Todd. As always, I had a blast rock climbing and just hanging out with good people. Jeff has gotten really good since we started and David is simply incredible. Meanwhile, Karilyn dominated a crutch that most of us guys couldn't begin to fathom how to overcome. All in all, it was a really fun time and I prayed at the end thanking God for blessing me with a great group of people and a safe time. Yet, no matter what I've done since I've been here, nothing, and, I mean nothing, could prepare me for the night. David has been hinting since I arrived in WA that at some point we'd be hitting up the hot springs late at night. I soon discovered the journey to the hot springs was just something out of this world.

The journey began with a search for David's headlamp. We began this search by tearing up the house, starting in his room, then moving to his car, in a crucial effort to uncover it's location. Yet, despite our persistence, our search failed, so we were forced to head to Safeway before heading out to the hot springs to buy batteries for a mag light that we would end up carrying. After we got the batteries, we soon realized that our timing might have been off, no thanks to the thick clouds in the sky. Yet, we were in pursuit of an adventure, so we nudged on despite the disappointing outlook. Coming over the hill after driving for five miles out of Port Angeles, we were in awe as the night sky appeared and we knew our session was going to be awesome. On the way, we had to pull over to the side of the road, and give tender loving care to "El Guapo"(David's car, Spanish for, The Handsome). David's car was overheating so to ensure it's viability, we went ahead and used our drinking water for him to drink. After he settled down, we continued onward, rounding bend after bend, as we climbed further and further into the darkness. The sight of the stars was just mesmerizing as we talked about how amazing this was going to be. The five mile climb ended for El Guapo and now it was time to put on our hiking shoes and get ready for a very intense trek by way of foot. The first mile was nothing, as long as you don't worry about the river we crossed by jumping rock to rock. The thought of falling in the river wasn't so bad until you consider that there is a huge waterfall not more than a football field away. So if by some very unlucky mishap that one of us fell in, we were more than likely to be gone forever. After jumping rock to rock and continuing on we just kept concentrating on keeping our wits about us. I decided that between the river crossing, the constant fear of bears, and the worry of the notorious roaming cougars, we needed to pray. So with that, we prayed to God to see a safe journey for us to experience the fullness of His creations and the awesomeness. We both felt way better despite my need to constantly say quick prayers anytime I heard a rustle in the woods. The beauty above us was beyond anything I could comprehend. Stars littered the night sky with a brillance that could only be matched in a place like a desert. After a while of hiking, we came upon yet another river, larger in size, with a log to be used to cross with rails that really could only be used to stablize oneself but not to support weight. The scariest thing about this river is that, it was much fast moving water, higher off the ground, and if one did fall, they would surely head over a waterfall that was less than fifty feet away. What made crossing this log even scarier is that after 10 feet of having a little handrail, the handrail stops, and the rest of the way is without a rail for another 15 feet. The log is about a foot wide and provided one crazy adreanline rush. "Don't fall" was all that kept running through my head as I scurried across it. After surviving the crossing of the furious river, we were almost there, with only a few more nerve racking trails only a couple feet wide with cliffs that went so far down we couldn't see the bottom with the flashlight made us both laugh nervously. Once you smell the sulfur, you know you're there. The odor is strong but despite it's unpleasent smell, we greeted it with a smile, stoked to have made it. Cougars, bears, waterfalls, cliffs, were all a distant thought as we eased our way into the "jewel of the forest", a hot spring that was like a small pool, and our eyes fixated on the beauty above us. We were blessed with a light show, as shooting stars danced aross the sky. I felt so alive, knowing that a month ago, I couldn't even see stars, hadn't seen them for 3 months, yet here I was, thousands of miles from the fortress that contained me, watching and admiring the beauty of God's universe. The entire time, conversation was little to none, as we both gazed up at the heavens before us. A magnificence that can only be described as blissful a memory that is sure to provide great conversation in the future.

After thirty minutes spent adoring the beauty of the night sky, soaking up the warmth of the hot springs, and loving God's amazing creations, we made the trip back to the car in no time. The fear that had gripped me on my way up the mountain was nothing more than a afterthought as we ventured down. Yet, the journey had a newfound worry that we anticipated but still couldn't really prepare for, El Guapo was ready to retire. He had over 190,000 miles and was being really stubborn the whole ride home. So much to the point which we had to stop to let him catch his breath and cool down. David and I thought he was going to explode but we asked him to be nice and get us there and I made sure to ask God to help us as well. Despite the trouble, we made it home, thanked God for an amzing journey, and spoke little as we prepared for bed. I am stoked, blessed with an amazing God, amazing friend, and ready for the next adventure.