Hell's Canyon Pics

It's been a couple of weeks since I returned from rafting down Hell's Canyon, but I'm just catching up on my blog and my pics...and there were some pretty cool photos from this trip.

At the Headwaters of our 3 day journey.
Umm...this is Jessie just being Jessie. She found this bone at the beach where we stopped for lunch on our first day, and because she's weird she chose to put it near her face.
I just liked this photo because the river stones were so varied in color...they were another of God's natural masterpieces.
So you'll notice that this is the only picture that I took of us actually on the raft. I was a little preoccupied with having a blast and not falling off the raft. The first day we went through two class IV rapids, the second of which had an 18 ft. drop (Yes, that's right, 18ft! Yikes!). It was great, and totally frightening.
This pic was from what I would title Hell's Hike. A couple of us chose to hike above our campsite the first afternoon. It was fun, but the entire hike for me was riddled with fear of rattlesnakes, and it was 90-100 degrees of dry heat. It really made me understand the name of the canyon.

More Hell's Canyon photos

This was where are group found out who among us was stupid enough to jump off a cliff...and this is proof that I was one of them.
Sunset on the Canyon
Hell's Canyon has some historical homesites along the river where people struggled for an existence in this harsh landscape during the great depression.
This is our group all together at Pittsburgh Landing at our take-out site.
Looking back on the canyon.

Several trips behind...

Well, my dear friend Katie commented that it was time for me to update...so this is for you.

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I am several trips behind in my blogging. I have been out playing a lot this summer, enjoying my friends and my time here in Idaho. These photos are from a trip about 2 weeks ago, when Jill and I made a spur of the moment decision to roadtrip the Northwest.

Our first stop on our adventure was Portland. We spent a day with Cristin chillin' at Canon Beach. I would have taken a picture of Jill and Cristin but they were sprawled out sunning themselves in the sand like a couple of beached whales.
And when we were in Portland, Jill and I decided to head on up the coast to Seattle because she had never been there. We liked the "we've arrived" sign. It was a beautiful day, and since I was driving and taking pictures out of the car window...we think it's a testimony to God's grace that we arrived. : )
Looking out over Seattle from the top of the space needle.
We called my mom from Seattle, and she said we had to go visit the little town of Leavenworth on our way home. It is this classicly german town at the base of the mountains. It looks exactly like a little town in Europe. Jill and I spent a few hours in the shops and cafes here before we hit the road for home.
We drove through the Cascade National Forest in northern Washington on our way to Leavenworth, and it was gorgeous. This is Jill on the banks of the river we followed.

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Jill takes off for her adventures in the Cayman Islands on Friday and I'm going to miss my roomate a lot. We've spent the last couple of days prepping her for the Carribean by watching a marathon of the Pirates movies.

Summertime

I have spent my fair share of time playing in the mountains this summer. I kicked off my time this summer jumping into an icy lake with the junior high kids at camp.

If you look closely you can see that not only was the lake icy cold, but literally, there is ice still covering part of the lake. Yep, it clean took my breath away.
I took this picture at family camp in a field of daisys that Cara, Jody, and I came across.
And while I already shared some of my breathtaking, and death-defying hike pictures with you I thought I woud post a picture of my sister and I together at the summit of our journey.
This picture is from the latest excursion up to Stanley with my friends and family. Nothing beats the Sawtooth mountains at dusk.

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For all of you who are interested in my future plans... I have definitely begun the process of moving towards missions. I met with my pastor and my uncle (a missionary) last month to begin figuring out my next steps. And after a little prayer, and a lot of God tugging on my heart, I put my house up for sale. I am currently devoted in the jr. high ministry while I wait for my house to sell, and then I hope to rejoin the ministry down at the clinic in Honduras. I will keep you posted as new things develop.

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By His Grace,

Jen

Rejoining the blogging world...

Hey! I thought I would start off my new blog with some photos of one of the most gorgeous places in God's creation: The Sawtooth Mountains. This particular lake is Hanson Lake #2 and it is breathtaking. It lies at the end of a very difficult hike and because of this it is relatively untouched by mankind.

Hanson Lake #2
This is the bottom portion of Bridal Veil Falls. The falls freefall down the mountainside over a thousand feet from their source at the lakes. My sister and I, caught up in their beauty perhaps, accidentally lost the trail at one point and found ourselves precariously positioned over some cliffs... It was a little scary for a couple of minutes, but By His Grace we came out with nothing more than a few cuts and bruises.

This is the view from the trail's end... safely back at the car!