HOW GREAT THOU ART!

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands".  Psalm 19:1

 Once again I had the wonderful privilege of experiencing God's great creation in the Rockies as I went with my brothers, nephew, and friends to the Flat Tops Wilderness Range in Colorado.  Yes, it was disguised as my annual elk hunt, but in reality, a time to see God's handiwork in the great outdoors.  The verse above truly speaks of how great God really is.  The heavens my not be able to sing, the trees and the mountains may not have literal voices, but they loudly proclaim the truth that our God is indeed an awesome God.  I love the picture above because the branches of the tree point skyward causing us to lift our eyes to the heavens and to the One who created them.

 Since I didn't see any elk on this particular day, it made sense to take in the sights around me.  Lest we get too prideful and think we are "big stuff", it just takes a picture like this to remind us that we are, in reality, quite miniscule in the bigger picture.  It reminds me of the verse in Psalm 8 that says, "What is man that you are mindful of him?"  Good question.  Yet God loves us above and beyond all of His creation.

 I was hiding in some pine trees (elk hunting, remember) when it began to spit ice pellets from the sky. Next thing I knew, there was a rainbow.  Beautiful! 

A panoramic view outside our tent towards the west.  You might notice our horses grazing off to the right.  The mountain is called "the Derby".  A beautiful sight.  As far as the hunt, the elk were hard to come by.  They stayed hidden in the timber due to the full moon at night and the fact that it had been so wet.  It was lush wherever we went and as a result, the elk needed no reason to come out.  However, a great time with the guys, as always.  And yes, as always, God was present in the very midst of His creation.  O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder......

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH!

Just returned from the annual (give or take) elk trip to the high country. As always, God outdid Himself regarding the beauty of the area. The weather was great. The scenery was awesome. And the time away was priceless.

It was a little tough on me as I arrived in the mountains with a head cold. And for the first time, I succumbed to the altitude and got sick for the first day or two. However, that did not keep me from getting around to climbing the ridges to pursue the elusive big game animal known as "the elk". It took me a few days to get my feet under me but it was worth it.

The elk were definitely active. If you've never heard a bull elk bugle, you're missing out. They were getting after it, trying to impress the ladies. Here's the kicker. The rest of the guys got to see the show ( the elk running here and there, etc.). Me? I was always at the wrong place at the right time - in other words, I didn't get an elk, nor did I ever see one. But my brother has it all on video so the proof is in the puddin'. Hopefully I can get some of that to show on a future blog.

As I have mentioned before, if I get an elk, great!. But even if I don't, it's till great!! The joy is being up in God's creation away from the hectic pace of the everyday activity of life. And this year I especially enjoyed the time away with my brothers, Randy and Rod, and my buddies, Craig and Bill. The fellowship with them on the drive to and from the mountains, riding horses here and there, walking the ridges, sitting around the fire, scouting the mountains and the meadows, eating the good grub, and laughing and carrying on was fantastic. You can't put a price on that.

God blessed our time. He kept us safe. He watched over our families and friends while we were gone. He met us in the midst of His creation. Until next year...................................

MOUNTAIN TOP EXPERIENCE!

Well, an unbelievable elk hunting trip in the Rockies. All five of us were successful. That never happens. We arrived on Thursday the 29th after fighting a snow storm from Limon to Denver. Some parts of Denver received between 20 -30 inches of snow. But we made it safely. There was snow where we hunted (and camped) and it was quite cold but it worked out great for the hunt. And the beauty of the mountains - God outdid Himself once again. It was indescribable. No wonder we sing "How Great Thou Art!"

Below are a few pics.

This was the view outside our tent each morning! How cool is that?

The crew - Tyrone, Mike, Dennis, Craig and me.


Craig cheesing it up laying on the hide of his bull elk. He shot his on Tuesday evening.

I had an antlerless license. I shot this cow at 7:45 am on Monday morning.