June 30, 2026 - Delilah

 

Title: June 30, 2026 - Delilah
Hike Info : Description : Flowers and Plants

Hike Info:

Type:Lookout

Description:

It was a bit cooler last night than I expected. Still I kept warm, I just kept inside of my bag. While I can sleep with a light on, if I poked my head out of the bag, the moon was still going strong. It probably will be the same tonight.

I do wake up before the sun rises, at 0500. I had checked last night and saw that there was some lightning yesterday, both in my local area and in Stanislaus NF. The local one is outside of my vision. It stretched from the upper Middle Fork of the Kings to east of Florence Lake. The question is how to do the report. Yesterday I realized that the travel laptop I have did not have all of the files which my home computer had. Last night I had decided on how to jerryrig things to get something useful. I was able to get to mostly working and get the information the lookouts needed.

 

Delilah

By the time I was done with the lightning report-I had eaten breakfast while working on the report-it was 0800. I decided to go for a walk before getting into lookout mode. Of course, when in the tower, there is a reflex of looking around and seeing if all is right with the world. I am gone for about 40 minutes, having gone just to the saddle and back. Then I clean up the cab and get ready for the day.

Nothing special to start today off. I started off doing a scan, then took the weather. Nothing alarming with either. At 0930 I go into service with both Porterville and Sierra. Then I look at the fire weather forecast and see who is on in the Sequoia Forest. The “who is on” is what staffing there is around me and most importantly, who the duty officer is on duty. It looks awfully sparse as far as staff in this area. The radio traffic from Porterville at times can have a lot of static. This is one of those times. I have a habit of recording the staffing, so I can play it back and make sure I hear the staffing correctly. Evidently Buck Rock had the same issue as they called me up and I told her what I heard.

 

Smoke in the Valley

When I am at a lookout for more than one day, I try to clean windows. I am able to do Delilah’s windows in a couple of hours, between other duties. Well, after finishing, I still see places for improvement. At 1230 I have my lunch. Then at 1309, I take the weather. Not too much different than this morning, except more breezy. I am hearing on the radio that the duty officer and a work group is gathering at the McKenzie helipad. That is on the road into Delilah. I wonder if they are going to head this way? Am I getting lonely? I do not think so after all the isolation of Delilah is one of its attractions for me.

I do have two 15 minute rest periods, between scans. During my scans, I see a wide variety of land. There is the Valley land, filled with orchards, farmlands, and ranches. We do not report fires in this area. Then comes the foothills, above the Friant Kern canal. For the most part, these lands hold only some interest-the people I know and the history which is part of the land. Then there are the mid-mountains where Delilah is. I have traveled through some of the areas, both in a car and on foot. It is fascinating and not many people go over to Patterson Bluffs, nor into Millwood or any of the places which this lookout is part of. Finally, on a clear day, I can look up the Middle Fork of the Kings all the way to the crest.

And that is where my heart is. And why this train of thought came as I looked over the areas which I love? I wonder if I will ever be able to go back there? It does require strength and endurance, things I am losing. There is a bit of melancholy with that thought. The reason which I love that area is because I have been able to experience it, it became part of who I am. In stories you read about how a hero cannot go home and looks longingly towards the place he cannot return to. I can place myself in the hero’s shoes.

But I am fortunate as I can still do so many things I love to do, such as hike be in a lookout, read, and the plethora of interests I have. Also I have family and friends who love me. I am not despondent, just yearning.

Evening view from outhouse

At 1600, I responded to the lookout check in from Sierra. I spot two smokes, but neither are reportable as they are in the Valley. At 1716, I called up Porterville to say I am overnighting here, my last planned night for a little while. I do have a lot to be thankful for. At 1755 I went out of service with Sierra and Porterville.

Most days after I have been in the lookout all day, I am spent. Not because I am doing anything terribly physical, nor mentally challenging. I think it is because of always being on: listening to the radio and constantly looking out for smoke. Very little real downtime during the day. Yesterday evening, I was spent. Tonight, after finishing up everything, I got right to the business of eating the quiches Sherri had sent me.

98.9% of a full moon

After washing the dishes and putting away everything, I went for a walk. I was thinking I would be about half an hour, but I was gone for over an hour. Wendy and I had a light and fun text conversation. Each of my replies would give me an excuse to pause while going up the hill which is Mount Sampson, not that the road goes over it.

When I returned, I talked with Sherri for about 45 minutes. Since I have waited this long, I think I will wait for the moon to rise. It is to rise at 2119 and be 98.9% full. Maybe not as nice as yesterday, but there will not be clouds getting in the way. By 2140, I am in my bag.

Flowers and Plants

Grove of Dandelions

Milkweed

Foxtail

Google says it is Penstemon, I am not that sure

June 29, 2026 - Delilah

 

Title: June 29, 2026 - Delilah
Hike Info : Description : Extra Photo's : Flowers and Plants

Hike Info:

Type: Lookout

Description:

I got up a few minutes before 0500 this morning-I will be tired this evening. But I wanted to get an early start to Delilah for several reasons. First, I was not there all of last season. The last time I was there was November 2024. There is a bit of anxiety over will I remember what is in Delilah? What has changed since my absence? Second, the last two weeks I did some hiking in Minnesota. My left knee had some ache in it. With coming up the 72’, 80 stairs of Delilah, will my knee bother me? Third, how tired will I be climbing those stairs? Also how will I feel after three days?

I leave a few minutes after 0600, even for me, this is a bit early. I stopped at Costco for gas and discovered that I did not have my Costco card. If I had thought for a few seconds, I would have realized that I had my Costco app which had my Costco card on it. Instead I started to look for an attendant. But right beside me was Richard who would be going to Delilah to pick up supplies for storage. He swiped his card for me. The rest of the drive to Delilah did not have a problem, except for constant glare from a dirty windshield and the sun.

I get to Delilah around 0800. The road is just as “interesting” as it was two years ago. I load up the basket, which is one a pulley system, with things and take my backpack up to the cab. The knee did not act up and I took my time, stopping at each level for a breath. Not too bad. I made a second trip to pick the remaining food and water and my sleeping bag. I think I am good for the day now. Fears two and three down.

Now to familiarize myself with Delilah. In truth, not much has changed. There are a few small differences: a radio to listen to CalFire; new kitchen utensils, a few things moved. I think I will do OK.

I do my first scan. While I was doing that, Richard and Jan drive up. After while Richard comes up and we talk awhile. He had posted on FaceBook a couple of days about going up to Mitchell Peak and realizing there was a lookout there at one time. This got us into a discussion of lookouts which are no longer there and where they are. He talked about a fire in Arizona called the Pocket Fire which is burning close to Sedona. There are several things I told him I would send him:

• List of California lookouts, current and past-from PeakBagger. PeakBagger seems to have the most comprehensive list, but there are other sites which have lists and sometimes more detail:

  • Fire Lookouts

  • National Historic Lookout Registry

  • Forest Lookouts - some of the lookouts, have interesting news articles

• Blog entry for Henness Ridge lookout

• Blog Entry for Crane Flat lookout

• Blog entry for the book Call of the Canyon, a novel by Zane Grey about East Oak Canyon near Sedona.

And now it is time to act like a lookout. I take the weather-it is a really clear day, with only a few far away clouds. Then I go into service at 0929. Then start doing my scans about every 15-20 minutes. At 1000, we get the weather and staffing. Fortunately I record this as I can never get the staffing.The weather I get from a website. At 1059, Sierra does a roll call of lookouts. There are only three of us: Buck Rock, Delilah and Signal.

The morning has gone by pretty fast. I pretty much have been doing regular scans and listening to the radio. Something which I do at the start of each season at the lookouts is to go through the eight orientation points for the firefinder. The purpose is to validate that the firefinder does not need adjustment. What it does do for me is to identify landmarks in each direction.

By 1230, it is time for lunch. The usual, a peanut butter and Nutella sandwich with chips. Then I do another scan and take the afternoon weather. Not too much change from this morning. After doing another scan, I do a couple rest periods. During the rest period, I set a timer for 15 minutes, turn the radio up and lay down. If something happens on the radio I would respond appropriately. At the end of 15 minutes, time to do another scan.

That is pretty much my afternoon and evening-not resting, but doing things in 15 minute increments. Scanning, then refreshing myself on locations close to Delilah. On my list of sites, I get to about 6 miles out, which is about 65 locations. It is not that I memorize them. Most of them I have a good idea where they are. If I do not, then I have my spreadsheet. Every other 15 minute segment, I do something personal-answer emails, read, write this blog. There is a small thing of keeping the hummers happy. So I refill their sugar water.

At 1600 the mundane is broken. I need to respond to Sierra’s status check-they do that to make sure we all are still alive. Sometimes we get distracted and do not respond quickly and have to sheepishly say we are really here afterwards. At 1800 I went out of service with Porterville and Sierra. And that is the end of my work day.

Strawberry Full Moon with a little bit of a cloud

After going out of service, I rested for about half an hour. Then I fixed myself dinner of Sherri’s enchiladas and Stagg Chili. Maybe not high class cuisine, but it is filling and I eat it all. After that, I go down and do a 25 minute walk down to the saddle, taking pictures of a few things.

I will make sure that I am back in the tower by 2010. Why you ask? I want to get paid, as I get paid in sunsets. The setting sun should be around 2020. Sunsets are a yin and yang thing. If there is a spectacular sunset, that usually says that there is a lot of pollution in the air. Today, the sunset was not spectacular, which means there is not a lot of smog. But there is enough that I took many pictures.

Occasionally I make it into a lookout on the night of a full moon. That is tonight. There are a lot of clouds and I wonder if the moon will come out while I am awake. It finally comes out and I am able to get some nice shots. Enough to get some ooh’s and aahs.

After that, I talked with Sherri for about half an hour. It is after 10 before I snuggle inside of my sleeping bag.

Extra Photo's

Full Moon covered by a cloud

Pine Flat and Setting Sun

Looking towards Finger Rock in the evening

Content Hummer

Yokut/Squaw Valley

View from the Outhouse

Afternoon cloud buildup beyond Spanish Mountain

 
Flowers and Plants

Dandelion in the evening sun

June 9, 2026 - Park Ridge Trail

 

Title: June 9, 2026 - Park Ridge Trail
Hike Info : Description 

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking

Trail head: Panoramic Point

Trail:  Park Ridge Trail and Service Road

Destination: Park Ridge Lookout

Distance: 5.48 miles

Start Time: 10:12

End Time:    2:40

Travel Time: 4:28  (1.23 mph)

Moving Time: 2:46   (1.98 mph)

Elevation Rise: 1,111 '

Descent: 918‘

Maximum Elevation: 7,696'

Minimum Elevation: 7,206'

GPS Tracks

Description:

When I was at Park Ridge Lookout last week I left behind some stuff in the refrigerator. The food I did not care about, but the container and it turns out my insulin as well was left behind. A normal human bean would have turned around when they discovered this and drove the 20 minutes back to the lookout. But then I think, this sounds like a perfect excuse for a hike. That leads us to today.

I got up at 6:00 and did the lightning stuff-there was none in the California skies yesterday. Since this is a day hike, I was able to get mostly prepared last night. I had wanted to leave someplace between 8:15 and 8:30. We came close, having to return to get my keys to the car, we left at 8:40, The we is Steven and Rachel. I am driving and we make it to Panoramic Point parking area a few minutes after 10.

We started hiking about 10:15 and went to the original Panoramic Point. Always a good view, particularly of what is north of the Kings. I start pointing out the various places which we see from Delilah. After ten or fifteen minutes we start on the Park Ridge Trail. This will take us around and on the spine of some of the ridge. The last time I walked this trail, I pooped out about ⅔rds of the way to the lookout. We will see what we will do today.

The trail rolls along the ridge. Both up and down. I admit, when we climbed up some of the slopes, I did so rather slowly. But I made it up each one, in good order, without feeling like I was not going to make it. We did stop in some places-sometimes to breathe after all we are above 7,000’. But mostly because a view came in which I wanted to enjoy and share.

We made it to the saddle about 11:30 and had lunch there. Sherri and I have found these logs to be restful and they did not disappoint. This spot is about 60% of the way to the lookout. When I did this before, I already knew that it was time to turn back. While not chipper, I think I have enough in me to make it all the way to the lookout and back to the car.

The next part had a prescribed burn, I think two seasons ago. From the saddle, it looks like it is going to be gruesome. But soon, we rise out and above that and see that most of our trail does not go through the burn and the burn only looks bad in places. Once we hit the top of the ridge, I am able to walk pretty good, that is until the next rise. But I know that we will descend soon to the service road and a short rise to the lookout.

We had seen people returning from the lookout and they were pretty jazzed about what they saw and heard up there. It is always good to hear that a fellow lookout has conveyed their love of being up in the tower to other people. Later on when I asked George about it, he said that they just kept asking questions. I know the feeling as I had a family do that to me as well.

We get up to Park Ridge Lookout. We go up and George welcomes us. This is the first time Rachel has been up in a lookout and I think the second time for Steven. They talk with George and he explains the various aspects of being up here. We also talked about the water situation. He has found mineral deposits in the water supply at the lowest place. Indicates either the tank has rust or the water coming in contains sediments. I retrieve my stuff and after 50 minutes we are on our way back.

We had taken the trail in, but decided to take the service road back. After all, we would see a different set of scenery this way. The service road is about the same length as the trail and close to the same elevation gain, but a bit more gentle. I show Steven and Rachel where I saw the bear last week-definitely gone and now sign of him. There is Log Corral Meadow which I just love walking by. We briefly stop for a rest break and I an energy bar at the saddle before continuing on. Today is not dreadfully hot, so the sunny part of the trail is not bad. We are able to peer down into Wilsonia and see some of the cabins.

We got back to the car around 2:40. Rachel, who was a bit concerned about the road, offered to drive and I accepted. We got back home by 4:15. I am tired and glad she drove. The shower did feel good.

June 4, 2026 - Park Ridge Lookout

 

 Title: June 4, 2026 - Park Ridge Lookout

Hike Info : Description

Hike Info:

Type:Lookout

 

Description:

Living in a glass house means that there is no hiding when it starts to get light. At 5:20 I had enough of hiding inside my sleeping bag and got up. I plodded through looking to see if there was any lightning I would be interested in and got the answer of No. From there, I moved on to breakfast of granola.. Since I will be leaving today, I made several trips down to the car with stuff I would not need today. I like George’s suggestion yesterday-bring a rope and lower stuff down. It will save half of the trips.

Since it is only 7:30, I have time to go out for a walk. I do not feel like going along the trail. Instead I will be walking the service road. I get about a quarter mile down the road and I see a big golden object bounding across the road, about 50 yards away. It's a bear! Even though it is golden, it still is a black bear. The brief glimpse I had made it seemed like he was having a bad hair day, aka Phyllis Diller. This happened so quickly I did not have time to even get my phone out for a picture. Yesterday I had told people I had never seen a bear up here. I guess I will need to change by speel.

Log Corral Meadow

After seeing a bear, a service truck comes up the road. I wonder if he is what spooked the bear. I talk with the guy and says he is a contractor for Verizon. He goes on and I go on as well. My walk takes me about a mile more down the road. I noticed a place where the fence is down between the Park and Forest, Turns out there is not much, except for some small violet flowers. The return trip is a bit harder and I stop a couple times. But I make it back by 8:25.

I stop by the Verizon area and talk with the service tech. He is working on their generator. I was hoping to get an idea if the cell tower had been down recently, but he does not know. But he is able to confirm that when the generator failed, it gave off alarms-this identifies where the alarms the lookout heard a couple of days ago.

So much for my personal time. I took the weather and did a scan. Then at 9:30, I went in-service with Porterville. Ash Mountain Fire had not gone in service until after that, so it took me a little while to wait for all the traffic to go in-service with them.Then it is onto the normal routine of being a fire lookout. At 10:00 both Ash Mountain Fire and Porterville did their weather reporting and staffing list. I at least could ignore the weather as I already had gotten it off of the fire weather site. The staffing I was listening for confirmation of what I thought it was. The one thing different was I thought Chief 1 would be the duty officer for the Park, but Division 3-on the Park side-was it. He is a new person to the Park, I think.

After a little while, the guy who was servicing the generator came up. His first time in a lookout. We talk for a while and he is appreciative of being up here and seeing the terrain from the tower. After about ten minutes he leaves.

You remember how yesterday three guys who were looking for trees which may endanger the power lines came up? Well, today, a single lady parked beside my car. She started examining the actual infrastructure. Such as where the power comes into the building, the transformers which are just down from us and the poles. I had invited her up and she came up. Occasionally you will have people who will not come up because they are afraid of heights. This lady conquered her fears and came up. She felt a lot more comfortable inside the cab than looking through the grated catwalk-I can understand. I think that she worked through her fears and was able to appreciate the sights up here. I have found a way to help people down is to walk right in front of them as they descend the stairs. This worked for her as well. I think she felt relief being on solid ground.

I had enough time to do some scans before a couple Texans came up. Actually they are students studying in New York who are from Texas. What set the tone for the rest of the day was that they were very interested in what goes on in a lookout, wondering how in the world does one get to do something like this? They stayed for about 20-25 minutes.

By this time it is past noon, so I have my lunch/dinner. Sherri had made a couple muffin sized quiches which I brought with me. I find that on the day I am leaving, it is better to have my main meal at lunch time and a sandwich in the evening. After taking the afternoon weather and doing a scan. Then I laid down for 15 minutes. I do turn the radios up loud and set my phone timer for 15 minutes, just in case I fall asleep.

Next up is a female hiker from New Hampshire. Another person who showed interest in what happens in a lookout. After she leaves, a father with a two year old daughter on his back comes up. He is immediately enamoured with the lookout. After we talked for ten minutes, he wanted to sign up. He is a pilot who lives in Reedley. He gives me his contact information.

My last set of visitors were from Virginia and were the most inquisitive. First there were two women and a young man. They started off by asking, what does a lookout do if they spot a fire?

My Farewell Committee

From there it went from one explanation to question to another explanation. It was fun. Then an older gentleman who was part of their group came up. He talked about how his grandfather was a lookout in Idaho. I think they must have stayed for an hour. It was fun answering questions and hearing about what they had seen so far in their travels. As they were leaving, I made a snarky remark to be sure to rate us on Yelp! I do not think we are on Yelp! though and even if we were, I do not think I would care one way or another.

Just because a lookout is talking with someone does not mean that they are not paying attention to their surroundings. For the most part, I was also looking around at the front country. Was there something which looked out of place? Occasionally I would raise my binoculars to see. Sort of like what Lord Peter Wimsey said in Guady Night, it won’t tell us anything, but it impresses the spectator and inspires confidence. Hopefully, if there is something out of place, I would notice it, even if I am talking with visitors.

By 16:30, I start to tidy up and take a few things down to the car. My imprint on the lookout is getting smaller and smaller. Today I got most of the windows cleaned, but the ones facing west got too hot so someone else will need to clean the inside. By 17:30, I am down to the last bit of cleaning-swiftering the floors. And at 18:00, I go out of service with Ash Mountain Fire-at 17:50-and Porterville-18:00. Rats! I almost forgot to take down the flag. I do that. My folding is not up to par yet, but it is better since Jose did his time at training. Everything is locked up and I am off by 18:10. As I approach the gate at Panoramic Point, I realize there is one thing I forgot-the bag in the refrigerator. About that time, I saw the next lookout coming in. I tell him feel free to eat up, just save the bag. I make it home by 19:50. Sherri feeds me some beef stroganoff before I shower. It was good to be up there and it is good to be home.

June 3, 2026 - Park Ridge Lookout

 

Title:  June 3, 2026 - Park Ridge Lookout
Hike Info : Description :  Background : Animals 

Hike Info:

Type: Lookout

Description:

Today is the first day of being in a fire lookout this season. I am going up to Park Ridge Lookout. The past couple of days I have been gathering my supplies and think I am ready as far as being able to be comfortable up there. Monday night Wendy sent me a refresh quiz, things I should know. When I looked it over, I was thinking how much have I forgotten and how will it come back?

Burn scar on Mt Campbell from a June 2nd fire

 

I get up at 5:35. I finished loading up the car with a few last minute things, plus the food in the refrigerator. I think I am ready to go. Now to get into the car, but first I need to find my wallet> When did I last use it? After a ten minute search I found it. I cannot even say it is old age.

I left a few minutes later than I thought I would, taking off at 6:50. The drive up goes fast. I realize I have not gone this way in a while. When I get to the entrance station, I am waved through, even though there is a line. Do they recognize that I must be royalty? Probably not, they just see my Buck Rock door magnet and know that I am volunteering up here.

Source of Faucet Problem

I get to Park Ridge Lookout at 8:40. One of the things which I was going to track down was if I could determine why the cell phones were not working. I called Sherri-I can contact Verizon. At 8:45 I entered the cab and then brought my stuff up for the next 36 hours or so. This includes food and water as well as a sleeping bag and clothing. Took me at least four loads. Much better than going up and down Delilah's 80 stairs.

I looked at the cell phone, just checking on the status and I saw everything was good. I then phoned it with my phone. I got through! Then phoned Wendy on the the lookout phone. She is happy that the phone actually works! We talked a bit more

 

I have ample time to do the things which I should do before going into service, such as taking the weather and scanning for smokes. Also I got my paper work all in order. When 9:30 hits, I go in-service with Ash Mountain Fire and Porterville.

The plumbers unit

While we do not use the water from the lookout faucet-it is considered soapy water and non-potable, we do use this water for cleaning. The water is running slow. Our Buck Rock Foundation maintenance team descended on the tank and pump which services the lookout.

Neil, George, Richard and Jan work on it for much of the morning. They will replace something and call up asking if that is how the flow should be. Sometimes there is a slight improvement, other times it goes from bad to worse. This gets a bit more frustrating to the team. I wonder if the issue is up in the cab under the sink and I play with the shutoff under the sink. But Neil comes up with the solution: the screen on the faucet is clogged with rust. Once he cleans it out, there is a good flow. The team thinks that one of the parts they replaced was the main culprit, but in fixing this, it dislodged the rust which clogged the screen. It works and everybody is happy.

 

 

Marmot Buddies

While all of this is going on, I still have the tasks to do which is why I am up here. At 10:00 both Ash Mountain Fire and Porterville both did their weather and staffing-at the same time. Plus there is the background plumbing going on. Fortunately I had most of the information off of a couple web sites I know about. Shortly after they finished, Buck Rock asks, who is the Hume Lake Ranger Disrict’s duty officer? I had seen it was Division 3, but I must have sounded unsure as Delilah chimes in to confirm.

I get back to the things I look out for: looking for smoke. I also regained familiarity of being in a lookout after a eight month hiatus. There is very few people on the District, hume Lake Ranger District, today. It is easy to keep track of where they are. Patrol 33 is all over the place-down in Eshom, then up to the Chimney Rock, and over to Big Meadow. From there, Patrol 33 goes to Hume Lake and then down into the Canyon. I wonder who she is giving the grand tour to? Later on I see a Facebook post where our friend Judy has spent the day with Patrol 33.

By 11:30 the plumbing situation had been resolved. Both Richard and Jan have gone on to Buck Rock. Neil and George decide to have lunch at the lookout. George comes up to the cab and we talk out on the catwalk. We both are feeling some of the effects of age. We commiserate that after we end our time in the lookout, we need some time to recuperate. It is good to talk with him.

Flag at Sunset

Around 12:30, Neil and George left me to be the sole commander of this outpost. The first thing I do with this immense power is to have lunch. By the time I finished with lunch, I did a scan then took the afternoon weather by 13:15. Then the rest of the afternoon is doing the basics-isn’t that what a lookout’s life really is? I did more scans, more quizzing myself on the landmarks which I see, and talked with visitors.

On that last part, I had a variety of them. Each year there is an annual inspection of the power lines for hazardous trees. One of the guys recognized me from last year and I recognized him. They came up to the cab and enjoyed the sights. Then a couple from Cleveland came up. They are interested in the hikes and places to go around the Park. Of course I provide. It must have been an Ohio day as a family from Cincinnati came up. As we talked about the wildlife-and no I do not see bears up here-they mention that there was a rattlesnake on the trail.

Towards the end of the shift, a couple from Boston doing the van-life thing come up. They spent the day doing things around the Visitor Center and wanted to go for a hike. That led them to this lookout. We talked for a while and I answered questions. Evidently he has a YouTube channel which is a blend of satire and travelog. He is interested in doing a short interview with me and I accommodate. He said it will take a while for him to edit and get it up, but I can find his channel by looking for Matty Appleseed.*

Before the end of the day, I did several things. The Forest wants to know if we are staying overnight in a lookout. At 16:36 I phoned Porterville Dispatch and told them I am overnighting. They wanted to know if I am going out of service now? No, not until 18:00. Then Jeff calls and asks about propane. I find what he is looking for. While the last visitors are here, I go out of service with Ash Mountain Fire, then with Porterville. I am out of service by 17:53. The last visitors leave at 18:15.

So what do I do with the remainder of the daylight hours? Jeff had planted the idea of going out for a hike. But first, I want to have dinner. Then my calendar alarm goes off and reminds me I have a family Zoom time. There is an advantage of being at this lookout-the Verizon tower is just 50’ away so I have great reception. Family takes priority over hiking-I love it that my children want to connect with us. David, Sherri, Andrea and I talk for about an hour while I eat my quesadilla. By the time it ends and I do a bit of cleaning up, the sun is low in the sky. Time for the reward for staffing a fire lookout: the sunset! And then darkness. By 21:30, I am in my sleeping bag reading and doing those kinds of stuff.

Background

*Matty had asked me what I did in my time. I rattled off a variety of things, including leading a House Church. This led me to a question of what Bible story do I like best.Questions like this, my mind usually draws a blank and it did this time. But for some reason Jesus’ parable of Lazarus and the rich man came to mind-which I butchered. But it led me into talking about the need for honesty and righteousness in one's life. This seemed to resonate with him. Luke 16:19-31.

Animals

Marmot