Mt. Rainier

This looks intense!

http://www.summitpost.org/mount-rainier/150291

Truchas Peak

Oh my goodness! Truchas might be my new goal. This looks tough! I'm sure it would be really rewarding to summit this puppy though! 

http://www.surgent.net/highpoints/nm/truchas.html

http://www.summitpost.org/truchas-peak-aka-south-truchas-peak/151757

Lake Katherine

This makes me so happy!

Mountain Climbing, Hiking in NM

I have started to become really excited to hike some mountains. Wheeler Peak is my goal for the end of the summer. I really wanted to conquer Wheeler Peak this month. The fourteen mile hike might be just a bit too much for me at my current level. I want to work up to my goal. I want to hike Santa Fe Baldy and the Truchas (although I think the Truchas might be a harder hike than Wheeler). I'm really excited though. We have so much natural beauty here in NM and I want to discover it.

http://www.summitpost.org/wheeler-peak-nm/150429

http://www.summitpost.org/santa-fe-baldy/151395

Our Little Pup

Here's a video of our little pup swimming.

Weather, Buff Old Dudes

I really hate checking the weather and seeing advertisements with buff
old dudes in them.

New Photo Blog

I love Gmail. I use everything Google has to offer, except for its search engine. For that I use Bing. Weird huh? So I have had Gmail since 2004, back when it was "invite" only. In fact, I still have 98 invites left. What I really love about Gmail is that I can look back years to see what was going on in my life. It's a really cool little time capsule. I did a search for ".jpg", and there are tons of cool pictures that I sent to myself and my friends. I thought it would be nice to make a blog that could show these photos. http://skate1zo.blogspot.com

This is my new photo blog. I'll start with old photos, then I'll put new ones. 

We Are Lucky To Be Alive

This one time, Lindsey and I were traveling down a path where
elephants are known to be seen. We were really hopeful that we would
not see one at all. We know how powerful these creatures are. From
television, we also know that they can be quite grumpy and protective
over their young. We also found out that a pride of lions took down
and ate one elephant one time. This is beside the point though. A
friend of ours, who was also our tour guide, took a picture of us in
the Indian jungle so that we could show our friends and family how
much fun we had. He snapped one photo, but my beard
wasn't combed right. So then, as he was preparing for the next photo
Lindsey and I realized that there was a giant elephant behind us! It
chased us until we outran it. Then we made it to the village and
enjoyed some tea.
(This is my lame attempt at writing a story.)

Goal #1 Joy

I'm having a hard time staying positive these days. I know that I am
certainly blessed, but for some reason things are just irritating me
more than usual. I'm still trying to discover who I really am. It
sounds strange, but I don't know that. I know who I used to be. Some
main things have not changed. I'm still generally the same person I
was maybe five years ago. Some things that gave me joy five years ago
no longer give me joy. I know I'm changing, but I need to know how I'm
changing. I thought adolescence was the end of my changes. Nope... So
now my search. What gives me joy? By the way, what the heck is joy?
For me joy is a really important thing, and it is really hard to
describe. It's something deeper than happiness. I want to know that I
can accomplish what I desire. My goals need to be real, and not just
ideas. I don't want to be lazy. So that's my thought for the day. Goal
#1 joy.

Hmmm... I guess I picked the right major!

Rain

It looks like some of our state is getting some much needed rain! Like
babbled before, it has been really dry. I really sound like a broken
record. Bla, bla, bla...I really wish it would rain...bla, bla, bla.
Whatever, that's what's on my mind. A few other things are on my mind.

This weekend Lindsey and I spoke with a loan officer. She gave us some
insight on home buying and what we, as new buyers, could expect. She
really did shed some light on things for us. We came away from the
meeting knowing that we could buy a house on our own. It felt kinda
good. Starting out in marriage, we both have lots of questions about
how life as a married person continues. Buying a home is one of the
major scary "unknowns". But we'll see. It could be three months, or it
could be three years before we buy a house. Or, if life takes us
somewhere else in the world, then it could be never. We're keeping our
options open.

So what else is on my mind? Well, I want to be happy. How am I going
to do it? I would say meditating and studying what is most important
to me, namely the God called Yahweh. I know it is difficult to study
what is not study-able, well maybe impossible. But I would like to
have more knowledge... But nobody wants to know about my religion,
right? That's personal stuff! Haha! It's really hard to keep something
like that to myself though. It is who I am... I even think it's deeper
than that. Something that I could ponder for a really long time.
That's where I gain my joy. Joy is a gift. I would like to also bring
joy to other people if I could. I would like to get more done than is
expected of me at work. I would like to go beyond what is expected of
me as a husband too. It's really difficult to get to the dishes every
time I see that they have piled up, but I would like to. Laundry is
also a huge chore, mostly because I have to drive half-a-mile to the
laundromat to do the laundry. I want to be a sponge for knowledge.
Every type of knowledge.

So that's what's on my mind right now.

In the near future I hope to see rain. In the near future I would like
to be above 10,000 ft above sea level. In the near future I would like
to sleep in a sleeping bag, on the floor, in a tent, in the Santa Fe
National Forest. The Pecos Wilderness is where it's at. I love the way
the forest smells after a good afternoon thunderstorm. I love when I
see those creeks grow into raging rivers. The forest is amazing
because it demands fear and respect. You can't help but admire it's
splendor. I love how all five senses are being touched with beauty. I
can feel the cool air and the grass brushing my legs, I can smell and
taste the forest air, I can see the towering pines and the rocky
cliffs, and I can hear the stream rushing and the bird calls. It's
pretty amazing... Soon.

Weather Report: Smoke

Smoke

There is a major fire in Arizona somewhere and all of the smoke from
that fire is drifting here to NM. It's really a bit scary to walk
outside. I can't even see the mountains. There's a haze outside as if
a house is on fire in the neighborhood. There is ash particles raining
from the sky. The National Weather Service issued an "Air Quality
Alert". I doubt I'll ever see anything like this ever again. I really
hope some rain comes soon to wash all of this ash away.