Autumn Leaves

Yesterday was a knock-down, gorgeous day in Juneau. I got dozens of photos that I am very eager to share with you. These leaf photos were all taken during the course of the day in various places throughout Juneau. It was too hard to decide which one to feature. All of them tell the story of Autumn. - www.wyattjourney.com

On my hike to the top of Mt. McGinnis earlier this month, I was buzzed by a helicopter. I figure that since I was the only thing interesting on the mountain, he brought his guests in for a closer look. In one of my photos, I can actually see his passenger taking photos of me.

Mt. McGinnis has been calling me to climb her all summer. I had scheduled the climb several times but the weather this year made conditions too dangerous for the journey. I even got up at 6 AM once so I could climb it and be back in the valley in time for an appointment. It rained double-hard that morning. Finally, on October 7th, I reached the top. This was my 5th time climbing it but each time seems like a real accomplishment. I started on the trail at 10:00 AM and reached the top at 1:00 and was back home by 4:30. It was an extremely quick hike up to the 2,800 level. I can't wait to do it again next year.

So, what is the view like from the top of Mt. McGinnis? It was pretty cloudy most of the time I was up there but right before I left there was a little bit of clearing.

Mendenhall Valley

I am so glad to be back up after a week of server troubles. Thank you to everyone who inquired about the site and my well-being.

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On a crisp Saturday morning a few weeks back, I went on an exciting adventure up to a place many Juneauites see but to which few travel. I climbed Mt. McGinnis which is located at the far end of our valley and to the west side of the Mendenhall Glacier. From the end of the West Glacier Trail, where one picks up the Mt. McGinnis trail, there is are amazing views of the glacier and the valley where I live.

There is a book commonly used by educators called Flat Stanley (by Jeff Brown and Scott Nash). In the book, a kid is shrunk down so he can fit in an envelop and travel the world. Teachers will often do a lesson on this and have their students send a Flat Stanley on a journey. A student in Ohio found my class website and sent me this Flat Stanley. I sent their class a postcard and I sent these 8 photos (sorry, you'll have to wait until wyattjourney.com is up-and-going before you can see all 8) regarding Flat Stanley's weekend. I had a lot of fun putting these together. I wanted to do more but you have to stop before midnight on a school night.

I need to send Flat Stanley on to someone else and I am looking for a volunteer from someone. You don't need to do much. Flat Stanley comes with instructions. Signing the letter and sending a postcard are only two requirements. So drop me an email if you are interested.

Where's the Journey?

Thank you for all the emails and phone calls asking where wyattjourney.com has been these past few days. My hosting service upgraded their servers and in the process my site got booted off. I think it may be fixed today so you should be able to catch up on the past 5 days when I get it loaded. Thank you to all who contacted me expressing concern. I am glad so many make The Journey a part of their day. Peace.

Rainbows and Dust

You know how you never have your camera when a good photo comes? Well, on a recent drive I had my camera right next to me. So I pulled over to the side of the road and took this photo from the driver's seat. Notice that the Fall colors are here.

With Fall comes the arrival of snow on the mountains. Do you remember what we call that first sign of winter? If you said termination dust, you got it right. It is called that because it marks the termination of summer. We've had termination dust on several mountains since the beginning of the month.

Thank you, David!

Thank you David!! I had an excellent time.

We fit a lot into the weekend but the highlights for me included going for a flying tour over Tri-Cities, driving to Spokane, sharing time at Promise Keepers, tour downtown Spokane, driving back from Spokane, eating sushi with Paige, going to a movie, spending time in the bookstore, attending your church, submitting photos to an online contest, shopping for shirts, going to the dog-show, and generally just spending time with you. I admire your faith and your openness to encourage others toward a stronger relationship with Christ.

Best In Show

Back in Kennewick, David took his daughters and me to see a kennel show. There were some beautiful dogs on display at this competition. I didn't get a photo of the winning dog because I wasn't very fond of it and was surprised it won for "Best in Show." I guess I don't have a refined taste for such things. For some reason, the photo on the right cracks me up!

Spokane

Spokane is a gorgeous and well-kept city. At one time, I had considered moving there. The downtown area is filled with brick buildings and old-town character. In some ways, it is like Portland. These shots were all taken within a few blocks of each other, near the grounds where the 1974 World's Fair was held.

Promise Keepers

I didn't just go down to Washington state so my brother could take me on an awesome flying adventure (although that was certainly worthwhile). The major reason for my trip was to attend a Promise Keepers conference with my brother. This conference was designed as a time of spiritual renewal for men who are seeking to be good fathers, sons, brothers, employees, and servants of God. I was most impressed with the messages of Rick Rigsby and his encouragement to pursue a deeper relationship with God. Approximately 10,000 men were at this conference in Spokane with us last weekend.

The music at Promise Keepers is always a highlight. I have learned several new songs each time I go to a PK conference. My favorite new song this year is called I Will Boast in the Lord My God. There is an admittedly concert atmosphere at the conference and yet there is also a sense of worship shared among the participants.

Flying In Kennewick With David

I have been picked up from airports around the world in various ways including cars, trains, taxis, metros, 4-wheelers, and once a bike. However, I had never been picked up by an airplane until now. My brother, David, met my commercial flight in Pasco with his Cessna and flew me around the Tri-cities on our way to Kennewick. It was a great way to start the weekend. David is an excellent pilot. He takes it very seriously and often uses his skills to help and encourage others. Check out his blog. I took over 300 photos on our flight and will show some of them in the next few days.

The windmill farms located just outside Tri-cities are impressive. Most amazing is each windmill's colossal size. Figure that the road below them is a standard single-lane path. Each windmill is 200 feet tall and each blade is 100 feet long. They need a breeze of at least 8 mph to star producing electricity but the optimal speed should be 35 mph.