Grand Canyon

Allen spent this past week hiking the Grand Canyon with a couple of his pharmacists and family members.

Can you read this?? "Getting to the bottom optional, getting to the top mandatory." There was a rescue just a day or so before, where a girl broke her ankle and had to be rescued by helicopter. It is VERY expensive, in the thousands.

When they applied to go hiking a year ago, they were to write down their 3 choices of trails. They ended up getting assigned their 3rd choice - Hermits' Trail. It is very rugged.

Al is reading the map. Sometimes the trail is not easy to see.

Landslides cover much of the trail.

They did not get to the destination they had planned on the first night. They were ready to quit when they got to the springs. They had one hour of daylight left. This is called "Hermit's Rest" because a hermit actually used to live here.

Here is my hermit!

Al's birthday was Tuesday so Michelle, Troy's wife gave him the cards we had secretly sent with her. She also provided "cake"!

They did get to the river the next day.

Al is posing with Loratab, the pharmacy mascot (a weasel) who has gone on many trips around the world; Rome, the Vatican, Paris, New Zealand, Mexico, Africa and all over America.

Day #3 - climbing out of the canyon

They had to rest a lot!

They made it!

This from Al: We made it. The Hermit Trail was actually much more difficult than we thought. The backcountry office did warn us, multiple times, and they were right. The word I use to describe the trek is "grueling". Some of the inner canyons were gorgeous, and seldom seen by mankind. Made the sore muscles, blisters, etc all worth it. As I studied the canyon for the trip, it became clear that the bulk of evidence points toward its formation by the receeding waters of the flood. Thus, it was not formed as part of the original creation, but as a result of God's judgement on a world gone bad. Interestingly, the day before we drove through some rain, revealing a beautiful double rainbow, visible from end to end - God's promise that He will never again destroy man and the earth with a flood. And even though man continues to gradually fall farther and farther away from God, He patiently waits for us to turn to him. Eventually, His patience will run out, and the Day of the Lord will come, like a thief. Then the heavens will disappear with a load roar (big bang), the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. In the meantime, he calls us to live for Him. That I pledge to do.