For the past week, the adventurous Toews had been house-sitting/dog-sitting for some friends (& supporters of our mission) from church. They live WAY out in the Black Hills, just an hour's hike from their home to the top of Custer Peak. Most of our stay was cold, wet, & stormy. But Monday was warm & sunny - perfect day for a hike! (well, it was 80 degrees, so a bit warm for a hike, but that did not stop us!)
There were stream of water trickling down the trail because of how much it rained in the Black Hill in May. At first we avoided stepping the the cool water, but as we started sweating from the hot, hot sun, it felt nice to splash in our sandals.
One spot, however, got us in the deep trouble. Literally. Deep.
There was a puddle of thick, wet, quick-sand, gumbo MUD. It sucked us in. I almost lost my sandals. It stunk. Luckily, neither of us fell in the mud. & no harm was done. --- just a funny story to tell today. =)
A bird surprised us when we walked by its hidden nest & swooped to protect its eggs. We took a closer inspection & found these red & white speckled eggs. Precious! These eggs in the nest were a special gift from God. As we wait for our visas & struggle & find contentment, God whispered "Slow down, enjoy the wait, & find beauty in the tiny details of the world around you."
At the top of Custer Peak is a lookout tower used by the forrest service. We weren't able to climb inside, but enjoyed the view from stone steps. It was such a clear day & we could see for miles! I think we even saw Harney Peak (where we got engaged).
We hope this is our last Black Hills hike for a year. But we still don't have our visas yet. Who knows when we will get to Zimbabwe? Continue to pray for us & for our visas. We will be helping Kam's parents at their summer Bible camp, and hopefully won't spend the whole summer there. (But it is the place we fell in love <3).
Have you taken any summer hikes yet? What do you suggest?
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