Port Aransas Vacation

If you read my last post, and watched the videos, you know I'm at a family reunion in Port Aransas, Texas. We've been blessed with good weather here and are safe from the path of Hurricane Gustav, unlike those East of us.

Yesterday, Leslie and I went on an 18 mile bike ride. One of the great things about riding bikes out here (or jogging, for that matter), is that everything is flat! So, we put our bikes in one gear and took off. Of course, the humidity is pretty high. But everyone who lives here is used to it.

Last night, we went fishing at a dock in Rockport; Leslie caught some kind of snapper and a few speckle.d trout, along with a dogfish and a catfish (Yes, there is something called a "dogfish." And they're very ugly-looking.). My brother-in-law, Randy, caught a slapjack, and a few others. Slapjacks are those fish you see jumping around in the ocean any time you visit this region.

Later today, Leslie and I are going on a deep sea fishing trip. This should be a lot of fun! I'll have to let you know how it goes in a later post.

Justin and Faith are having a lot of fun, along with their cousin Patrick. I wish Justin could enjoy the trip more, but he's still hurting from getting braces on his teeth last Wednesday. Mamaw and Grandad are just having fun being around family. Randy and Holly are enjoying themselves, as well. They didn't have far to travel for this trip, since they live in Corpus Christi.

We're at the Coast!

Are we crazy or what? It's hurricane season. And we're at the coast. Anyway, Justin filmed me in another couple of "moment" videos. One of them is a lot like all the rest we've taken. The other one is a little different. Enjoy!

Cousins Camp 2008 2nd Report

This morning we're in Midland, Texas. We are here for the outdoor Christian music festival called Rock the Desert. Last night we saw two bands, Family Force 5 and the Newsboys. Illusionist Brock Gill was also there. Tonight we'll be seeing Hawk Nelson, Red, and Switchfoot. Wow! That's a lot of music! My personal editorial is this: Newsboys can still rock the house after all these years! Last Thursday we all took an awesome train ride and enjoyed a picnic and swim up in Austin! Along the way, we visited a bike shop.

Enjoy these pics from Cousins Camp. By the way, there's a couple of people in the picture above that aren't one of the cousins, but they're like family anyway--our friends, Samantha and Emily Hall. Darby and Adam Rollins, are here at festival too, along with their parents, Don and Cindy. It's my first time to be at Rock the Desert, but several of the people mentioned above are veteran attendees to this awesome festival, including Leslie, Justin, Faith.

Cousins Camp 2008 1st Report

Well, it's the beginning of Cousins Camp 2008 here at the Stephens House. Two cousins, Hannah and Sarah, arrived today. Two more, Claire and Jack Henry, are coming tomorrow. We're looking forward to a fun-filled week.

Big Bend 2008 Vacation Day Three

Yesterday evening Leslie and I hiked part of the way down to Mule Ears Peak. Check out the picture and you'll be able to see why it's named so. It's so serene out here. This morning I hiked a trail on the desert floor, and was amazed at the plant life. I'll bet it's a real sight to see when the plants are blooming in the spring.

The big story today is that Leslie went on a 30 mile bike ride down one of the main roads here in the park! Both of us left early this morning, Leslie for her bike ride (read "marathon") and me for my wimpy 3 mile hike in the desert. You have it all here at Big Bend: mountains, desert, and river. This is our third time to come to the region.

It looks like we're in for a lot of rain later today, but that's fine. I heard Austin had some rain today. I hope Wimberley got some too. Tomorrow morning we will begin our trek home. We'll arrive home in time to pick up our kids from church. They've been at Student Life Camp in Shawnee, Oklahoma all week.

Big Bend 2008 Vacation Day Two

This morning Leslie and I went on a 16 mile bike ride along a long stretch of relatively flat road. It's amazing to look out at the vast expanse of desert that makes up a lot of this national park. For the first half of the ride, we had the wind against us, with the mountains in the background. Obviously, the ride back was more pleasant. Last night we hiked some more, bringing the total to 6 miles of hiking on the first day.

Later this evening, we'll go and explore a different section of the park, taking in some new views. We'll do a little more hiking and biking. What else do you do at Big Bend? Besides the bear, we've seen a rattlesnake, some javelina, deer, rabbits, skunks, and some of the biggest insects you can imagine! Are there any entomologists who can identify this creepy insect? I took a picture of this interesting 3.5 - 4 inch bug yesterday afternoon. Actually, I wanted to get in front of it to take the picture, but was afraid it might attack me! Hey, I'm no fool.

The weather has been warm, but pleasant, especially in the mountains of Big Bend where we are staying. During the summer, it's smart to do your outdoor activities in the early morning or evening before dusk. We're doing just that! Hope everyone back home is doing well.

Big Bend Vacation 2008 Day One

It’s Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008. Leslie and I are at Big Bend National Park, and having a wonderful time! Yesterday, at 2:30 a.m. our kids left for Student Life Camp in Shawnee, Oklahoma. I got to pray for everyone on the bus right before they left. Then I went home and went back to sleep. About 10:30 a.m., after packing the van, Leslie and I were off to Big Bend. It took us about 10 hours to arrive here, including the stops along the way.

It’s funny. I thought Leslie might enjoy going to the Dallas/Fort Worth area for something different this year, so I suggested just it as a vacation idea. We never go to the DFW Metroplex for vacation. It’s usually for some conference. But Leslie wanted to go to a quiet spot where we could get some hiking and biking in, and reconnect. We’ve had such a busy summer already, and have been meeting each other coming and going. So I was happy that she wanted to do this. Truth is I’d rather be in Big Bend than Dallas/Fort Worth any day of the week!

It’s in the middle of the afternoon, and we just got back from a 4.5 mile hike on the Window Trail here in the Chisos Mountains of Big Bend. Now when you go on a hike in a state or national park, you always hope to see some wildlife. Well, today certainly did not disappoint. On the way down to “the Window” we saw black bear scat right in the middle of the trail; and it was fresh! We just continued on down the trail.

Once we came to the large opening in the rocks called “the Window,” we encountered a group of college-aged students. They were members of the Environmental Corps, which is an extension of Ameri-Corps. They were here to do improvements on some of trails here in the park. Thank God for people like this who take care of these park and wilderness areas.

On the way back to the trailhead, we noticed the Environmental Corps members standing in the trail, looking up in a tree. The leader of their group pointed up to the branches. There was a beautiful black bear with her two cubs! We must have been 25-30 feet away. It was pretty exciting. I’ve included a picture of the momma bear here. I’ll check in either later today or tomorrow. Thanks for reading.