An Often Overlooked State Park

Many people would consider Highway 24, which runs between Green River and Hanksville, Utah, to be a desolate stretch of highway. The road cuts across barren and dry ground. To the west is the San Rafael Swell, a rock outcropping that rises above the plain. Canyon country is to the east and to the south, the Henry Mountains rise up on the horizon. You can see forever in this country and I love it. This past July, when we were on vacation, we took this road. I’d been on it before, but had always been in a hurry to get somewhere. This time I made sure we had enough time to wander off the main highway and explore an enchanted place, Goblin Valley State Park, which is a small state park about 20 miles off Highway 24. Unfortunately, it was the middle of the day when we arrived, not the best time for photography, but it was fun to explore the valley floor where goblin-like figurines abound. Erosion has carved the softer rock away faster, leaving the harder rock above which creates the “heads.” Also, small pits in the harder rock create an eye-like illusion in the rock. There are thousands of these sculptures. I’d first heard of this unique place from my secretary in Utah, who’d gone there with her husband and friends to camp on a full-moon. It would be a wonderful place to explore in the light of the moon, and very scary. If you go, be sure to take all you need with you, as it is a long ways to any kind of services or restaurants. If you’re spending the night, camping is your only option. There are hotels in Green River and Hanksville, but they’re a good hour away. Click on the photos to enlarge. Enjoy...

A Brief Essay on "The Prodigal God"

Timothy Keller, The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith (New York: Dutton, 2008), 139 pages.

There are two kinds of sinners, as Timothy Keller explores in this book. One kind of sinner is rather obvious. They live only for themselves, breaking God’s laws and perhaps even the laws of the land. Such sinners are represented by the younger son in Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son, who after wishing his father’s death so he can inherit his portion of the estate, is given his inheritance and runs off to a foreign country.

We have a love/hate relationship with the younger boy. In God’s Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse, James Weldon Johnson captures the flavor of American-American preachers early in the 20th Century. Many of these preachers could not read and write, but the way they told stories were poetic. In a sermon on the Prodigal Son, the preacher paints a vivid picture of the young wayward son with his daddy’s inheritance burning a hole in his pocket…

And the young man went with his new-found friend,
And brought himself some brand new clothes,
And he spent his days in the drinking dens,
Swallowing the fires of hell.
And he spent his nights in the gambling dens,
Throwing dice with the devil for his soul.
And he met up with the women of Babylon.
Oh, the women of Babylon!
Dressed in yellow and purple and scarlet,
Loaded with rings and earrings and bracelets,
Their lips like a honeycomb dripping with honey,
Perfumed and sweet-smelling like a jasmine flower;
And the jasmine smell of the Babylon women
Got in his nostril and went to his head,
And he wasted his substance in riotous living,
In the evening, in the black and dark of night,
With the sweet-sinning women of Babylon.



Why is it that we are fascinated with the younger son? Certainly we’re glad that he’s redeemable, but we also relish in the visions of his sinful past. If truth be told, we’re a little jealous of his freedom. Over time, the parable has even been named for him. He’s the prodigal, the one who lavishly spends his inheritance. And we forget about that this is a parable of two sons.
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Timothy Keller reminds over and over again that there are two ways to be separated from God. Yes, we can be like the younger son and live wildly. This is the popular view of a sinner and many of us have been down that road. But we can also be the dutiful son and do what’s expected of us, but deep down despise the father for whom we work. Sometimes even free-spirited younger sons can become zealous older brothers. The sins of the older son are not so evident. Such sins live in the heart where they fester and boil and eventually boil over in anger and rage. Keller makes the point that churches are filled with “older sons,” those who look down on their younger brother’s sinful ways. But these “older sons” don’t enjoy the father’s company any more than the “younger sons” who want to strike out for the territories, sowing their oats along the way. Older sons are those who give religion a bad name and make the church seem harsh and judgmental. Because of their hard hearts, they don’t get to enjoy the banquet the father throws for the return of the younger son. Instead, they sulk in anger, showing the condition of their hearts.
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Prodigal means reckless extravagant, having spent everything. Keller suggests that the true prodigal in the story is the Father in the story, who represents God. God goes to great distances to restore the lost son, that even though the son has already cost him a fortune, he spends it again to reclaim the boy. Redemption is not cheap, as the older boy discovers, for he feels the father is stealing from what belongs to him in order to redeem the younger boy. He's not gratiful at all. Keller is writing, not to call the wayward younger son home, but to remind those who have never left, the older brother, not to be so self-righteous and to look down on others. This book calls those in the church to task, asking that we not be so judgmental. It’s also a book that confirms one of the main critiques made against the church, that it is a place of hypocrites. Certainly, if our hearts are like the older brother, such a critique is justified. We should take the critique as a warning for in the story, it is the younger son, not the older boy, that experiences salvation.
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This is a good, easy to read, book. It can easily be read in a sitting. I recommend it.

A Day on the River

Trisket and I took off yesterday and drove up north a bit to the Muskegon River. I’d never paddled the river the before and we’d arranged a canoe livery to shuttle my truck and paddled from Croton Dam to the railroad bridge in Newaygo. The vegetation is changing and there is a hint of fall in the air. I love the ways the trees reflect in the calm water. The bushes and vines are all at full color and the brilliant greens have faded from the hardwoods. In another two weeks, this section of river should be beautiful with the trees being displaying the variety of color of an artist’s palette.

It was great to be alone with the dog. This is a self-portrait and I notice that I have my hat on backwards (the tighten string is in the front)

It was a beautiful day to paddle. The morning temperature was in the low 60s and it was only 70 when I got off the river at 4:45 PM. The cooler air made the trip pleasant as the river is broad and there was little shade. I didn’t have much luck fishing, but the first of the salmon are moving up river and you could see them in the water. Although there were a few fishing with fly rods and salmon eggs, I stuck to using a spinning rod as the wind was too much to try to fly fish in boat drifting downstream. I only had two strikes.
Arriving at the take-out point.

Dutch Oven Cooking (with recipes)

This is a response of request I received in my last post… All my Dutch-ovens are designed for outdoor cooking. They have legs on them (so they can stand over the coals), and lips on the lids so they can hold coals. I have cooked with wood, but it’s easier to use charcoal briquettes. At home, I prepare everything (cut excess fat off the meat, prepare the vegetables, etc). When I get to the site, the first thing I do is start the charcoal. Then I set up my stove—a large 2-burner camp stove that uses a 20 pound propane gas tank. I use the stove to brown the meat and afterwards to help me clean the ovens. I then get the ribs on (since they’re in liquid, you don’t risk over-cooking, as you do with the chicken. Then I put on the chicken, then the potatoes. The last thing to cook is a cobbler. In addition to Dutch oven cooking, my lunch included Carolina-styled Cole Slaw and a vegetable tray and plenty of ice team.
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Ribs: I’m from North Carolina, so ribs mean pork! I use either babyback or country-ribs. On a stove, I lightly brown the ribs, then place them to a Dutch oven and cover them with some of my homemade sauce. My sauce includes apple cider vinegar, tomato ketchup, hot sauce (Texas Pete’s, if available), coarse ground pepper, salt, and the lemon squeezings. I put place 8-10 pieces of charcoal on the ground and put the oven on top. I add another 8 or so pieces to the top of the oven.
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Chicken: For one 12 inch, deep-sized Dutch oven, I’ll use a 10 pound bag of legs and thighs quarters. Cleaning the chicken, I cut off excess fat and separate the legs from the thighs. I dip the chicken pieces into milk, and then roll in a spicy bread crumb mixture, then brown on a skillet. Once brown, I pack into a Dutch oven (I usually have the oven on the other burner so the metal will be hot before I place it on the coals. When filled, I place the second pot on top of the first and add another 8 or so pieces of coals to the top lid. I use a thermometer to make sure the chicken is cooked.

Potatoes: Before starting to cook (or the night before), I wash and thinly slice the potatoes and onions (for a deep 12 inch Dutch oven, I will use about 5 pounds of potatoes and 2 pounds of onions. I lay out strips of bacon to cover the bottom of the oven. I then set out a layer of potatoes, then onions, the sprinkle with seasoning (I like to use Ms. Dash). I keep repeating this till the oven is filled. On the top, I place another layer of bacon. I set the oven on top of the oven with the chicken, and place coals on top of its lid. The potatoes will be done in 45 minutes to an hour.

Cobbler: The cobbler is the last thing to be cooked, as it only takes 30 minutes or so. I use a smaller oven (10 inch). I take ½ of a stick of butter and rub it into the oven. Then I add cherry pie filling (3-28 ounce cans). On top, I sprinkle a chocolate cake mix and then add pats of butter (the rest of the stick). That all, I’m embarrassed to say! I do have some other recipes that call for all kinds of things, including nuts and chocolate syrup, and they are good, but not that much better than this simple recipe. I put the cobbler on right before I start serving the rest of the meal, so it’s hot when people are ready for dessert. Sorry, but I didn’t get a photo of the cobbler.

I hope you have a healthy appetite!

Some Stuff

I worked as a chef this past Friday. Last summer, for a charity auction, I offered up my outdoor cooking abilities with Dutch-ovens. A director of a local agency won the bid and had me to cook for her staff. So Friday, I hauled my stuff out to their office and prepared lunch: barbecued babyback ribs, baked chicken, Dutch-oven potatoes, Carolina-style Cole slaw, and a chocolate-cherry cobbler. The photo is of me showing off my potatoes to a hungry worker.

Things have been rather crazy in my world over the past few weeks. It’s often that way in September and this year has been no different. We’re having some crazy weather here! Yesterday morning, when I went out with the dog it was 40 degrees, today it was 70! After a wet spring and early summer, the skies dried up, but this morning we received a welcome drizzle. I’m glad we’re not getting the deluge some of you received down South. We’re here in a race to get a project roofed before winter sets in and need to have good weather this fall.

I just haven’t had time to research or write about the political issues of today, but last week I came across this video at Courting Destiny's blog. It's about the current health care debate in our country enlightening and funny. It’s amazing that we pay so much for so little. If that video gets your blood pressure up too much, watch this one. It's not political at all and is kind of funny, unless you're a cop without a sense of humor.

Hopefully, soon, I’ll be able to write more of my Appalachian Trail hike. I also have an upcoming canoe trip planned for a river that I’ve not yet paddled, one in which I’m hoping to catch some fall colors along with the fall salmon run.