Today was by far the hardest day.... we climbed over 1700 feet and the clouds didn't cover the sun, it was hot. But it was also the most rewarding. The scenery was spectacular. My one hope for this walk was to see a field a poppies. We almost missed it, but Scott caught sight of it tucked behind a tree line. It was a moment of sheer joy! (I LOVE poppies!)

My body says it's time to stop, but my heart could do this for days. I'm sad this part of our trip is over. Cities are fine, but I could spend the rest of my vacation days exploring the heart of creation. There is no place I see God more than in nature.

My take away from today is to stop trying to shortcut life. The thing with these walks is they don't go from hilltop to hilltop, you go deep into the valley and then climb your way up to the hilltop. You get a little ridge and then head down again. Often you climb, only to go back down then climb again. But what a perfect metaphor for life.

At one point I thought, why don't they cut a tunnel through this hill, or make a skywalk bridge so I don't have to go back to the valley again and then climb. And then I had to laugh at myself, that's how I want God to orchestrate my life, make it easy for me. But the joy of this journey was learning to trust Him and who He created me to be. My body is fearfully and wonderfully made. Each day I adapted more and learned how to do this. Today was the hardest, but also the easiest because my body was learning.

And one last thing... I have to give a shout out to my sweet husband. His patience (with all of my picture taking) is limitless. His willingness to watch me and match my pace is above and beyond. He walked out of his way to get me more water and he checked paths to be sure I didn't have to backtrack wrong turns. We had so much fun together and I couldn't be more thankful for the blessing of him.

It has been an amazing 3 days. Off to Sorento tomorrow where we meet back up with Rob and Laura and be awed some more by the majesty of creation.