Up the Sunbeam

-- Whitecaps. The splash of whitewater dots the lake surface, each wave advancing like a tiny storm all its own. Whitecaps on a deep blue mountain lake are what this past week reminds me of. It may not be stormy all around, but the water certainly is choppy! Last week I wrote of our friends, the Shaffer family, and their son, Stephen . They were hit with one mighty, overwhelming rogue wave that looked like something you'd see on an episode of Deadliest Catch. Since then, they have been riding a series of crazy and unpredictable whitecaps that just keep coming. It's hard to believe all that has transpired since the 4th of July. At the time I wrote last week's post, the facebook group, Pray for Stephen Shaffer , was barely over 1500--it now tops 13,000!!! Keep in mind, this is a "secret group" that people can't just look up and click 'Like' to join! Apparently God didn't keep the secret! =) This has been a truly turbulent r...

-- O nce again, the high country has filled my heart (and my camera's memory cards) to overflowing. I have just returned from another trip to the mountains with my parents who love them as much as I do! This time they took me on a  lake cruise  that explores the wonders of the 55-mile long, 1,486-foot deep Lake Chelan in North Cascades National Park in the state of Washington. I may have seen more waterfalls on that day trip than I think I've seen the rest of my life put together! The spring melt was at its height and every place along those steep mountain faces where water could gather and run headlong down to that deep, cold lake, it came in a rush of blinding whitewater. There were so many waterfalls I kept having to run from one side of the boat to the other to capture the next and the next and the next (such a fun problem to have)! A t the north end of the lake, after a short bus ride, we reached the p ièce de résistance of the tour , Rainbow Falls, a 312-foot c...