Earlier that same day, we went right through the area in Oklahoma City that was hit with a tornado yesterday. Last night, the weather service is reporting a significant chance of tornadoes where we are staying just outside Springfield. YIKES! We are hoping the Lord allows us to duck those as well. Where Mary Jo & I live in Grand Junction, Co, we are happy to report that they have not spotted a tornado for almost 100 years. So, right now, we are certainly enjoying the...
Read MoreBryce Canyon
Part of the student requirements for the geology field class that Mary Jo & I led to the Southwest was a written Travel Guide for the trip. The students were divided into groups of 4-5 and each group wrote their own “Guidebook” complete with photos and written descriptions of the sites visited. Part of the reason to have them do this is to have them think more deeply about what they are seeing and to have something to remind them of the trip. One of the student groups...
Read MoreKodachrome Basin
The name says it all, especially if you are familiar with the older slide film called Kodachrome. There is so much beautiful scenery there just waiting for the camera! However, to me it may be one of the most significant sites that we took our caravan of 40 to on the Jackson Hole Bible college geology field trip of the Southwest. Why is this significant? Here we find columns or pipes of light-colored sandstone protruding through a very red-colored Entrada sandstone...
Read MoreOnward to Zion!
No, we didn’t go to the Biblical Zion, but our caravan of 40 headed to Zion National Park. It is a beautiful place with sheer sandstone cliffs reaching 2000 feet above. This place is a rock climber’s dream and for the climber’s mother, a nightmare! Much of the sheer cliffs are of Navaho sandstone. In some places, the sandstone is heavily cross-bedded leading the Park officials to think that the sand was put down over millions of years in ancient wind-blown desert sand...
Read MoreWupatki Anasazi Ruins
The Anasazi. They are called the Ancient Ones. Where did they come from? Where did they go? Heaps of rock where villages once stood, leftover pottery, various artifacts and drawings on the rocks are all that remain. What made these ancient ones abandon their homes, farms, and villages? Was it drought? Perhaps they fled from hostile tribes – or perhaps volcanoes rained down hot material on them. Some people think the Pueblo and Hopi Indians are their descendants. No one...
Read MoreResurrection Day Drive and Blessing
When we are on speaking trips, even our “holidays” can sometimes be spent on the road or traveling. This last one was a very special time for Mary Jo and me! We began on Friday evening by joining friends in Payson, Arizona, for a Passover Seder sponsored by their church. The visiting minister explained the details of Passover and how it relates to Jesus and our faith. The next morning we had great fellowship with our friends before heading toward home. Since it was getting...
Read MoreGrand Canyon
Following some pretty iffy weather heading north from Scottsdale, we were very glad that the weather was just great for a hike in the Grand Canyon. Part of the group saw the sites on the canyon rim, while Mary Jo and I led 18 of the students for a 3 mile hike into the canyon. Although we only went a fifth of the way down into the canyon, it was just far enough for the students to get a little appreciation for the immensity of the canyon and the nature of some of the...
Read MoreSunset Crater and Volcanism
A very intriguing place we chose to take the students to was Sunset Crater National Monument. The landscape is an interesting blend of black and red volcanic cinders interspersed with green ponderosa pine trees, junipers, and pinyon pine. The area is dotted with dozens of volcanic peaks, cinder cones, and lava sputter cones. The most recent eruptions occurred around 1100 AD. Since Native American Indian tribes lived in the area surrounding the eruptions, it really shows...
Read MoreFlexibility
Talk about flexibility! Due to inclement weather, we had to make adjustments to a very packed schedule. After only 12 hours since writing my last blog, we ended up in the Scottsdale, Arizona area. This was after 500 miles of driving. The day also included 1.5 hours at the Indian museum in Blanding, and a 2.5 hour hike into a canyon to see the drawing of a dinosaur on the rock at Natural Bridges National Monument. We were supposed to camp at Bluff, UT, but high winds and...
Read MoreNational Park Ranger Led Hikes and Philosophy
It is always a good experience for the students, on our 12 day field trip, to hear how the various philosophies are presented at the national parks. The pictures in this blog were all taken at Arches National Park. Because of our larger group, we had two ranger led hikes in Arches by two different rangers. The first ranger was quite knowledgeable in geology and did a very good job in explaining the normal park perspective for the formations (which involves millions or even...
Read MoreIndian Drawing of a Mammoth
One of the places we just visited on our 12 day field study, we are leading for the Jackson Hole Bible College, is a place where the ancient native inhabitants drew pictures on the sandstone walls. Among pictures of animals we see today, such as: deer, bighorn sheep, and lizards, there is also a picture of a mammoth. At first glance, this shouldn’t be a problem unless you view it through evolutionary glasses. According to what is traditionally taught, mammoths became...
Read MoreCreation Field Trip through the Southwest
Our caravan is 40 strong! Mary Jo & I are leading a group of 31 Jackson Hole Bible College students, plus their staff, on a 12 day field trip of the Southwest. So far, we have had a series of Creation classes before we left Grand Junction, a tour of the Colorado National Monument, Dinosaur Journey Museum, Dinosaur Valley excavation site, and now we are at Moab, Utah. All along the way, we are giving “mini” lectures relating to the site, putting them in the light of the...
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Friends - Richard's Life was Changed!! - And this is why he is leading AOI's Colorado Family Camp! Join us July 30 - Aug 4 - conta.cc/3X4JroB pic.twitter.com/u8j1AP1Pmu
