Friends

People come into our life disguised as angels, and sometimes angels come into our life disguised as people. They are everywhere. Having friends that inspire us to rise to higher and greater levels is an awesome gift. We need to surround ourselves with people that inspire us to do better and hopefully we will then inspire our friends as well. It is a profound truth that the people we spend time with shape the path that we travel.

Yesterday, Ron and I were able to spend the day with some wonderful friends, Wayne and Janet Wilcox. Ron and I felt that we have been richly blessed with such wonderful friends as Wayne and Janet. They had never been up to Mt. Baker or Mt. Shuksan, so we decided that we would take them on a tour of some of our favorites places in the North Cascades. We left our house around 6:45 AM and headed up Highway 9 and then to the Mt. Baker Highway all the way to Mt. Shuksan and Picture Lake, which is on the northeast side of Mt. Baker. It was a beautiful warm morning. What a wonderful way to start the day.......beautiful place, good friends and good conversation.

It is always fun to show someone a special place that they have never been to before. Mt. Shuksan and Picture Lake are one of those places for Ron and I......we have been here countless times to photograph the mountain. But somehow it's different and more memorable when you are showing someone else for the first time.

Just further up the road, past the Mt. Baker ski lodge, is what is called Artist Point. There are hiking trails all through the area, with a view of BOTH Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan. Below is Janet, Wayne and Ron with Mt. Baker in the background. There was still snow covering most of the trails, but we got out and hiked across the snow to get to this vantage point.

We found a nice spot for "brunch", so we spent a relaxing hour sitting around exchanging stories and having a wonderful lunch of chicken salad on croisssants, pasta salad, and fruit salad. By this time it was only 11:00 AM, so we decided to continue on our trip of exploration to the other side of Mt. Baker.

We traveled back to Sedro Woolley and up to the town of Concete on the Skagit River. Turning north, we drove towards Baker Lake, then crossing the dam at the sound end of the lake, we turned onto a forest service road and started climbing......in the truck, not of foot! The higher we got, Mt. Baker seemed to get closer and closer until we felt like we almost at the same level. Below, is Mt. Baker from the southeast, with Baker Lake in the foreground.

We had traveled almost all the way around Mt. Baker.....at least as far as the road would let us. Below is Ron standing in front of the backside of Mt. Shuksan.......it really looks different from the southside.

It had taken us almost 4 and a half hours to reach this point, and our stomachs were "talking" to us again. So we unloaded our camp chairs and had another lunch.....this time with Chocolate Eclairs for dessert! (Thank you Janet!)

In the photo below, Janet really wasn't cold......it was close to 89 degrees.......but the flies were everywhere and they were attacking her! Her best protection was to tuck herself under a blanket.

Ron even got to put the truck into four-wheel drive, so that made him happy. It was amazing to me that the four of us never ran out of things to talk about. Even as different as the four of us are, we have the gospel which binds us together and our common experiences extend out from there.

"Our friends are like angels, who brighten our days, In all kinds of wonderful, magical ways.

Their thoughtfulness comes as a gift from above, And we feel we're surrounded by warm caring love.

Like upside-down rainbows their smiles bring the sun, And they fill ho-hum moments with laughter and fun.

Friends are like angels without any wings, Blessing our lives with the most precious things."

(anonymous)

By this time it was about 3:30, and we were all still game for more exploring. So we decided to drive up Highway 20 to Lake Diablo. The color of the water is literally emerald green because of the glacial runoff.

We had to find shade just so we wouldn't melt from the heat. Ron started to get sleepy driving, so Janet kept giving him fruit candy to keep him awake......I think Ron was on a sugar high by the time we got back to town.



We ended the day by having dinner in Stanwood, then back to the Island. We truly value such good friends and are so thankful for having them in our lives.

Life Without Friendship

Life without friendship...is like the dawn without the sun.

Life without friendship is like the sky without the moon when the evening has begun.

Life without friendship...is like a rose without rain.

Life without friendship...just wouldn't be the same.

Life without friendship...is like a ship without a sea.

Life without friendship...just could not be without a friend like you for me.
Author Unknown