The majority of my success over the years has been on 'solo' hunts. Even on my first Dall Sheep hunt my partners and I split up, camped and hunted separately. My solo hunts are driven more of necessity than choice. As a public school teacher, I was only given two vacation days a year. That prevented me from joining with the vast majority of hunters who go out for at least a week. Now, as a pastor,...  Read More

As a young man teaching school in rural Montana, I loved spending time in the Missouri Breaks hunting Sage Grouse. A person who was willing to walk all day would find some, that wasn't the problem. The problem was that they are so smart that it was hard to get near them. If YOU saw them- THEY saw you. Drawing near to the things we want isn't always easy. You want a better job, but can't afford to ...  Read More

When driving across America (or Alaska), everyone experiences something different. I have always been fascinated by EVERYWHERE I've been. I look out the window constantly and don't want to miss a single thing. And here's the thing- it doesn't matter how many times I pass through the same country, it always inspires me. I found myself constantly waking up my kids saying, "Guys! Look!"One of them wo...  Read More

I walked the edge of the vertical cliffs, looking into every possible cut that could hold a Dall Sheep. I saw exactly 'zero' Sheep, but had a wonderful climb. When I returned to camp, however, I looked up and saw five sheep where I had just climbed. Where did they come from? How did they hide? So often in life the things that we are pursuing seem to be hidden from us. Where do I meet the right per...  Read More

When my boys were young, I always made a big deal out of cooking and eating anything they brought home. I wanted them to feel the pleasure and satisfaction of being a provider. And it wasn't just me. Whether they snared a rabbit, shot a ptarmigan or grouse, or caught a fish, Laura was their biggest cheerleader. At mealtime we 'announced' who had provided dinner. Do you celebrate one another for pr...  Read More

When my kids were growing up, we had a 'teacup ' Toy Poodle named Spike. Hewas very well trained and loved to be around people. One fall in the midst of fun and activities at our cabin, someone let him out to go to the bathroom and forgot to let him back in. Because the kids slept in a separate bunkhouse, and the dog was commonly there and in the main cabin, no one noticed that he was gone. We did...  Read More

All five of our children have a wonderful sense of humor. It is a blessing to be in a home filled with laughter. Did you know that on average, a child will laugh more than a dozen times for each one time that an adult laughs during the day? How did this happen? How can that be? Have YOU forgotten how to laugh? Nehemiah, though a slave, had been released by his king to rebuild the walls around Jeru...  Read More

Seven. That's how many days it snowed at my house in May. I only bring it up because yesterday (August 31) it not only snowed, but it snowed so hard that I had to change my hunting plans because of dangerous ice and inches of snow on the highway. I'm not complaining, I'm just saying...  You don't get to choose the weather. What do YOU do when life interrupts your plans? Get angry? Curse? Mutter un...  Read More

They call them 'wisdom' teeth because they come in when you get older. If this was true, then the people serving in congress would be full of wisdom. Yet over half of them have NO wisdom- not as God defines it. Proverbs 9:10 says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." This means the 6 year-old who loves Jesus has far more wisdom than the 66 year-old who opposes Christ's teaching. Wise...  Read More

One of my goals when my brother Jim came to visit me in Alaska was to take him on a climb 'above the clouds.' Having lived and hunted elk in Colorado for years, he was accustomed to being in the mountains. Even so, Alaska is somehow different... wilder... more extreme. There is a perspective- a view- that comes only to those who climb. As you get higher the view changes again and again. Your perce...  Read More

Eleven people, three rafts, two kayaks, a mountain of camping gear, a 250 mile drive, and three miles across a frozen lake, dragging all of it. Our aim was to float the Gulkana River from Paxson Lake to Sourdough, but on Memorial Day weekend, the lake was still frozen. In Alaska's interior at the end of May, you need to be prepared for hot weather, cold weather, and continuous rain. At times you e...  Read More

Several years ago, when my uncle Jim and aunt Kathy came to Alaska with my mom and dad, my friend Dan took us fishing on the Kenai. We had missed the run, but through persistence we were able to land a few fish. When fishing salmon in Alaska, TIMING is everything. When Jesus called his first disciples (who were commercial fishermen), he said, "Come! Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men!" ...  Read More