Explore Treehouse

A visit home to Riverside for Thanksgiving resulted in an "explore" of a local treehouse! This is no ordinary treehouse but a multi-tiered fortress that resembled something reminiscent of the elven dwellings in Lord of the Rings...designed by local boys who apparently don't spend time watching TV and rather enjoy exploring play the way it was meant to.

These shots reveal the height and beauty of the tree...click for full view

My daughter Chelsea is in pink, my wife Wendy in the grey top

...and my little sis' Keira way up!!!

Hanging out on a platform just below the highest point!

A shot meant to give perspective of the height of the mighty elm!

Looking down to see the different platform levels.
That's me and my daughter Chelsea below.

The river I grew up along, near the aptly named village of Riverside.

The "Scratching" river at sunset.

Cool Skyscape!

Princess Chelsea

That's right royalty in our dutch Van Riesen blood apparently...

Freak Snowstorm In October!

That's right we got snow - well it's mostly melted now but on Wednesday thanks to a system from Colorado we got dumped on! But the result is admittedly some cool pics!

This shot shows our backyard in what I term "three seasons." Note: You can see Aimee swinging if you click to enlarge the pic!

"Snowman Building 101"
Normally we might consider getting out the Pumpkin Carving Manual in October!

Chelsea & Aimee hanging out with the first snowman of the year!

Getting Up Close & Personal - Okay the girls were eating snow!
Admit it you used to eat snow too!

Aimee in her Bee Swing (Day before Snow)

Princess Chelsea (In preparation for her cousin's b-day party)

The Ride

There is nothing quite like exploring play on a bike for me! I admit it freely that autumn is my favorite time of year to ride with cooler temperatures and amazing scenery of colored leaves! I love the feeling of tired muscles, worked out lungs, and the euphoria that comes from riding hard up hills or coasting down steep descents while winding through tight singletrack amidst a sea of trees. Check out my latest photoblog at musings!

Epic Sandilands Trail - September

Amazing trail riding this time of year in the Sandilands and thanks to some serious exploration this fall - Pat S., myself, and Jason H. have managed to put on the kms this season...

Really sweet winding trails through some rolling hills and valleys!

My favorite sections are through a number of Red Pine groves and we managed to end our ride this past Thursday at sunset. The result was some awesome pics and in my case a couple broken spokes! The shot above is Pat waiting up while I take some shots of him and Jason riding through this section.

I love this shot of Jason in motion - lucky!

Pat & Jason

Pat & Yours Truly

The plan is to keep riding until the snow keeps us from going! We are hoping to acquire some good lighting for night riding. A few years ago a buddy from a local bike shop in Winnipeg lent us a $1000 worth of high watt-age - we'll see what happens. Apparently, my rear wheel is a little out of true with it missing spokes...

In Search of Sacred Places

I am the midst of preparing a reading that I will be presenting on a college retreat this weekend. That's right on top of lecture prep, teaching, and marking I get to do some public speaking. I've decided to explore the idea of pilgrimage and linking it to the pursuit of Shalom. It is a concept that I've explored somewhat in preparing for a course I teach entitled Interpersonal Processes.

A pilgrimage for those not enlightened can be describe as a physical journey to a spiritual destination. Daniel Taylor in his book In Search of Sacred Places says, "the act of going is itself a vote for the possibility of meaning. It accepts risk - the risk of coming to harm, of being a fool, of wasting time and money and energy - for the mere possibility of a highly intangible reward." Taylor's journeys took him to the mystical islands (such as Iona) that Celtic monks used as spiritual retreats.

The second concept I hope to merge with the first is the idea of Shalom. Shalom is a Hebrew word most commonly translated as "peace." However it has much richer nuances including the concepts of justice, prosperity, and reconciliation. Walter Brueggemann wrote: "The central vision of world history in the Bible is that all of creation is one, every creature in community with every other, living in harmony and security to the joy and well being of every other creature...Shalom is the substance of the biblical vision of one community embracing all creation."

We seek Shalom because we live in a world of broken relationships. In a sense we all should be on some sort of pilgrimage for peace, a journey that looks towards restoring that which is broken. Is it mere trinkets that we work our lives away for? I hope not - I hope the riches we strive for are found in family and friends.

I've travelled much over my thirty plus years of existence and each trip has taught me much about myself. But it also has taught me much about others, about culture, and ultimately about my understanding of God and His Creation. What have you learned on your journeys thus far? Are they worthy enough to be called pilgrimages of self-discovery? The pursuit of shalom seems to be at times impossible, much like Frodo and his companions' journey (see LOTR) to Mordor to bring healing to a broken land.

G

Finding Rest in Play

I find rest hurtling down steeps on my mountain bike. I need my legs to be throbbing, my heart beating and my lungs out of breath to truly find release from stress. I love this time of year when it comes to riding. The autumn colors, the visibility on the trail, even the cold air and smells of fallen leaves is so refreshing. How do you find rest - is it in play? When I get home from work I often want to just crash on to my couch and find the remote. But life changed when I got married and eventually we were blessed with kids. I have to say, one of my greatest joys coming home from work is being greeted by my two daughters and wife. Play is not optional - it is a necessity when it comes to life, family, work, and rest!

Back to School

Well, it's great to be back doing what I love - teaching. It always takes a bit to get back the "mojo" of teaching and those "aha" moments don't necessarily happen daily but I enjoy what I do. There's no greater joy than hearing, "You made me think, prof!" I hope that the questions I bring will lead to some answers but hopefully more questions - that is how the learning process works. When we explore our ideas in the context of life and not simply the classroom - we learn and grow.

G