Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes with Whipped Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting

As the days have (finally!) taken on a distinctly Autumn chill, I've found myself craving spicy pumpkin goodness.  I found a recipe for pumpkin layer-cake a few days ago, and with a few tweaks, I was eating some rather delicious pumpkin cupcakes a few hours later.



And to make myself feel better about the indulgence, I made them with half whole wheat flour.  I'm sure you could take it further by substituting half (or more) of the oil for applesauce, and since it's a moist spice cake batter, you could probably play around with substitutions of agave nectar or honey to replace some of the sugar, but...well, I didn't want to go TOO crazy.  These ARE cupcakes after all (although I will not reveal whether or not I counted them as breakfast for one morning.  Or two mornings.)  I also switched out the ground ginger for fresh grated ginger for a little more punch.  (Also, I happened to be out of dry ground ginger, but had a fresh root on hand.  Perfect!)




Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes with Whipped Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting
Modified from this recipe on Epicurious

To make these you will need: a KitchenAid stand mixer or strong hand-held beater or strong biceps, 2-12 cup cupcake pans, cupcake papers (optional), and a frosting/decorating bag with large star-tip (optional)

Cupcakes:
1-1/2 cups All purpose flour
1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I like to use "White Whole Wheat" King Arthur brand for it's milder taste)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1-1/2 teaspoons allspice
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup full-flavor molasses
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1-15oz can pure pumpkin
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger (I used my microplane)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Frosting:

8 oz cream cheese (room temperature)

1-1/2 sticks butter/12 tablespoons (room temperature)

1 cup confectioner sugar (or to taste -- I don't like it very sweet)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

1 tablespoon dark rum (I didn't use this because I didn't think my children would like it, and one of my best friends has an aversion to rum -- but it would be SUPER DELICIOUS if you like that sort of thing!)

To make cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350(F).  Position rack in the middle of the oven and grease 2 dozen cupcake cups, or use paper cupcake liners.

Combine dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl bowl and whisk together (or just put it all in a sifter and sift it together).

In a large bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the sugar, molasses and oil (the mixture will look weird and grainy -- don't worry!).  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add pumpkin, vanilla and grated fresh ginger.  Beat until well blended.

Add flour mixture and stir until just combined.  If using, add walnuts or pecans.

Spoon mixture into muffin cups and bake for 18-22 minutes.  Cupcakes are done when a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

To make frosting:

Beat together all of the ingredients for at least 5 minutes, until well combined, airy and light.

Spoon mixture into a decorating bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe swirls of frosting on the tops of the cupcakes.

Well, what are you waiting for?  Go make some pumpkin cupcakes!!

Photo Booth

Way back at the beginning of August, my friend Alicia had a birthday party.  I had been wanting to make a photo booth setup ever since I saw this tutorial/free printables over at Oh Happy Day (also some fun ideas at Givers Log!), so I decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to create one.

I made the props by printing them out on computer paper, using spray adhesive to stick them to cardstock, then cutting them out and hot-gluing a thin dowel to the back of each (making sure to alternate sides so that it would be easier to hold multiple props!)  Alicia's children threw in some extra props they had on hand (plastic helmut, swords, wigs, etc.)  The speech bubbles were made out of black cardstock with black chalkboard contact paper stuck to it.  Easy!  All of the cutting was a little tedious, but for a party of that size, it was completely worth it for all of the combinations and characters we were able to create.

The backdrop was created by tying various colors of purple and blue crepe paper streamers to a rope (550 cord, to be exact, for all of those Army guys out there).  Alicia's girls helped me with this part. We then strung our streamer/backdrop across a bookshelf.

All of the photos were shot by our friend Jason, and edited for that "old-time photo booth" feel in iPhoto by our friend Alison.

It was a super fun addition to the party, and I have no idea why it's taken me this long to blog about it!  For smaller parties at my house, I'd love to set up a simpler version of this in my dining room with "photo frames" and speech bubbles.

Here are some of my favorite shots from the party (sorry these are all a little small -- we had some technical stop-start action when transferring files):


Chris and Becca


Josh and Angela


"F" and Andrew


Greg and I (wow, it's hard for me to be serious)





Me, Jenny, Becca


Mike and "A"


Josh and Alison


Alicia and Jason (the birthday girl/our hosts)

I loved capturing memories of my friends at party this way!

Oven-Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Maple Syrup

Brussels sprouts.  Among American children (and many adults), this vegetable has come to be regarded more as a punishment than as nourishment.  I, however, have always loved them.  I don't know if it was because I was charmed by their looks (adorable miniature cabbages!), or if it is just because my mom is a rockstar with vegetables (because she is), but I think they're great.  Greg has always been firmly in the other camp, but, as with many other foods, I have worked hard in the kitchen to find a way that he can enjoy them.  When I started roasting them in the oven, then drizzling them with maple syrup and butter, he finally started eating them (and Andrew loved them too).  But last week, when I tried out a modified version of a Cook's Illustrated recipe and added bacon to the maple syrup....the children loved them too!  Jonah couldn't get enough.  In fact, that's all he wanted, and didn't have much use for the rest of his dinner.  Success!!

What makes this recipe different: when sprouts are simply oven roasted, they have the tendency to dry out a bit, which makes them a little chewy.  Here, the sprouts are oven roasted, but for the first 10 minutes they have foil over the top, so they steam and start to become tender and a little bit sweet.  Once the foil is taken off, they are able to get nicely browned and flavorful.


Pictured here over white rice


Oven-Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Maple Syrup

Source: Cook's Illustrated magazine, slightly modified



2 lbs Brussels Sprouts (ends trimmed off and sliced vertically in half)
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon water
Salt
1/4 lb bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup real, pure maple syrup (more or less to taste)  (I'm sure you could also substitute honey or agave nectar -- just use what you have!)

Preheat oven to 500(F), and put oven rack to mid-top position.  Toss Brussels sprouts, olive oil and water together and sprinkle with a bit of salt.  Arrange brussels sprouts, cut side down, on a rimmed baking sheet.  Cover tightly with aluminum foil.

Roast sprouts for 10 minutes.  Remove foil (carefully!  Steam will billow out, so use oven mitts if you have them).  Return to oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until tender and nicely browned.

While the sprouts are roasting, heat a pan on the stove over medium-high heat, and cook bacon pieces until crisp.  Remove bacon, allow it to cool somewhat, then chop or break into shards.  Reserve 1 tablespoon of bacon fat drippings.

Place sprouts in a bowl.  Add the reserved bacon fat, crisp bacon pieces, and maple syrup.  Toss to coat.

Enjoy!

Great Big Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

I'm pretty picky about cookies.  I mean, if something is going to have that much sugar and butter in it, it have better be worth the calories.  I'm a thoughtful calorie consumer, what can I say?  Of all of the cookies in the world, chocolate chip cookies have remained a lifelong favorite of mine, although there are just so many ways that they can go wrong.  (The following will probably offend some -- please know that this is my interpretation of the perfect cookie.  And I respect your right to differ.  Sort of.)


In a chocolate chip cookie, I want it to be thin, but not so thin that it flops before I can bite into it.  There should be no puff.  It must have a bit of chew, and the tiniest bit of crunch.  They should always be made with dark brown sugar, or at least a splash of molasses to bump up the flavor -- but not enough to make it taste like it should be a spice cookie.  It mustn't have too many chocolate chips in it -- if the batter is made properly, it should have enough flavor to stand up on it's own, so that even a bite without the chips is heaven on the tastebuds.  I also prefer the chips to be dark, although semi-sweet is an OK compromise if need be.  Also, I probably don't even need to mention it, but for real -- the chocolate needs to be good chocolate.  Or at least something other than Hershey.  Because that's just wrong, and tasteless, and probably not even chocolate.  (Now I've really offended someone.)


One day I found such a recipe, and I've been making it ever since.  




I can no longer find the link to it, so I'm posting it here with my deepest thanks to the anonymous person who came up with it in the first place.  These cookies have a good amount of oatmeal in them, but they are not at all a "typical" oatmeal cookie.  They are not soft and fat and faintly spiced.  (I happen to hate oatmeal cookies, actually.  Although the dough? I'll eat it by the spoonful!)  These are like a classic chocolate chip cookie...but even better, because the chewiness of the oatmeal gives them an extra texture that is just perfection itself.  Or at least our family thinks so.  


These are the cookies that I make for my children on their first day of school as a welcome-home snack.  These are the cookies I crave when I'm feeling like having a naughty little snack that doesn't take too much work.  This is comfort food in a palm-sized serving.  This is butter, sugar and chocolate, married together into something beautiful.





But I'm not super opinionated or anything.  Nope.  Not me.  I would never, ever force my views on anyone.  But I would force-feed them one of these cookies.  Nicely, and with great respect to their feelings.  Cause that's the kind of girl I am.

Great Big Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Source: anonymous (my deepest thanks, you amazing person who I do not know!!)

Adapted slightly by Faith


Yield: depends on how big you scoop them, but this is a sizable batch, so I bake what I need/want that day, then scoop the rest onto a wax-lined cookie sheet, freeze them, then pop them off into a Ziploc bag for future instant warm-cookie-happiness.  The dough keeps for at least 2 months in the freezer.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1-1/2 cups dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips (or just add by eye until you think it's enough -- I pretty much never measure, so this is actually a guess, but I don't add the entire 12 oz bag)

2 cups old fashioned oats (important NOT to use quick oats, which do not add enough texture -- although if it's all you've got, use it!  And then try old fashioned oats next time.)

Let's make some cookies!
Preheat oven to 350F.  (Because as soon as this dough comes together, you're going to want to get it baked and in your face as soon as possible.)


Beat butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in a small bowl until creamy. 


Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. 


Measure the flour, baking soda and salt into a sifter, and sift into the butter mixture.


Add chocolate chips and oats.  Taste the dough.  Several times.  Set aside some of the dough to eat as a snack later.  (What?!!  Why are you looking at me like that?  You wouldn't want to ruin ALL of the dough by baking it now, would you?!)   


Take two large spoons and scoop great big spoonfuls onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper (or ungreased baking sheets.  But then you'd have to wash them, and who wants to do that?). 


Bake in oven for 8 to 11 minutes or until lightly golden and just barely baked through.  (If you are baking more than one pan at a time, switch the pans top to bottom and rotate half-way through baking for even baking/browning.)  


Slide the parchment paper with cookies off of baking sheets and onto cooling racks and allow them to cool for at least 5 minutes, or until you can easily slip them off with a spatula.  Place them on the cooling rack to finish setting up...or eat them immediately.  Actually, screw the whole "let it cool" part.  Just eat them, right now, standing over the oven to catch the cookie crumbles.  (But don't come to me crying if you burn your tongue.  It probably wasn't a good idea to start with, but sometimes that just can't be helped.  You understand.)

Enjoy!

A avalanche of thoughts

Note: I've changed the format of the blog to a "dynmaic" view.  Let me know what you think.  I can switch it back to a more classic look if this is too difficult to navigate, but I thought this looked kind of fun.

Lately, I've felt like I'm drowning.  Drowning in thought.  Drowning in care.  My studio is a mess so I feel unable to create.  Jonah has still not adjusted to being the only child in the house on school days and is impossibly unhappy.  My lack of recent blogging has brought about a train wreck of thoughts inside of my head -- piling up until it's hard to articulate what it is exactly that I want to say.  Writing is a release for me.  Getting it out on paper or the screen brings my thoughts into order, and when I don't make time for it, I feel like everything just gets jammed.  On top of all of that, Lavella broke her arm while we were camping two weekends ago, and on Monday this week, I came down with a nasty case of food poisoning just as Greg was leaving for a week's trip to Wisconsin (thank you US Army).

Mercifully, Greg managed to carve out time that morning to bring the children to school and Jonah to his Mother's Day Out program before he left for the airport, which was amazing (getting in a moving vehicle at that point? Not a smart option for me.)  That afternoon, my friend Lisa brought Jonah back home, and bottles of Gatorade to help me survive.  Another friend, Rachel, picked up all 4 children for the afternoon to play and have dinner (for a total of 7 children at her house.  That woman should get a medal).  The only thing I managed to accomplish that day was to rest and consume liquids, but I definitely went to bed that night feeling loved and well cared for.

The upside of all of this is that, now that I've recovered, the stark contrast of sickness and health has made me feel like today I CAN FLY.  I've set in motion several things to bring about some needed change: Jonah will now be attending the Mother's Day Out program twice a week instead of just one day, giving me a much needed break, and giving him the socialization that he apparently is desperate for (as it turns out, God did not make that child to be alone.  His only options for happiness are as follows: 1) the other children are home  2) we have a playdate  3) I hold him in my arms all day like a newborn.  None viable for the everyday/all-day.)  The other is that I am reorganizing my studio tomorrow -- Thursday is usually Cleaning Day, but I got ahead of the game yesterday when I gave my house a good scrub-down, so I will be taking full advantage of naptime tomorrow and set my creative space to order.  I am behind on birthday gifts, and I'm not even thinking about Christmas yet, but it's all about the first step.

After dropping Jonah off at "school" today, I grabbed my laptop and headed for Starbucks.  I feel like such a poser, but right now, I'm just luxuriating in the freedom, no mater how unoriginal.


Blogging at Starbucks with my MacBook -- it's never felt so good to be so lame!

Greg will blog all about our camping trip since the whole weekend was just all sorts of traumatic for me (getting stuck at the campsite rained in/flooded roads with Lavella suffering from a broken arm, tree branches falling in the night nearly on my brother Jonathan's tent/head, our tents leaking ON MY FACE and on Andrew, etc.), but here's a mosaic of all of the food I made for our camping trip:



We've had such terrible drought here in Texas and with constant threat of wildfire, we have been shut down into a full-out burn ban.  That means: not campfire (obvs), no grilling, no campstove, and no lanterns.  What this translated for me and Heather (we went with our friends from Germany/San Antonio again) was that we needed to create complete meals that could be eaten cold.  Of course we weren't about to just eat cold hot-dogs, beans out of a can, or peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches.  We put together our creative powers and spent two days baking and cooking up all sorts of cold grain salads, roast meats, etc.  Jonathan flew in to camp with us, so the night before we went to the campsite, he also marinated and broiled a skirt steak to serve over Romaine lettuce.  He was afraid that all of the Vegetarian Bean Salad options might bring about a crunchy-hippie-revival.

Lavella's arm (which was injured on our first afternoon of camping) was broken just under the shoulder.  Since she is so young, the Dr. says that her body will know how to put the bones back together, and since it is so awkward/impossible to put a cast up that high on her arm, he says that just the sling should suffice.  This means she is not allowed to jump/run/climb for at least two months.  She's 4, so she TOTALLY understands this.  And by that, I mean that YES, she has already fallen on top of her broken arm at least 5 times (the child doesn't even have to be running.  So far she's managed to fall over backwards in her little chair at school, fall off of the stool in the lunch room, and trip in a non-existent hole in our backyard.)  I am now an expert at checking for shifted broken bones.  If I don't have a heart attack or a stress melt-down before she heals, it will be a miracle.

Wow, I feel better now that I've gotten all of that out of my head. And yes, that was a lot of words. But if you've reached the end and you're still reading this now, thanks for sticking around. I'll be writing more often. It feels good to be back.

All My Favorite People Are Broken

This past Sunday, our band played a cover of the Over The Rhine song "All My Favorite People Are Broken".  Here is the piece I wrote to go along with the song for our church blog:




"All my favorite people are broken, believe me, my heart should know... Is each wound you've received just a burdensome gift? ...Orphaned believers, skeptical dreamers, step forward.  You can stay right here, you don't have to go."

Community is something that I've always longed for.  In each new location that the Army has moved us to, we've always found amazing friends, but never a place where we felt that we could truly belong.  Here in our town -- in both our church and our local neighborhood -- we have finally discovered where we fit.   

To me, community means: 

• Relaxing and having fun without hiding your true self
• Bringing dinner to a sick friend
• Getting together to hang out just because 
• Growing and learning about life together
• Comforting a friend when you find her having a melt-down in the grocery store, crying in front of the Ziplocs
• Sharing yourself, even the ugly parts
• Being there for the good and for the bad, and loving each other in the midst of, in spite of, and because of all of that

Community is home.

True community is a group of people who are beautifully broken.  In brokenness, we find ourselves.  In community, we find family.

Band of Brothers - Ouray (pronounced "yer-AY")

Photo by Lee H.


Earlier this past summer I traveled with 14 friends to Ouray, Colorado for 10 days of San Juan mountain adventure. The quaint town of Ouray, dubbed “Switzerland of America” is located in Southwestern Colorado, approximately 45 minutes from Telluride.

As with last year’s trip to Big Bend, TX the tom foolery (which could only be contrived by 15 grown men) began before our convoy even departed the parking lot. Video rolled and insults flew as we packed our gear into the five-vehicle convoy headed to the Rockies. Breaking our travel into two days, we stopped in Las Vegas, NM, staying at the best Super-8 any of us had ever stayed in, which I guess is saying something in the world of budget motels. It really did feel like we were staying in a hotel that should have cost twice what we paid; very impressive for a small town.

Day two was filled with lots more driving, a good deal of rock ‘n roll, some flagrant flatulation, and the best cream soda I’ve ever tasted. Well actually Durango, CO’s Zuberfizz Cream Soda (made with pure cane sugar) ties for first with Glendale, WI’s Sprecher’s Fire Brewed Cream Soda, brewed less than an hour from where my cousin lives.

We drove through Taos NM and saw the ever famous, off-the-grid, passive solar, Earthship homes I’ve read so much about in recent years. I’ve been growing more and more curious about semi-self-sustaining homes, especially as I look at my astronomical monthly utility bill. I know there are more eco-friendly (and wallet-friendly) methods out there so it’s cool to see entire communities who are committed to living in these types of dwellings.

We also stopped at the Rio Grande River Gorge for a few photos of the river 650 feet below. The bridge that crosses the gorge is the fifth highest bridge in the United States and I have to say it was pretty impressive. If only I’d had a longer rope…

Our journey continued toward the Million Dollar Highway which passes through the San Juan Mountains, from Silverton to Ouray. Before leaving NM we were fortunate enough to spot a black bear run up to the side of the road! Unfortunately, trying to quickly turn around a convoy of five vehicles was time enough for the bear to run off before we could snap even one photo but it was very cool to at least get to see one anyway.

Day one in Ouray was spent taking it easy around the highly accommodating Elkhorn Townhomes, acclimatizing to the elevation increase of nearly 7,000 feet from the rather flat, 900 feet ASL of Georgetown. We pulled out the grill and had a great time hanging out in the comfortable, mid-70s mountain air. Later in the afternoon a couple of the guys and I went over to Pool Wall to check out some of the numerous rock climbing routes. The wall, so named because it’s directly across the street from the town’s hot springs pool, made it very convenient to stop by for a couple hours of climbing.

Photo by Lee H.

Day two was our first four-wheeling adventure up one of the bumpy, narrow mountain passes to see stunning Yankee Boy Basin. We left before sunrise to try to beat the crowds and to capture some nice photos of the wild flowers just as they were waking for the day. I rode with my friends Lee, Chris G., and Mike R. in Lee’s very sweet, jacked-up, uber-customized Jeep Wrangler Unlimited and our friends Chris W., Bryan S., and John G. followed in a rented Ford Explorer. Unfortunately the pass proved a bit too rough for the Explorer so they had to head back down the pass after suffering a blowout. The surprising thing was that further up the pass we discovered several other “soft” vehicles that had miraculously made it through some pretty rough stuff. There was even an old Lincoln Continental half-way up the pass!

We climbed Pool Wall again on this day, attempting some more difficult routes.

Photos by Chris G. & Mike R.

On day three I led a group on a leisurely four-mile hike around the perimeter trail which encircles the town of Ouray. We took it at a slow pace, stopping along the way at the town’s Cascade Falls as well as taking photos of various wildlife and scenery from the frequent overlooks discovered along the trail. That afternoon Mike R. and I went mountain biking up the Portland Mine Trail which was advertised as being one of the easier trails in town. As it turned out, with the combination of unaccustomed to altitude and the fact that the entire trail was uphill, we mostly walked our bikes to the top. Once on top we chose to forego checking out the mine, since it would have involved a long descent and re-ascent back to the trailhead. After recharging on food and water at the overlook we bombed down the entire two miles in about ¼ of the time it took us to get to the top. Very fun despite almost killing ourselves on some rogue saplings.

Photo by Bryan S.

Photo by Mike R.

Day four was another four-wheeling trip, this time with enough vehicles to fit almost everyone who wanted to go, most importantly those who had been left behind on the first attempt. We collectively rented two Polaris Rangers and two ATVs, with Lee’s Jeep in the lead up Imogene Pass, the highest mountain pass in the San Juan Mountains. Both Yankee Boy Basin and Imogene Pass take you above tree-line, with intermittent snow, even in the middle of July. In the early 1900s Imogene Pass provided access to several productive mines, including Camp Bird mine which, during its lifetime yielded several hundred tons of gold and silver. Continuing over the 13,114 foot ridgeline will carry you into the beautiful town of Telluride, CO. And because the pass is actually a combination of two recognized county roads (CO Rd. 361 & CO Rd. 26) the county does its best to maintain the roads on a regular basis. Apparently there’s an annual foot race up the pass and we actually saw one of the runners training for the race; absolutely insane at that altitude, and that’s saying something coming from me.

Photo by Lee H.

Photo by Bryan S.

On day five we all drove about an hour to Black Canyon of the Gunnison in Montrose, CO. The canyon is one of the largest in the US and it also boasts one of the steepest mountain descents in North America (the river drops 43 feet per mile compared to the Grand Canyon at 7.5 feet per mile). The Canyon also contains the highest sheer cliff in Colorado (2,250 feet).

We first went to the bottom and had a very relaxing time barbequing, sling-shoting, fishing, etc. In the afternoon several of us drove back to the top to check out the overlooks, spotting Peregrine falcons and rare lizards along the way. On our way back through Montrose later that evening we stopped at Guru’s restaurant for some of the best Himalayan food I’ve ever eaten.

Photo by Mike R.

Day six was our last day to squeeze in some more rock climbing at Pool Wall. We chose “The Groove Tube”, a long, challenging 5.9-rated climb up what appeared to be a dried up waterfall. The rock halfway up the route is grooved out from many years of water flow so a bit of stemming was required in places. After two attempts I made it all the way to the top! My friends Matt C. and Mike W. also came along and each made it close to the top as well. We chatted with some fellow climbers who were friends with some of the guys who’ve bolted many of the Pool Wall routes and they were happy to see us using the wall since Ouray is better known for its ice climbing scene than rock climbing.

Our entire week in Ouray was punctuated with a lot of great meals shared together, thanks largely to Mike O. (grill master), Mike W. (everything from breakfast burritos with chorizo to pasta del formaggio Quattro), and Art G. (best salsa in Colorado!). The town of Ouray also features a bevy of descent restaurants, bars, and ice cream shops. All of us spent a good bit of time just walking along Main Street taking in the sights and sounds of fellow adventure seekers.

Photo by Bryan S.

On our way home a few of us stopped at Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO to climb the tallest sand dunes in North America (700 feet!). Quite a strange site to see the amber waves of sand butted up next to the craggy base of the Sangre de Christo Mountain Range but it’s good to say we did it. Probably won’t do it again though due to the frustratingly unstable walking conditions on the loose sand.

The town of Ouray has definitely made it to my Top-10 list of best vacation spots ever. I absolutely love being in the mountains. The ability to experience such incredible beauty with an extraordinary group of guys was really a tremendous experience and I look forward to our next trip together.

Photo by Mike R.