Subject: An Update from Mormon country!

Greetings!

So I guess the last update was a looong time ago. Around the middle of
Colorado.
There aren^Òt many places to use the internet around here, mostly because there
aren^Òt many People. We^Òre in Southwest Utah now, near St. George. We^Òll
probably get to Las Vegas tomorrow night and be to Santa Barbara in 20 days.
>From the last update, we got picked up in Chris^Òs aunt & uncle^Òs truck and
driven to their adobe brick house on top of this huge mesa. We stayed at their
house for a few days and hiked in the surrounding mountains. Western Colorado
is very beautiful and has lots of colorful flowers and cliffs. We hiked up to
this old mine shaft and I climbed a short way down it, until Chris called me
out because of a threatening flash flood. We watched some of Le Tour de France,
and were able to understand much of the lingo and commiserate with the riders^Ò
pain. Those dudes are crazy! I hear that Lance won it. There is still snow on
some of the peaks in CO. Mostly on the northern sides and in the crevices,
where the sun doesn^Òt reach, of course. We slid down a snow patch on one of our
hikes. Remember, it^Òs JULY! From Chris^Òs aunt & uncle^Òs house, we headed toward
Mesa Verde, where they have the cliff dwellings of the ancient Anasazi people,
who are the ancestors of the Pueblo and Hopi and a bunch of other Native
Americans. We stayed there all day and toured around the ruins and saw some
petragliphs (sp?)^×rock etchings on the walls. There are these underground
chambers called Kivas: a pit dug into the ground with a log roof, backfilled
with sand and mud, so you can walk over the roof of the weed-smoking chamber
like it is the normal ground. We met a nice biking couple who we drove around
the park with, and at the end of the day, they drove us into the next city,
cause they were heading that way anyway. So we slept in a city mark in Cortez,
and I was able to shave off the offending whiskers that itch my Adam^Òs apple at
the public bathroom.

Oh, hot! Into Utah, we had to be careful not to run out of water. The towns are
so far apart in places that we could easily dehydrate. So we each stocked up on
water and parted ways. [Parting of the ways: I wanted to see some more ruins,
which were along a 45 mile dirt/rock road, and Chris wanted to take the road;
his bike can^Òt handle dirt roads well. So we split, with the intention of
meeting 130 miles down the road.] Chris said he had a relatively easy time, and
had fun going at his own pace. I had a rough time, pushing myself into the
ground, in order to stay ahead of a thunderstorm and also going over this rocky
road. We met a day later (I was resting in a roadside kiva, with a sign on the
road for Chris to turn there) and hung out in the shade for the afternoon heat.
A young man in an RV even drove up and gave us ice water.

All the next day we rationed our water and got along fine. The canyons and rock
formations in Utah are sweet! Huge red spires of sandstone that have been worn
away by wind and water, orange and purple cliffs, white canyons extending below
the road, tons of cool rocks. But it is very hot and sand gets everywhere. When
we eat, the wind blows sand into our bread, and we get a little grit for our
gizzards. We saw Glenn Canyon, Lake Powell, Capital Reef (where we were so
starved we ate the unripe apples and peaches from the roadside Government
orchards), Bryce Canyon, and Zion National park in the last few days. They^Òre
all very cool. [Chris -Edit: We are now official junior rangers at Mesa Verde,
Bryce Canyon (which I thought was better than Zion), and Zion...we have the
badges and everything!!!!] I^Òd recommend Glenn and Zion, above the rest, cause
of the
awesome colors and sheer majesty of the locations. We^Òve taken tons of
pictures, and will fill in all the other details at the end of the summer.

This past Sunday, we were in Escalante, and couldn^Òt find a church to go to.
The
Catholic church in town was only open on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month,
and Chris was hesitant about the Mormon church (I wanted to go, as a learning
experience). So, we had an argument about going or not going to the Mormon
church, and in the end we decided to go. But, we eventually found out about a
Baptist church, so we went there instead. They had a potluck dinner afterward,
where we packed the food in. I was eating up until they took the table out from
under me (and even afterward). A woman in the church invited us to stay at her
house for the night, so we hung out with her and her family for the rest of the
day, taking showers and sleeping in beds that night. It was great. We had been
sleeping in the desert for the last week and we both had a thick layer of grime
on our legs. I could lick my finger and clean a streak of whiteness onto my leg
incomparison to the black over-layer. Southern Utah is pretty cool. Lots of
Mormons, wind, and sand. It is sparsely populated, compared to Delaware, but
they do have tons of National Parks.

I can^Òt wait to develop these pictures, and scan them into the electronic
highway. Our plans change daily, but the current one is to hit Las Vegas,
Yosemite, Merced in CA, Monterrey, follow route 1 along the CA coast, and hit
Santa Barbara. That route minimizes on inter-city distances in the desert, so
we shouldn^Òt run out of water in the sun. We^Òre each carrying about 2 gallons
right now.

Catch you on the flip side!
Daniel and Chris

Current readings: Galatians 1-6

ps I had to change my tire 3 times this-morning due to a broken valve
stem...and other problems! Just another fun part of bicycling (Chris)

a generation of hypocrites

Hip hop is misogynistic to all women. The sole reason that hip hop artists continue to express themselves by those means is b/c they profit so well from it. "It is inescapably a part of our culture, and there doesn't seem to be anything for us to do about it"-- sadly, the attitude of our generation.

undeniably, we are a generation of hypocrites. Not only hypocrites, but we are also always making excuses for why things have to be the way they are. We say that people need to love their bodies, but we are never satisfied with our own. We cry for the starving orphans in china, but we complain about the food we eat. We believe that all men are created equal, yet we put people down for being different. It seems fitting that although we believe women should not be subject towards gender injustices, we find it acceptable in certain circumstances. Oh well, I guess that's just the way things are.

Super Star

As a Christian, I can only speak on behalf of my own affiliation. In light of what seems to be a vast majority, I can truthfully tell you that I feel like one of very few. Most people identify with the religion they inherit from their parents (if they identify with any at all,) yet few are actively pursuing a relationship with God. The state of religion in America is mere association-- People can *be* Christian, but it does not mean that they are trying to live as Christ would.

We are all born with the desire to be loved and to questions of who we are and why we are here. There are people around the world with no choice in the matter, their freedoms constricted by greed and ignorance. In America, however, we willingly surrender that inquiry and settle for how society tells us we should be.

survival of the fittest

Of the concurrent endemics prevalent in the world, one of the most infectious in America is stupidity. If people are intentionally killing themselves, why should money be spent in trying to keep them alive. Health care should be for people who are trying to live a healthy life, those who take care of their health, instead of waiting for someone else to do it for them.

People who smoke do not deserve universal health care, at the very most they may recieve assistance in the disabuse of their addictions; however, many smokers laud in their lifestyles in spite of the threat it poses towards their well being. Universal health care may ameliorate the wellness of our nation, but it also perpetuates its irresponsibility. Once we find the cure for stupidy, then we can work on better health care.