August 4, 2018 The Candy Man

 

Who can take a sunrise?                             (who can take a sunrise)                     Sprinkle it with dew (sprinkle it with dew)
Cover it with choc’late and a miracle or two
The Candy Man

Granny Hat would like all of her friends and followers to meet Rick Surrey, affectionately called The Candy Man on account of the Lollipops and Jolly Ranchers   he would share with all the kids in Sunday School and VBS back in the day. The minute Mission greeted Rick at Big Lake Youth Camp and saw the boxes of Clif Bars, Pop Tarts, fresh fruit and other treats, the memories came flooding back and he remembered The Candy Man. Rick is more than a candy man though, hails from Texas, born on the 4th of July, a celebration kind of guy with a big smile. He and his family live in La Pine Oregon now, in the shadow of the Three Sisters, those beautiful Cascade Peaks. Mission’s trail friend, Nocello, got to enjoy the bounty as well.

 

Rick has been reading Granny Hat’s posts and while he admits to “not being much of a writer myself” he does love to capture things on videos which he would like me to call “Rick’s Shorts” and those of you who know him will be LOLling. The rest of you will have to watch the video in which he explains his title. But now, Granny Hat has to admit that she is a penny pincher and publishes on WordPress’ free service so cannot add videos. Before any of you who are familiar with Granny Hat’s last name start snickering about this, just let me say that my family is proud of their name and that they all know the value of a dime, that “money doesn’t grow on trees”, how to “save for a rainy day” and that “a penny saved is a penny earned”. Go ahead, punny people, don’t be miserly with your comments on this blog.  Anyway……all that to say that Granny Hat will attach the PCT Rick’s Shorts video for your viewing pleasure on Facebook, if she can figure out how. Rick, you truly were a wonderful trail angel. Granny Hat thanks you from the bottom of her heart.

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

Crater Lake wreathed in smoke from the Oregon and Northern CA forest fires.

Into the Woods and Out of the Woods and Home before Dark

Some of Mission’s photography from the Forest Tunnel Insanity days.

 

Mission may not have been swallowed by Old Man Willow but the PCT trail marker wasn’t so lucky.  Maybe when Mission saw those cows he was reminded of searching for Milky White.  There’s something about those woods…..

Three Sisters

These “sisters” stand in a row, strong against every storm, watching carefully over the wanderers as they emerge from the forests of the Cascades. Mission knows all about three sisters, his are strong and beautiful too and praying for him.

 

2000 Miles!  Congratulations Mission!

Granny Hat thanks all of her readers for faithfully praying for Mission. He asks for more prayer as he treks the last 620 miles of his journey, he has feet and knees that threaten to let him down. In their defense, they have gone above and beyond the call of duty.

And before Granny is done for the day here are a few more Oregon Cascade pictures, truly lovely country Mission is traveling through.

Odell Lake, Obsidian Falls, Mount Washington with Three Fingered Jack and Mount Jefferson, and a random Amphibian.

 

 

I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you wanna go,
And if you’re faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin’ till you find the window,
If it’s cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile.
But more than anything, more than anything
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you’re out there getting where you’re getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

Rascal Flatts