Southern California has been blessed this year with some exceptional fall colors.  Some of the brightest colors were on display in less than perfect photo conditions, but we did manage to capture some very nice and varied colors for our photo collection.

Right in our own front yard we enjoyed some of the Lord’s fall artistry.

Even the ground became a work of art as leaves descended from trees above.

It is amazing to see how much color can come from just one tree in nearby Craig Park.

Dave has taken a young man from our church family hiking on two occasions recently – one with Jan as well.  The most recent hike took us to the hilltops above Schabarum Regional Park in nearby Puente Hills.

Returning to the car through the park the trees along the trail at the lower elevations were showing their colors.

Some of our favorite colors of the season, of course, are Christmas colors – like the colors of the very large “candy canes” on display in downtown Brea which Stephen and Meagan’s Ryan was enjoying as Jan gave him a tour one recent day.

We enjoyed celebrating Christmas two days early with Stephen, Meagan and Ryan – and a granddaughter still in formation!

One of Ryan’s Christmas gifts is intended to help him come to understand the true significance of the Christmas celebration.

And we wore some Christmas colors for our choir’s Christmas day presentation of the musical “Jesus Changes Everything.”

We hope you have enjoyed fall colors and Christmas joy – and that the new year ahead will be happy and richly blessed!

Dave and Jan have spent many happy hours in their back yard during the years since they moved back to California to care for Jan’s parents at their Brea address. It has been a nice place for relaxing activities like reading and praying – and keeping up the lawn and landscaping has provided plenty of exercise as well.  The back yard has been a good place for casual connections with family and friends. It has been quite a while since their visit now, but Dave and Jan enjoyed a back-yard visit with Dave’s cousin Hal and Yvonne, from the Denver area in June. 

In August they enjoyed a birthday celebration with Stephen and his family – and extended family (left to right – Dr. Bruce and Connie Seymour; Chip and Heidi Clampitt with Benjamin in the highchair and Amos next to Heidi; Meagan, Ryan and Stephen; and Jan, of course).

In September the back yard was the setting for a barbecue with the members of the church’s choir and the opportunity to sing (for the first time) through the Christmas musical for 2016.

When Dave and Jan first moved from Arizona to Brea the neighbor to the south left his back yard pretty much in its natural state – as this view through the chain-link fence indicates.

The next neighbor turned his back yard into something more like a garden, so the view through the fence took on a new look.

More recently, the neighbor decided he wanted to replace the chain link fence with a brick wall, so the back yard has taken on a new look.

Dave and Jan will miss the visits with the neighbors, and it will take some time for the landscaping to mature, but the back yard will continue to be a place of refuge and fun with family and friends.

And there will still be beauty to enjoy in other parts of the back yard while new vegetation is filling in along the new brick wall.

The Sierra Mountain range which lies along the eastern border of central California is a range of amazing, rugged beauty. Many of its peaks rise above twelve and thirteen thousand feet – with Mount Whitney capping the range at over fourteen thousand feet. So Dave and Jan headed for the Sierras early in August where they enjoyed two weeks of camping and hiking at some fairly high elevations.  Their first camp ground, Cold Water Campground just west of the city of Mammoth Lakes, was around eight thousand feet in elevation. Though they didn’t take any lengthy hikes while there this time, their last stay at Cold Water saw them hike up the Duck Lake trail at the back of the campground where they enjoyed some impressive views of some of the peaks in that area.

Relocating on the third day of their vacation to Iris Meadows (along the Rock Creek road west of “Tom’s Place”), the campground was located beside the rushing Rock Creek with granite peaks towering overhead. But farther up the road, the hike into the “Little Lakes” area provided some very nice views of the high mountain peaks of the area.


A drive up into Tioga Pass brought some of the peaks a little closer – like the granite peaks surrounding beautiful Tenaya Lake not far from Tuoloume Meadows.

A week-end visit to the city of Bishop (to attend church at Calvary Baptist Church, where a good missionary friend, Linda Wisdom, attends) provided occasion to drive up to South Lake, high above the city, where mountains rose up precipitously above the lake.

One of the hiking highlights of this year’s visit to the Sierras was a hike from the Minaret Vista above Red Meadows up a trail/Jeep road which provided an even higher view of the wall of mountain peaks which includes the Minarets.

Moving the campsite next to the McGee Creek Campground, it wasn’t even necessary to leave the tent trailer to enjoy the view of some very impressive mountain peaks. They were visible from the table in the tent!

Of course, it was worthwhile to take to the trail to get up closer and enjoy some of the scenery which was not visible from the tent – like this beaver pond, and the mountain peaks behind it.

The last hike of any distance during the camping trip was a hike to Dorothy Lake, accessible from the June Lake Loop Road, where the lake was once again surrounded by impressive peaks.

But there was one more view of impressive peaks on the second week-end. Driving to Independence in order to be able to attend church at Sierra Baptist Church, where good friends Dave and Suzie Bancroft are serving in the ministry, the drive from Lone Pine up to Whitney Portal was recommended. It was a steep climb, but the views of surrounding peaks were definitely impressive.

And so was the view of the cascading falls just off the parking lot at Whitney Portal.

There is so much impressive beauty to see.  And, to think, we live on a sin-cursed planet!  Lord willing, Dave and Jan hope to return to the Sierras, because even a two-week camping trip only scratches the surface. Thankfully, there will be no time limitations exploring the new heavens and new earth which the Lord has in store for those who recognize Him as the Creator and trust Him as the Savior!

When Dave and Jan moved their campsite from Coldwater Campground, above Mammoth Lakes, to Iris Meadows, a few miles west of “Tom’s Place” on the Rock Creek Road in the Sierras, they found they were camping next to a professional photographer from England. He told them of beautiful wild flowers at Gem Lakes in the Little Lakes area. So, though the next day was overcast, Dave and Jan headed up the trail – and their were many nice floral displays.




At Gem Lakes the weather had turned to rain and hail, so it wasn’t ideal for pictures, but the area is still beautiful even in damp weather.


Some of the nicest flower displays of the day were found at Chickenfoot Lake, before the weather turned damp.




As beautiful as they are, wild flowers don’t stay around very long. So we are grateful for the reminder of the Prophet Isaiah (40:8): “The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”

Dave and Jan returned recently from a very enjoyable camping vacation trip to the East Sierras – blessed again to be able to be awed by the amazing beauty of God’s creative handiwork up so high. Though Mammoth Lakes area campgrounds were mostly filled to capacity, Dave and Jan were able to book a two-night stay in the immediate area at Coldwater Campground where they camped several years back.

Nearby lakes include Twin Lakes, Mary Lake, George Lake, and Horseshoe Lake – each accessible along the roads in the region. But Crystal Lake is only accessible by hiking trail – so it was one of the destinations for one of the many hikes they enjoyed.



The trail above the lake, toward Crystal Crag, provided many views of the several lakes in the Mammoth Lakes region.

The ridge high above Crystal Lake, at an elevation of around 9,000 feet, provided some awe-inspiring views of the higher peaks which are so abundant in the Sierras.

Of course, they also provided some views of the steep descents to the valley floors below (as well as a forest fire burning on the horizon not too far from beautiful June Lake)!

On another day in the Mammoth area, while Jan was doing some errands in town, Dave took a ride on what was billed as a mountain bike trail. Too many vehicles on the “trail” – which was actually a dirt road – had turned the ride into a lengthy sand trap! But it was rewarding to get to see some of the locals along the way.

Much more enjoyable for a bike ride in the area were the miles of paved trails combing the town and climbing up the grade into the basin where the lakes were located, so Dave enjoyed two rides in one day.

And we’ve only “scratched the surface” of a very pleasant two-week stay in the Sierras – so we’ll revisit the subject in another blog or two. Hiking almost every day of the vacation, this was one of the best camping vacations Dave and Jan have experienced in the regions of our beautiful nation “up so high”! As Dave observed to a fellow-hiker in a flower-strewn meadow in another place on another day in response to his observation that the area was beautiful: “The Lord does nice work!”

Dave and Jan returned July fourth from a week-long visit to South Dakota to spend time with daughter Alissa, husband Andrew, and their four boys.The fourth boy, Ephraim Andrew Crandall just make his public appearance June 16th, so it was great to have the chance to begin to get acquainted!

Alissa’s pregnancy led to Ephraim’s birth right about the date the doctor had projected – for which we are very grateful to the Lord! She was soon “up and running” (well – walking) and capably caring for her newest charge – as has been the case with each of the boys. In this picture she was on an evening family outing to “the beach” along the shore of a lake in Huron which is fed by the James River.

With four boys under the age of six there is almost always activity around the Crandall household, and Dave and Jan were able to get in on much of it during their visit in Huron. There were Lego towers to construct (like this one with Silas) – and to far more rapidly “deconstruct”!

There were parks to visit – like the Rocket Park with its ladders and slides.


There were kayaks for the boys to enjoy at the lake (as Levi is doing here).

There were stories to enjoy and games to play at the Huron Public Library.


There were cars to play with – like the one Elijah was playing with here.

There were rasberries to be picked in the family’s back-yard garden – as Levi is doing here.

There were kites for Jan to fly – something she hadn’t done for around fifty years!

And, of course, there were meals to enjoy.

Dave and Jan are very grateful for the Lord’s gift of family and the opportunity to pay another visit to the land of “great faces, great places” in South Dakota.

Though we (Dave and Jan) have lived back in Southern California for eleven years now, there are always new developments popping up around us, and there are always more things to explore that we haven’t seen before. One of the ongoing developments in Brea is a new segment of a lengthening bicycle trail which Dave has enjoyed using several times in recent weeks since its official opening. “The Tracks at Brea” has taken several years to complete, and has cost millions of dollars (because the land had to be cleansed of chemicals used when it was home to railroad tracks) but it has turned out very nicely.

Wildflower displays along the trail have been quite scenic these spring months.

A fellow cyclist recently told Dave about a nice trail ride in the Angeles Forest, so he and Jan headed up the San Gabriel Canyon Road in mid-May to see some things they had never seen before.  Preoccupied with the loading of his bike on the car, Dave forgot to pack the cameras he had intended to take – but Jan captured some of the trip with the camera on her cell phone. San Gabriel Reservoir is one of two man-made lakes in the canyon – providing some of Southern California’s water supply.

Farther up the canyon we ascended out of the “May-gray” cloud cover which is characteristic of the season.

There were some pretty impressive floral displays on the road-cuts as we climbed higher into the canyon.


Near the point where the road has been closed for some time because of landslides there is a nice Forest Service campground – Crystal Lake Campground (no pictures). With a name like Crystal Lake, it seemed worthwhile to walk the trail to the lake, but it was more than underwhelming to say the least. In better times its waters were described as crystal clear – but drought conditions have stolen its claim to fame.

This sign probably wasn’t necessary. We weren’t even slightly tempted!

The road through the canyon made for an interesting drive – and must have been a challenging and expensive undertaking!

Back in the area of the San Gabriel Reservoir the bike trail Dave was told about was actually a very nice private (gated) paved road along the San Gabriel River. Dave enjoyed the 15-mile round trip along a very beautiful river to what was apparently a Forest Service residential development, while Jan exercised Lola (her Shih Tzu), but we have no pictures of the area, so we’ll have to return another time for the rest of the story – because there is always more to discover and enjoy, both far and near – like colorful flowers in our own front yard!

Dave and Jan and Caroleen (who is on a break from her college studies this week) headed to Chantry Flats, a popular hiking destination in the Angeles Forest in the mountains north of Arcadia on March 21. It turned out to be one of the best hikes Dave and Jan have experienced in Southern California. The day began with a cloud cover which never completely dissipated, but it made for a very comfortable temperature for a hike of around six or seven miles. Jan and Caroleen posed for a picture at Dave’s request – not because they were tired – as we were just beginning the steep descent into the canyon where Sturdevant Creek is a prominent feature.

Floral displays were probably about at their peak throughout the hike – beginning along the trail on the way down the hill into the canyon.

The first river crossing was made over a rather quaint-looking bridge well above the stream.

Tiny flowers, like these, served as something of a welcoming committee all along the trail.

The U.S. Forest Service created quite a few scenic dams along the canyon trail stamped with dates from the 1960s- always made much more attractive when there is water cascading over them.

Sturdevant Falls is a favorite destination for probably most of the hikers who travel into the canyon – with a fall of somewhere around 40 or 50 feet into a sizable pool at the base.


The trail to the top of the falls took us to new territory for us (Dave and Jan had hiked to the falls years back) – and beyond the point where most of the canyon’s visitors continue to hike.

The trail above Sturdevant Falls continued to display numerous attractive smaller water falls.

Plant life along the upper trail grew in great abundance and variety and beauty.







The Forest Service posted a little dose of humanism-inspired thought along the trail for our consideration.

What we thought we were seeing, instead, as we enjoyed a beautiful day on the trail was the beauty and ingenuity of the hand of not ourselves but of our incomparable Creator!
24 “O LORD, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all; The earth is full of Your possessions.” Psalm 104:24 (NASB)

Though spring hasn’t yet come to much of the nation, it has arrived in Southern California. There are signs on the roadways in Brea saying that we are experiencing “severe drought” conditions – restricting watering to one day a week. But the Lord has been doing some watering in our area, so the hills are greening up and the flowers are breaking out all over. Dave and Jan enjoyed a hike last week at Chino Hills State Park where the California Poppies were on display.


While our daughter Alissa and Andrew and their three sons were with us we took a walk to Craig Park, stopping along the sidewalk on the way home to take pictures of flowers at a condo-complex where the corner features beautiful floral displays during most of every year.

One of our favorite places is our own yard where quite a variety of flowers are in bloom now.

Among our favorites are the “Peruvian Lilies” – Alstroemeria – growing in various colors.

Jesus famously said, “Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe You?” (Matthew 6:28-30). And so He has – and He will!