We travel through the small towns to get to the mountains. We climb, we look at stunning beauty and when we reach the top, we ponder. When we are not thinking, we rest. On hot days, we rest more than we think. In cooler weather, we think more than we rest.

The style of living in the towns fascinates us. Maybe we are strange. However, we don’t miss the high-rise buildings, the traffic and even the ballet or opera. One town we nearly missed, we counted five residents. Yes, five only. We stayed for coffee. Funnily enough, we couldn’t find a kosher deli. We did not wish to linger and have a census agent trace us. Imagine that. We would boost the population by 40% and end up paying a poll tax. We left in a hurry.

Talking of census. The 4th book of Moses deals a lot with the idea of a census. We think though, it also means more about ‘stand up and be counted’ rather than just numbers. We hope the US Administration will work that out soon, if at all.

All this climbing and hiking takes a toll on the boots. We think our bodies are getting a little harder but our bones may also be wearing out a bit. We’re not worried about that so much because we have proved a little bit of titanium here and there is sure to do the trick. On Friday, we climbed and hiked three trails. The most fascinating was Cassidy Arch. We were enthralled by the stunning cliffs that surrounded us. It took our breaths away. It was a double. First the climb, then the beauty—we had trouble breathing. We figure that when we experience such beauty and physical challenges, our breathing can take a back seat. Anyway, it’s not our problem—that’s one for our lungs.

Shabbos arrived and it was a time to rest a lot and study a little. We know we should study more but all the pondering drained us. We are grateful that Hashem did not create any mountains on the Shabbos—we are already way behind.

We are, as always, in awe of the Master architect...