Real Life Ministry

MOTHERS DAY | Special Interview with Leslie | Strong On The Trail, Strong In Faith

Ryan Rice

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0:00 | 31:53

We explore how walking shapes strength, faith, and relationships, then dive into our favorite hikes from Arizona to Hawaii. Practical tips on vitamin D, sunscreen, training for big days in the Grand Canyon, and simple steps to start hiking today.

• framing physical health as part of worship 
• how consistent movement fuels ministry and mood 
• hiking stories across Arizona, Yellowstone, Hawaii, and more 
• why Arizona’s terrain and skies keep us coming back 
• Grand Canyon lessons on pacing, grit, and joy 
• benefits of sun exposure, vitamin D, and mineral sunscreen 
• hiking with a corgi, family bonding, and thinning the crowds 
• simple gear, smart routes, and first steps for beginners 
• bucket list goals: rim to rim and Havasupai

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SPEAKER_01

Welcome to Real Life Ministry, where we are dedicated to teaching and encouraging Christians to live free and live strong. Your host today is Ryan Rice, a Bible teacher, a pastor, entrepreneur, and a writer. Join us as we dive into various topics and how they relate to faith, values, and making a positive impact in America. Let's dive into it.

Why Movement Fuels Ministry

Leslie Joins: Our Hiking Story

SPEAKER_02

Alrighty, welcome back to another episode of Real Life Ministry. And we are recording in the studio today. I've got a special podcast to deliver to you today. I am talking to you about the importance of physical health. The Bible says to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And this would involve a physical, emotional, spiritual uh component, a holistic approach to understanding your Christian faith, you who you are, your being, uh, made in the image of God, the Amago Day, in the Latin from the Genesis phrase, made in God's image, the Amago Day, uh, this would involve that. So your physical health matters tremendously uh to your personal well-being, your ability to serve God. And so today in the podcast, what we're gonna do is do a special interview with my bride. And so I'm looking forward to having you listen in and get an experience to hear uh a little bit about some of the ups and the downs and the challenges and the joys of hiking in the backcountry. So this is an interesting episode because it kind of diverges a little bit off the live free, live strong, but we're talking about being strong. So if you want to be strong, um you're gonna have to be healthy. And uh so I'm yes, I'm known to have some flaming hot cheetahs and a Dr. Pepper from time to time. But I am an 80 20 rule guy, so 80% of the time I'm eating super healthy, exercising. Uh 20% of the time I'm not eating healthy and I'm not exercising. So um, meaning just in a in the times that I would have allotted for leisure, if you will, uh before early in the morning or in the afternoons or whatever. So I'm a very active individual. And I think this helps add to the vitality and the strength of my ministry and the things that I do, and it just builds bridges. So anyway, I mean I'm hiking on a regular basis through the hunting hunting season for me, uh running miles, uh maybe five miles on a normal hunt, maybe more. And so I'm putting on, you know, in a given hunting season, maybe a hundred plus miles uh or more, uh very likely more. Just the other day, Leslie and I will share a story later in the podcast about hiking, doing a 10-mile just uh trek, and it was awesome. So in a hunting season, I might verge up to 300 depending on how hard I'm pushing it through a season. So anyway, uh lots of benefits. So your physical health matters to God, and so I want to encourage you to do that. Uh stay healthy, stay strong. And um, one of the things I love about just hiking with my wife is the opportunity just to connect with her. And in this interview, you're gonna hear that we're talking about spending five, five and a half hours together, just hiking and spending time together. And it's really, really, really encouraging and life-giving uh to do that. Now, only if you love the person you're hiking with. And so I wouldn't hike with anybody else, but I will uh to that degree, but I will with my wife, just because if I'm gonna hike, I'm like thinking to myself, I would I'd rather have a shotgun and be hunting along and doing something as well. But man, I just really enjoy doing that with my wife. It's good time with God, good time with your um for me, my girl. And so my hope is in sharing this interview with you that you'll actually kind of get a sneak peek into seeing some kind of the activities that I think build kind of a healthy lifestyle for the the family, uh mom and dad getting away, a husband wife getting away, doing something that's physically healthy and challenging and good to do. And sometimes, you know, not everybody's able to do this, but listen, uh research shows that when you stop walking, uh you start uh losing your independence and the activities you love, and you increase your risk for death dramatically. So walk, walk, walk, walk. The Christian life is talking about all the time like just walk, walk, but keep in step with the spirit, walk by the spirit. It doesn't say run, it doesn't say like jog, it just says walk. And so I want to encourage you to stay mobile, uh keep moving. Um when uh older adults can't walk even a quarter of a mile, their one year away death risk jumps up dramatically. So, like you need to keep moving, ladies and gentlemen. It's really good. The biggest muscle in your body is that your mental and emotional health are greatly impacted positively by hiking and it lowers stress, lifts mood, gives space for you to think, pray, reset. And uh it really helps you grow. And getting some vitamin D in the sunshine's good. I was actually vitamin D deficient, even though I've had literally skin cancer cut off my face and my neck, uh that's because I got sun burned, but sun is not bad, it's just if it if you're getting too much sun. So if you I think it's like twenty twenty percent of adults are like vitamin D deficient, and that really if you don't have enough vitamin D, that affects your bones, your immunity, and your mood. So get you some sun. Sit out in the sun for 15 minutes or so. Soak it up. Get some direct sunlight on that skin. It's good for your body, good for your soul. I love getting outside and just saying thank you, God, looking at creation, quoting the psalms, the skies proclaim his handiwork. Um you know, just so many good creation psalms all throughout the scripture. So anyway, all right, all right. Well, here's the uh podcast, and I hope that you enjoy it. All right, we're in the studio together, and I have a special guest with me, the one and the only. It is Leslie Re.

SPEAKER_00

Wow.

SPEAKER_02

That's that's the first time I've ever rolled my R on the Re.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

That's funny. She is my wife. We have been married, gosh. Is it 24 years?

SPEAKER_00

Twin and a half.

SPEAKER_02

23 and a half. Okay. So in this episode, what I want to do is, Leslie, is I want to talk to you about some of the best hikes. We're talking about health and fitness and the importance of it. So talk to me about we've done a lot of hiking together, but talk to our listeners about the importance of hiking and why you love it so much, because you are kind of like the master hiker in our in our team in our little tribe.

SPEAKER_00

I don't know about that.

SPEAKER_02

No, you are totally.

SPEAKER_00

I don't know. Sam, Sam's done how many miles of backpacking?

SPEAKER_02

He's done a lot.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, like hundreds of miles of backpacking.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, he's done a lot.

SPEAKER_00

So I would call him the master hiker. Because when you backpack, that's another level. You're spending the night out in the woods with everything you need, a pack on your back with everything you need to survive. Yeah. That's next level. I'm not, I'm not the backpacker. I'm just a day, I'm a day hiker.

SPEAKER_02

I'm not saying you're the backpacker. I'm just saying you're the you're the hiker. You're the hiker.

SPEAKER_00

Sam hikes with the backpack overnight. I do the day hikes, and you hike with the shotgun.

SPEAKER_02

That's right. That's right. You've got now now you're talking.

SPEAKER_00

Riley and Maya, they don't hike at all.

SPEAKER_02

They do not hike at all. They don't like hiking.

SPEAKER_00

Three out of five of us like it.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. So, um, but we hike a lot, and you hike a lot. You hike more than most and most of us. I I think you do. I think you win.

Best Trails And Scariest Moments

SPEAKER_00

On a on the monthly, weekly, daily, I I do it more often. I make time for it. I prioritize it.

SPEAKER_02

I bet I hike a I might hike more than m anybody in the family if you added all the quail hunting.

SPEAKER_00

Miles per year.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, miles per year.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, because you're uh but you're seasonal.

SPEAKER_02

I I'm very seasonal, but I yeah, I have you in the off season of quail season.

SPEAKER_00

And I'll hike. Um I'll h I didn't when we first start moved to Arizona, I didn't hike in the summers, but now I'll hike in the summers because I'll get you know go a little stir crazy. So but I'll hike in the summers, you just have to wake up early. So if I wake up at 5 or 5 30, I'll go hike once a week, maybe in the summer.

SPEAKER_02

Well, I've enjoyed hiking with you throughout the years. Um, I mean I've just kind of like come to this conclusion that there's a wonderful crossover that if you're a strong hiker, you're gonna be a more successful quail hunter.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

All right, so let's talk about just I've got you on the podcast for a little bit. Let's talk about some of the your best hikes and why you liked them and what you did.

SPEAKER_00

Well, you know, I was thinking about that question because you prepped me with it, and I was thinking, it's it's kind of interesting, but to me, my favorite hiking is in Arizona because I've hiked Arkansas, I've hiked Colorado, and I'm gonna throw in there Canada and Alaska, and Amazon. I sound like a world traveler.

SPEAKER_02

And and Utah. You've hiked Utah.

SPEAKER_00

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, we've hiked through Rice Canyon and Yeah, national forests.

SPEAKER_00

I've done, I mean, um, national parks, Yellowstone. I'm gonna have to say my favorite hiking is Arizona.

SPEAKER_02

And um you hiked in Joshua Tree?

SPEAKER_00

The reason why California. Yeah. Yeah, Joshua Tree, and then um, oh, even uh where is it in that you're wanting to go climbing? Just south of Yellowstone.

SPEAKER_02

Um Tetons.

SPEAKER_00

Tetons. Yeah. That was really pretty. That was really pretty.

SPEAKER_02

Tetons was Ginny Lake was probably that was kind of iconic. Yeah, that was but the thousands of people ruin it.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. But here's the thing okay, Yellowstone hiking in Yellowstone, I was scared to death. I hiked with a gun, and there were buffalo and worried about bear. We saw a bear right before I started my hike. So I had a gun, but then I still had this looming threat of even if I need to use it, I can't use it or I'll go to prison. So I know.

SPEAKER_02

And even if you shot it with that nine millimeter, it's still gonna come after you.

SPEAKER_00

And then so you're navigating wildlife, and then you're hiking through sulfur fields, and so then that feels dangerous. I mean, so Yellowstone was not my favorite for those reasons.

SPEAKER_02

That's funny, yeah. And then um who would have known you love the desert so much?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, same thing, Alaska and Canada. You've got the threat of bears there, yeah. Um, Arizona, um, Arkansas, there's bugs and all the humidity, and the forest is dense, but in Arizona, you have amazing skyscapes, yeah. The views are amazing, and then there's there's actually a lot of diversity in terrain here, and so yeah, even just our hike in the McDowell Mountains, like you go through various terrains just in just in a single hike, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Um we just hiked what 10 miles and 2,000 something feet in elevation, 2,700 feet, yeah. 10 miles. That was a good little loop.

SPEAKER_00

So I'm gonna have to say my favorite all-time hike. Um so far. So far, number one for sure, the Grand Canyon. Amazing. And I thought I was gonna be a one and done, and now I'm hooked. Now I'm like, I wanna do well.

SPEAKER_02

Wait, save save your bucket list for later in the podcast.

SPEAKER_00

Okay, Grand Canyon was amazing. Um, and then my other second favorite hike actually was Hawaii. And really, unfortunately, you missed out on that one. I hiked alone there.

SPEAKER_02

What? Where was I?

SPEAKER_00

On our 20th anniversary, I hiked alone. Where was I? You were scuba diving.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, I don't regret that. Right, I know I think I literally was face to face with the shark. And I and I approached the shark with mad skill fast, and and this shark got scared of me and swam away. And later the dive instructor actually said, You did the actual very best thing. Because if you run away from the sharks, they think you're the prey and they'll bite your foot.

SPEAKER_00

Well, let me tell you about the hike. Why I love the hike in Hawaii. Because the views were amazing. I mean, I'm hiking on a ridge, and there's the epic waterfall. So beautiful. You see the ocean, you see the green, you see the waterfall, and I was hiking through eucalyptus trees. So then you have the smell of the trees and and just the tree. There's like different, there's two or three different types of eucalyptus trees that you're even hiking through.

SPEAKER_02

That's cool.

SPEAKER_00

It was amazing.

SPEAKER_02

You never told me all that when we were back in Hawaii, or maybe I just it was eclipsed by the scuba dive.

Arizona’s Terrain And Grand Canyon Awe

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I told you. You just don't remember. Wow.

SPEAKER_02

That actually sounds wonderful. Yeah, I definitely want to do that again. Was that on Honolulu?

SPEAKER_00

That was in Maui.

SPEAKER_02

In Maui.

SPEAKER_00

So I don't even know if I could find that hike again. But I found I used all trails for it. Yeah, it was great.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, you should totally find that hike again. Okay, but Arizona, you're hiking in Arizona. That's pretty good. I mean, that's a pretty good little list of hiking. You said you hiked in Hawaii, Yellowstone, California. You hiked, Alaska.

SPEAKER_00

Colorado. The reason why Colorado is not my favorite. I do this summer. I'm looking forward to um waterfall hikes in Tell You Ride and Uray. Um, so I'm sure those will be great. But the reason why Colorado is not my favorite is because of the altitude. The altitude just messes with me. I mean, we've done 14ers in Colorado. I have done Humphreys here. Um, but yeah, the altitude.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. All right, let's talk about we've talked about some of the best hikes. Now let's talk about um let's talk about the benefits. Like what do you what do you love about hiking? What does it do for you? What does it do for you?

SPEAKER_00

What I love about hiking, oh, just number one, experiencing God's creation and experiencing Him in the creation. So uh Psalms 121 says, I look to the hills, where does my hope come from? My hope comes from the Lord, the makers of heaven and earth. And so when you're hiking, it's just like this amazing connection with the God who created it all. And so taking it all in and giving him praise for his creation and getting to enjoy his creation, yeah, that's just so fulfilling. It just fills my heart, gives me energy, gives me joy. So I just love experiencing. Um, and there's something about I know who made all of this. Yeah. Like I know the creator.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And um, so it just feels so personal. Um, so I love that.

SPEAKER_02

Well, let me speak to that for a second, because I know we have some listeners that come from like an evolutionist, you know, perspective. So they're always talking about, you know, well, well, a million years ago, or you know, once all this came together. And here's what I would just say to those of you that hold to an evolutionary idea is that, you know, at best it's a theory. And so there's faith that you're gonna have to put into the evolutionary theory and that we've evolved from monkeys, uh, you know, and that the hard part is is just like, you know, it it it all just there's a there was a a definite beginning, and and we know that, right? So it's either the big bang or there is an intelligent designer. And so I would just argue just to be open to the intelligent design conversation, just because it is so powerful and wonderful, and I don't think it requires any more faith than the evolutionary perspective, if you could see that God actually made a very mature earth, so the earth that we see is mature just as he made Adam and Eve mature. So FYI, that was a side pastor note, but I just want listeners that are in the evolutionary concept to just understand that perspective. Intelligent design at least.

SPEAKER_00

Okay, yeah. Um, the older I get, the more I appreciate just the diversity of um plants and the you know, like I was saying, the terrain and um rocks and the geological, you know, all those aspects of creation. So um, yeah, the creosote, the smell of the creosote. I love pine is one of my favorite smells. Um yeah, I just I just I love the sound of walking on gravel. I mean, it's funny. Just these little things that uh you can take for granted, but the sun rises and the sunsets. Oh, I love doing a sunset hike. That's that's so fun to be able to.

SPEAKER_02

We've done that a number of times, and you're always the instigator of that, which is really cool, which is great. Like, I mean, like I totally would do that, but not near as like intentional as you do it, which is sweet.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. I mean, one time we were hiking. Do you remember this? We were doing a sunset hike back here behind our house, and it was a full moon. Oh, yeah. And not kidding you, this is this only happened to me ever once. We're hiking the full moon, it gets dark, so it's dark, the moon is up full, and literally a coyote starts howling at the moon. It was so cool.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, yeah. Yeah, no, that's not my that's not the only thing that's happened to me because I've been in the backcountry a lot at you know, when the sun sets and it gets dark, but I do remember that, and it was like yeah, it was like huge moon, and then oh yeah, that was sweet.

The Deeper Benefits Of Hiking

SPEAKER_00

That was a good sound effect. Um, I uh I like perspective that you get. I like uh like with the Grand Canyon, um, you know, doing hard things. Like we can do hard things, and and it's good for us. Like when you're hiking out of that canyon and it is you're dying, but then you look back and you see how far you've come, um, that's a great feeling. And to be able to to accomplish something like that so hard. Um, yeah, it's you know, just the the feeling of accomplishment and perspective that you get from being outside. I love just being able to um get away, clear your mind. It's a great hiking, solo hiking is a great time to clear your mind, to pray. And then also it's relational time. Like it's so fun to um it's a great time to catch up and have conversations and talk about stuff you'd never maybe you'd never get time to talk about. Um when you hike with friends, when I hike with you, when I hike with you.

SPEAKER_02

It's like hours, like how many we had five and a half hours of hike. Hiking yesterday.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Which is which is a long hike.

SPEAKER_00

There were times on the uphill where I I can't talk. That's so low, so low time, just thinking.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, but that's good.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And I mean, I I love getting out like that too. And you know, I think there's a benefit in hiking just because I feel like you get the opportunity to have this kind of like extended time away. And especially if you start doing a little longer hikes, I see that you kind of break from the crowds. Once you get like just get a two miles in, you know, like once you hit the two mile mark, usually because a lot of your you know underachievers, they're just gonna go for that mile and say they went hiking and turn around because they know they went one mile, they gotta come back. So I love how once you break that like mile and a half, two miles, all of a sudden like the crowd just thins. And then you're like, okay, this is what I was after. Yeah, you know, I I wish we would have done that in Yellowstone. I think that's one of the bummers that we didn't do.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, I was away from the people, but there's still, like I said, just too much the animals. There was no I didn't see a single person on my trail.

SPEAKER_02

Really?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And then But you did see buffalo.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Like close.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And then uh, yeah. Sometimes, yeah, those are the scary hikes. Like the time I hike hiked Humphreys, and we only saw 10 people on the trail that day.

SPEAKER_02

Well, it's because there was snow at the top. Right, exactly. And you should have had crampons.

SPEAKER_00

Right. When they told me it was clear. Um, the other benefit, a couple more, is I love hiking with my dog. So that's true. Um, I've a corgi and he's a really good trail dog. Can you testify?

SPEAKER_02

I can. The guy's got he's got short little legs, but but Leslie, what is it?

SPEAKER_00

He he does four-wheel low.

SPEAKER_02

He does four low. He goes into four low and he can just crank it out.

SPEAKER_00

He did 10 miles with us yesterday, 2,700 feet in elevation.

SPEAKER_02

And people like act like he can't do it. And I'm like, back up, dude. This dog hikes better than you do.

SPEAKER_00

He's a working dog, he's a hurting dog. And then the other thing is that it's good for you. The vitamin D is good, and so it's good for your mood.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Yeah. I I actually did a little research on vitamin D. Vitamin D and smart sun exposure. Um, a big chunk of adults are low in vitamin D, which affects bones, immunity, and mood. And so you can use hiking or outdoors hunting for healthy outdoor time, but pair it with good sunscreen and if needed, vitamin D rich food supplement with doctors. So, do you have any sunscreen you recommend? I know, I know this is kind of an interesting topic, but go for it.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, Suntegrity is the bun is the brand we use. There's a lot of good clean ones, but you want a mineral based with mainly it's like zinc is the main ingredient.

SPEAKER_02

And yeah.

SPEAKER_00

So um some people say you don't you shouldn't even put it on right away. Um, you should, you know, get out there 20, 30 minutes of sun exposure before you even put on sunscreen. Um, but the main thing is that you don't get burned. The sun's not what causes cancer, but some burns do.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, that's that's a good word. And I found out I was vitamin D short, which is so weird because I hike so much, but I do cover up a lot. Like I cover up a lot. Like true. But I've also had my my neck and my face cut off. Cut off. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

I mean cut off. Yeah, cut into me too. I've had spots removed.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. If you're in Arizona, it's just a matter of time.

Sun, Vitamin D, And Smart Protection

SPEAKER_00

I know. I there is this feeling of I don't want to look like a piece of leather, so I do protect and yeah. I wear a lot of hats.

SPEAKER_02

How many times have we seen that? We've seen like leather lady.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Leather lady. If you are leather lady listening to this, like, hey, way to go for hiking, but that sun did wear you out.

SPEAKER_00

You might be from Arizona.

SPEAKER_02

You might be okay. So did we cover the benefits? Are there other benefits you want to cover? Your dog was one of them, son getting outside.

SPEAKER_00

I think friends and family, hike with hike with friends and family. I'm I like doing a solo hike, but I also like hiking with people. Yeah, I go both ways.

SPEAKER_02

It's good social time. Yeah, it's good healthy mobility too. And so, um, okay, for time's sake, you want to keep moving? Okay, let's go to the bucket list. So talk to me about your bucket list.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, bucket list is I mean, I've done um Grand Canyon South uh rim to river to rim, and that was Kayabab Trail. And um, like I said, I did it once, I thought it was one and done, but now I'm hooked. Now I want more of the Grand Canyon, it is so amazing. And um, it's there's this intimidation factor about the Grand Canyon, but that's what makes it so amazing when you actually do it and complete it. And really, it just comes down to training. Like you just gotta make the time to train. And so um, I'm in a few weeks, I'm doing Bright Angel, and uh we're doing rim to river, but I want to do with you and Sam and Annie, I want to do rim to rim. I do not want to spend the night down in the canyon because I do not want to carry a pack out.

SPEAKER_02

I'll carry your pack. All right, yeah, I do you want to do rim to rim, but you don't want to camp out at the bottom.

SPEAKER_00

I want to do it in a day. No, yeah. Okay. Um, but my big bucket list, honestly, it's not too over the top. Really, I want to do have a soup pie falls. Um, I I part of the reason why I don't want to spend the night in the canyon is I don't want to backpack with a pack, a big pack, the overnight pack. The other reason why is I don't want to mess with a lottery and having to get into the um oh come on. Whatever, the phantom ranch down there.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, yeah, that'd be so cool though.

SPEAKER_00

So it's already a lot of work, but doing the lottery, it's then that determines like when you go and um all that. And so with Have a Soup Pie, it also you have to have the lottery and it costs a lot of money. So I really want somebody to plan that trip and then invite me into it. That's my bucket list.

SPEAKER_02

Maybe, maybe I'll do that, or Sam will do that. So ideally somebody stay the night, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

I think you it's like a two or three night minimum.

SPEAKER_02

That would be so cool.

SPEAKER_00

But ideally, somebody that's done it before.

SPEAKER_02

But is have a soup high, is it is that where Phantom Ranch is?

SPEAKER_00

No.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, so it's not? It's different?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Oh. So do you hike down and then hike to the other side? Or do you just hike down to this place and then go back up the same way you came?

SPEAKER_00

I don't know a ton. I don't know all those details, but I know you you hike in, there's falls, you spend a few days exploring and playing, and then you hike back out.

SPEAKER_02

I'd be fine with that. That I could do. I just I just don't feel the I don't have I don't think I have the internal motivation to go. I want to hike from rim to rim in one day and not enjoy everything down there. It's like if I'm down there.

Dogs, Family, And Social Miles

SPEAKER_00

Right. I know that kind of I just said I didn't want to hike with a backpack, and I I would do that in Havasu Pie, but I don't think my understanding is that Havasu Pie is not um as much mileage or elevation as the Grand Canyon.

SPEAKER_02

Okay. Well that would be good. I'll definitely check that out with you.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

I think that's cool.

SPEAKER_00

So um, other than that, my yeah, I mean, my main thing, my main two bucket list items are just hiking the Grand Canyon with my family and then doing a have a soup high.

SPEAKER_02

There you go. There you go.

SPEAKER_00

So not too not it's totally reasonable.

SPEAKER_02

Totally reasonable. Yeah. That you got this. Well, proud of you, sweetie. All right, anything you want to share with listeners that maybe they they know they need to get into hiking, but they just haven't been able to do it. What would you say to do? Give them give them some tips, give them some encouragement to get out there and start hiking.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, just get you a good pair of hiking shoes, buy some uh REI, because if you don't like them, you can take them back and find a friend, find somebody you want to hike with. And um, if you can't find anybody, still go hike alone and get started with some short little trails. Do start with two mile trails, four mile trails, and um just get out there and enjoy your state.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah, that's a good word. Uh it's been a joy to hike with you, so thanks for sharing with us today. And look forward to doing many more trails.

SPEAKER_00

Yep.

SPEAKER_02

So happy trails.

SPEAKER_00

Happy trails.

SPEAKER_01

Thank you for listening to Real Life Ministry. If you found any of what you heard today helpful, please share it with others who may benefit. And if you would like to support the content that we put out, please consider making a donation at RealLifeministry.us. While you're there, check out some of our episodes. And together, let's continue to educate and encourage Christians to live free and live strong.