Cows at church, plus a butcher, a rainbow, and a mushroom farmer - a photo gallery for your enjoyment

Cattle graze at a church 

Cattle graze at a small road-side market area

I bought some beef from this friendly butcher at Kabimoi; he's the guardian of one of Dimi's GeoCaches

I watched this rainbow for quite a while, as we bounced along on the highway in a matatu

Dimi, a mushroom farmer, is a good friend of mine. He likes GeoCaching just like me!

Gorgeous acacia trees, spotted while we hunted for another one of Dimi's GeoCaches

A beautiful wheat field

Curio shops alongside the highway on the escarpment, overlooking the Great Rift Valley

Fruit and vegetables available alongside the highway

Cow and sheep hides for sale, alongside the highway, plus ready-made hats

Another trip upcountry: Eldoret, Kakamega, Malava, Kocholia, Bungoma, Soy Sambu, and Mtoni

Duane will start Class 8 next year and Zach will be in Class 5.

I always enjoy my many trips to the various villages where my friends live. This trip included three families and a missionary friend. It takes some effort and can be tiring, but in the end it's worth it!

Adu finishes Form Four this month, with the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exams, completing high school.

Agnes and Linet were happy to see each other again

We stopped by to visit Elaine in the Malava area. It was wonderful to see her again!

Farmers taking sugar cane to the factory

Back: Nathan, Alice (his wife), Sammy (son), Deb (daughter), and Laban (son)
Front: niece to Alice, Clinton (son), Levis (son), and another niece

Five of their six children: Deb, Sammy, Laban (1st born), Levis, and Clinton (Bravis was grazing the cattle)

Nathan has been raising pigs for a few years now

Getting a lift with Nathan on his motorbike

This is Kahawa market, near where my mud hut used to be. When I turned my camera to the left, it was because a bicycle fundi used to repair my bicycle a few times here; in fact, I noticed various bicycle parts and tools lying there. Such great memories for me!

We also visited Ken, Joan, and their young girls. We had a wonderful discussion about spirituality as we ate lunch.

Blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventure; enjoying God's great out-of-doors [part 3/3]

Lake Sonachi, near Lake Naivasha, is one of 137 major crater lakes in the world lying inside an extinct volcano 

Sadly, many people never take the time to see the beauty in their own backyard. A mere 25% of Americans under the age of 35 spend more than an hour outside each day, and 30% of American adults do not spend any time outside on a daily basis. We have become risk-averse, and in doing so have dulled our experience of life. [source: US National Park and Recreation Association]

The average American spends 93% of their life indoors, including 87% in buildings, houses, etc and another 6% in vehicles. That means only 7% of your entire life is spent outdoors. [source: US Environmental Protection Agency, 1987]


And so... Linet and I headed out to Crater Lake, a place we had heard of but had never visited. Our quest was adventure, plus we also found and logged five GeoCaches as we walked part way around the rim of the volcanic crater.

The open road... where will it lead us?

Such stunning landscapes all around us!

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.

~ Marcel Proust (1871-1922), French novelist and essayist

We observed a lot of rain off in the distance, but we stayed dry!

“The flower that follows the sun does so even in cloudy days.”

~ Robert Leighton (1611-1684), Scottish preacher, and university principal

Lovely acacia trees

Discussing our next destination with our boda boda guys

A beautiful setting sun at the end of our adventure

The two of us thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in God's great-out-of-doors! The next morning we had a Philippine-style breakfast with a gal I met in Uganda at a missionary retreat. Gotta love all the many connections I've made during my 18 years in Kenya!

"More of our population would be out in the countryside if they knew what was there waiting for them. Inside many of us beats the heart of Indiana Jones, craving the chance to have an authentic experience in the wild."   ~ Forest Fenn, art dealer, author, and adventurer

Blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventure; enjoying God's great out-of-doors [part 2/3]

We left Nairobi via a bus, but mostly used motorbike taxis

Sadly, many people never take the time to see the beauty in their own backyard. A mere 25% of Americans under the age of 35 spend more than an hour outside each day, and 30% of American adults do not spend any time outside on a daily basis. We have become risk-averse, and in doing so have dulled our experience of life. [source: US National Park and Recreation Association]

The average American spends 93% of their life indoors, including 87% in buildings, houses, etc and another 6% in vehicles. That means only 7% of your entire life is spent outdoors. [source: US Environmental Protection Agency, 1987]


And so... Rose and I headed to the Tigoni-Limuru area where there are many tea plantations. Our mission was to find several GeoCaches and enjoy our adventure in the great-out-of-doors. We went twice, once in September and again in October, to look for the remaining ones (to add to my solo hunt several months prior).

Simply gorgeous!

Kenya produces some of the world’s highest quality tea and is the third largest producer of tea after Sri Lanka and India. Tea bushes were first planted in Kenya in 1903 by European settlers and eventually became Kenya’s largest export industry, continuing until today.

In Kenya, tea leaves are still primarily picked by hand. The workers choose only a few top young and juicy leaves with a portion of the stem and the bud (or tip), a leaf not yet expanded at the end of the shoot. It's common practice for the tea pickers to be underpaid.

Rose looks for our next destination on the GeoCache app

Tea pickers working in a plantation, with the baskets on their backs 

All Saints Church, Limuru, was built by European settlers in 1940. We enjoyed reading the gravestones at the cemetery.

Two of the GeoCaches were located at Kentmere Club, where we enjoyed swinging for a while

Stopping to smell the 'roses'

A beautiful sunset after one of our days together

"More of our population would be out in the countryside if they knew what was there waiting for them. Inside many of us beats the heart of Indiana Jones, craving the chance to have an authentic experience in the wild."   ~ Forest Fenn, art dealer, author, and adventurer

Blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventure; enjoying God's great out-of-doors [part 1/3]

Linet, like me, loves to be outside enjoying God's great out-of-doors

Sadly, many people never take the time to see the beauty in their own backyard. A mere 25% of Americans under the age of 35 spend more than an hour outside each day, and 30% of American adults do not spend any time outside on a daily basis. We have become risk-averse, and in doing so have dulled our experience of life. [source: US National Park and Recreation Association]

The average American spends 93% of their life indoors, including 87% in buildings, houses, etc and another 6% in vehicles. That means only 7% of your entire life is spent outdoors. [source: US Environmental Protection Agency, 1987]


And so... Linet and I headed out for a two-day adventure outside, looking for GeoCaches and exploring new vistas. We started with a stop at her son, Jeremy's school in Gilgil. He was happy to see both of us and also happy with the snacks we brought for him.

From there we found another matatu (public transportation vehicle) to Nyahururu, Kenya's highest town at 7,740 feet. It's name is derived from a Maasai word - e-naiwurruwurr - meaning waterfall, windy, or place of storms.

Linet was thrilled to see Thompson Falls (243' high) for her first time
(The waterfall was named by a Scottish explorer in 1883)

Chameleons are such cool creatures!

We watched hippos here, including one that opened its mouth big and roared - another first for Linet!

Then we got two boda bodas, and arrived at a viewpoint with a few curio shops.
I logged a GeoCache that was placed in this shop, and also bought a few items.

From here, we got on another matatu and headed to Nakuru in the dark and rain. We each got a cup of tea at a café and found a cheap room for overnight. Our first destination in the morning was Lake Elementaita, where we found and logged a GeoCache.

Linet was excited to see this lake up-close for her first time. Unfortunately, the flamingos were a bit far away.

We used two boda boda guys to take us to four different places, including this big hill where we found another GeoCache.

Joseph, the guide at Kariandusi Pre-Historic Site, is so knowledgeable! I'm holding a hand-axe dating thousands of years ago.
Besides learning about the history here, I was able to log two more GeoCaches. It was another place Linet was seeing for her first time.

"More of our population would be out in the countryside if they knew what was there waiting for them. Inside many of us beats the heart of Indiana Jones, craving the chance to have an authentic experience in the wild."   ~ Forest Fenn, art dealer, author, and adventurer