Hello again from Las Cruces, New Mexico. This is the third, in a continuing series of hikes, to celebrate our Minnesota Vikings and encourage them to persevere through the challenges that face them as they make their playoff run.

I thought this past hike was going to be much longer than the Needles hike. With such limited sunlight this time of year we were very nervous about making it back to the car before dark. It reached 60 degrees during the day, but once it becomes dark the temperature in the mountains plummet to the teens this time of year.

As a volunteer fire fighter for 7 years I’ve helped carry injured hikers and dead hiker from these mountains and I didn’t want to be another statistic. I’ve got more flag raisings planned. I couldn’t let myself get injured. Just in case, I packed in a sleeping back, long underwear, a winter hat and gloves, emergency blankets, a Sterno can, my fire radio, and plenty of water. My pack must have been about 20 pounds. Good thing because my hiking partners didn’t bring squat. If you go hiking…be prepared. Near the summit I dumped my pack and climbed the rest of the way with my waist pack.

Just under 4 hours from time we left we reached the summit as seen in this picture. Just under my left arm you can see White Sands National Monument. It’s a spectacular 200 square miles of white gypsum sand dunes. This second picture shows my hiking partners Scott on the left and Ron (the photographer in all earlier pictures). Far in the background you can see the mountains around Juarez, Mexico.

On the way back we found this dead deer covered with grass. We assume it was a mountain lion kill. Finally, you can see the tail section of an airplane that crashed in these mountains years ago. I’m sorry but I don’t know the story behind the plane crash. Until the next flag raising…the Hiking Viking.

Note From COD: If you missed the earlier podcast with Hiking Viking, you can still catch it at the VU Podcast page. Look for VU Podcast Thirty-Three

All I've Got Time For

As I said Monday, this is my intense time of year at the real job so there will be days between now and the end of the year when I simply have no ticks in the clock to put together a blog entry. All I've got time for in this entry is a couple of links. The first one is just pure fun for those wishing to waste time.

The second is, well, if you missed it Sunday then take a look.

Video Description: Frank Caliendo consoles a distraught QB that you may remember.....and remember that sometimes you have to be able to laugh at yourself.