I watched the soprano in her choir robes reach with the long brass candle lighter to light the taper in the Advent wreath. A golden chain suspended the greenery-covered wheel in the air at the front of the church, its four candles surrounding a larger white one in the middle.   I was in high school, and the lighting of the Advent wreath was for me a highlight of church services during…

Nothing compares with a hike in the Rocky Mountains on a beautiful day. The trail might meander past steep cliffs under impossibly blue skies, and in autumn, aspen trees lick the mountainsides in tongues of yellow flame. In summer, hikers can climb the boulders in Rocky Mountain National park as a waterfall tumbles into a creek flanked by pine and fir trees.   On a particularly arduous climb, hikers might stop to…