Jack and Jill 2011

Looking for more dead trees.

This week we spent some time cutting down wood.  It may not seem like it, but that was an exciting prospect to me since it's been a while.  On Thursday we spent the entire workday cutting, splitting, and delivering wood.  Four guys with four chainsaws causing some mayhem.  We only cut down trees that were small and dead.  The idea was to get dry wood that would be ready for throwing into the dining hall and chapels.  A lot of this cutting was specifically so we'd have wood ready to move for the work weekend.

The wood cutting convoy.

And a great Jack and Jill it was this year!  We had about 50 people come up to help us prepare for Winter.  I led a crew of sturdy individuals that accomplished a lot of work.  Our job was to spread topsoil and then seed two different lawns, and to landscape one of the lake trails with water bars to prevent erosion. I've done a little bit of grass seeding and the water bars, so I was looking forward to these tasks.  The grass was rough because the ground was very wet, but we spread out the muddy soil and spread out the grass seed.  The water bars are a great project because you have to sweat a little to put them in, but then you can see your work.  Plus you can come and see them for years after the installation.  

One of the water bars behind the bandshell on the East Side.

We completed those two objectives by the early afternoon and then hustled over to the garage to clean up buses.  We managed to clean the inside of all of them as well as the outside of half of them.  Not only that, but anyone that wanted to was able to go for a 50 foot bus ride with me driving.  I (and everyone at camp) am very thankful for all the work that was done.  Some people sat all day and filled tubes with air for the tubing hill.  Others mowed for most of the day.  I was very thankful for all the people that came out this weekend.

One other side note is that the temps are still dropping.  I'm using extra layers in the morning because it's been below 30 on many of them.  We even saw a flash of sleet while we were cutting wood.  With the cold weather comes frosted windshields.  Some people don't like cleaning off those frosted windows.  Here's what can happen as a result:

Why we scrape our windshields.

See the stump right between the tire and bumper.

It's worth mentioning that I was not responsible for this truck getting stuck, but I did assist with it's removal from the stump.  Most of the burden was carried by the skytrak which simply lifted up the truck.  So yeah, don't try to drive with your head out the window on these frosty mornings!

The Pumpkin Potluck

I think Isaac Haines was the best dressed.  Just had to keep people from trying to carve him.

Because of the Holidays in November and December, we had our last staff potluck of 2011 this week.  After we ate, the main activity was pumpkin carving.  So many of the men ran to help with dishes while the young families all grabbed their own pumpkins.  I tried to do dishes as well, but found the dish room too crowded.  Eventually Gretchen Ford convinced me to help out with her pumpkin.  I enjoyed trying to give her a hard time about cutting on the lines, but then she dished it right back when I was having trouble.  I think that it was a lot of fun for everybody.

All the pumpkins.  Gretchen is sitting under our pumpkin in a purple shirt.

In other exciting news, I sent in for a new phone this week and I've already received it.  It's kind of weird purchasing new phones with a contract. It feels like I just spent a ton of money, but in reality I've only made a commitment to continue paying my bills.  So I "purchased" a Microsoft KIN and I also snagged a new phone for my Mom.  The KIN had some shaky reviews online, but when Rob was up here a couple weeks ago I was able to get my hands on his.  It looked like it was exactly what I wanted, so I went for it.  I've been getting photos and music onto it and I even figured out how to use WiFi on it.  The KIN has a been a definite upgrade from my last phone which I actually miss a little bit.

 

In the Maintenance Department we've been finishing up the porch on the East Side Dining Hall and now we're keeping our eyes peeled for dead trees all over camp.  This weekend was the 2nd Men's Retreat and the last retreat of the Fall season.  Every retreat has a special meaning to us and to the folks that come up here, but maybe because I am a man I enjoy them more than most of the others.  There are moments where they are a little too competitive and maybe too demanding, but that is dwarfed by the life changes as the weekend progresses.  I don't always get to see the long term results of listening to Tom Harmon while enjoying filling meals and participating in all the camp activities, but I often see flashes.  Flashes of lives renewed, men that rekindle that fire for God, and many who have been sobered when confronted with the reality that they are not where they wanted to be in their relationship with God.

All that to say... pray for Camp and the folks that have visited.  It's something that I try to remember as time flies by and Winter approaches.  Thanks for following!

Supply Drop

Another week goes by and the weather keeps cooling off.  This week I enjoyed seeing a lot of friends com up for the weekend.  Rob and Calvin (both former roommates) showed up to help as part time staff and my Dad came with several old friends from Battle Creek.  With these friends came quite the supply of breakfast foods and orange juice.  I'm very thankful for the provision of all this food.

Just imagine the 6 bottles of OJ.

The colors around camp have dropped off to different shades of brown mixed with the green of the pine trees.  With one men's retreat done, we only have one more and our retreat season is over.  I'm working on getting involved in town, helping out with the volleyball team for the next couple weeks and then trying to sort out a schedule for running the clock at basketball games this Fall and Winter. 

That's a big clump of mushrooms near the bottom.

It's nice to take a stroll around camp and check out the woods.  It seems like the woods are restless as the wind shakes the trees.  This morning I spent some time at Crosscut to enjoy the view down the hill there.  Turkeys have been running all around the property, in fact I almost hit about six of them on the way back from my bus test in Alpena.  Oh, and speaking of the bus test!  It went very well.  Vawn, the lady that administered the test, seemed very impressed with the condition of our bus and with how well prepared I was.  I really have to thank Mike Alchin and Danny VanOrman for helping me figure out how to test all the different components of the test. 

Wow, I also forgot about my trip to the emergency room.  Dave Proper had a bit of a crossbow accident and tore some major flesh off of his thumb.  So the same day as the test I drove him down to West Branch to get that stitched up properly.  So in one day I drove about 5 hours, took a 2.5 hour test, and sat in a waiting room for about 5 hours.  I also found time to clean for about 2 hours in there and waited in line at the Secretary of State for a while.  That was a lot of sitting but I was able to do a lot of reading in the ER.  Out of it all I was able to drive the bus at the men's retreat this weekend. 

You can see where the leaves are going.

So another exciting week.  I can hardly remember all the events as it seems to have just blurred by.  Thanks for following!

Fall and Summer



The Iconic Blockhouse



This weekend marked the last Ladies Retreat of 2011.  Hundreds of ladies came to Camp to experience the zipline, thunder express, rifle/archery ranges, Shear Lake, and much more.  I was happy to see a lot of familiar faces at this retreat, and I hope that the Chapel sessions will have an impact on all of the campers from this weekend.  Just by looking around camp we had all the aesthetics of the peak Fall colors, but on top of that we had summer temperatures that combined to make perfect weather for a retreat.  But now we move on to the Men's Retreats for two weeks.  We'll see sports, hearty meals, and very likely a temperature drop.

On the work days the maintenance crew has been whipping the new roof into shape.  We've finished with the skylights and shingled our way up to the peak of the roof in most areas.  Now all we need to do is catch up by the chimney and we'll be nearly finished with this roof. 



The midweek progress.



The roof at the end of the week.

I have been enjoying this weather and the sports that come with the season.  Watching the Tigers in the playoffs has been thrilling, almost too thrilling actually.  Then the Lions have been fun to watch along with most the NFL I try to follow on Sunday afternoons.  This week I played Volleyball with several of the Ford kids for almost three hours.  I've also been watching the leaves fall away from the trees.  There's a distinct smell throughout camp as the trees turn, and it's a reminder that Winter will come.

Oh!  And my bus test.  That's this week at Noon on Thursday.  I've practiced many of the skills, but I'm still trying to tighten up my Pre-Trip Inspection.  I'll also be driving to Gaylord to get some more hours behind the wheel.  I'm hoping it goes well so that I'll be able to help drive bus in the future.

Thanks for Following!

Playing Catch Up

Playing Catch Up

This was quite the busy week.  After Sunday morning (the 25th) breakfast, five of us packed into a Suburban headed for West Virginia.  We spent Monday rafting and then we drove back on Tuesday.  It's only 10 hours of driving, which is not too bad compared to all of my Michigan Tech trips over the years.  The rafting was a lot of fun.  We were all soaked, but the water was comfortable.  It's very exciting to sit about 3 feet above the water trying to paddle air as the raft crashes down into a huge wave.  I'm happy I had the opportunity to make the trip thanks to someone that offered to help me out. 

Nice clouds on the trip down.

The largest arch bridge in our hemisphere.

I took some pictures as we traveled around, but video of the rafting had a lot of extra footage of other rafts.  I'll try to get that posted as soon as we can edit it down to just our raft.  I'm very thankful I could go on the trip, and that our group all made it out safely.

Preparing to tear up the gable on the front of the East Side Dining Hall.

Now the catch up.  We all lost a work day for the trip, so there was plenty to do this week.  I helped work on putting sheeting on the roof of the East Side Dining Hall.  If the weather holds up this coming week we'll be tearing up the gable on the front of the porch and probably ripping off shingles on the last quarter of the roof.  I also took a break from that to help Mike Alchin put in a post for a light on the Crosscut stairway. 

Half the sheeting is on.  Soon we'll be tearing up shingles.

All of that pretty much put off my cleaning, so on Thursday I just cleaned most of the day.  The only break from cleaning was so that Jeremy Linsley could have a refresher on zipline training.  The training is just to make sure we're all checking for the proper gear at the tower, and then he showed me and Dan Haines how to rescue people in the case of a pulley getting stuck in the middle of the line (which we really don't think will ever happen, but we want to be prepared for it).

I've also been training for a bus test that's coming up in a couple weeks.  Thursday the 13th of this month.  I feel like I know the information well and that I have the driving skills down.  It's just a matter of nailing all the details.  It doesn't take much to fail these tests.  So please pray towards that as I practice this week and then test on it next week.  We only have one more weekend of the ladies, then the men start coming up.  Either way I'm looking forward to seeing familiar faces and meeting new folks as I help host three more weekends this Fall.

Thanks for following!