Good news! I just found out today that Bear Trap Ranch will reopen in January 2012. Since very few people actually read this, I guess very few people will really care. The page views are amazing, so I guess a few people are reading this! Thanks.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Bear Trap
Many of you have heard by now that a long and wonderful program may be winding down after 32 years.
Bear Trap Ranch is a beautiful camp nestled in a valley about 7 miles west of Colorado Springs. Seven miles doesn't seem like far, but on this twisty road it's like going to heaven. Far, far away, yet still close enough to realize you can always return to the busy and hectic world in just 45 minutes.
I have been going to Bear Trap Ranch for 21 years spending 5-6 weeks there every fall with a local school districts outdoor education program. Every week a different group of 6th graders would load school buses for the trek up the mountain. It was the unknown for them, and often very scary. The sense of excitement when they got off the bus was amazing.
For many of the kids, this was their first time away from home, not to mention many miles into the wilderness....... Or so it seemed.
The students would then make their way down the road to the main cabins and lodge, where they would await their teachers for cabin assignments. I too awaited to see which students would be assigned to my cabin. Sometimes I would get to choose a student who needed a little encouragement and then there were the other trips that I got the luck of the draw. Typically it would be me, my high school pride leader and as many as 12 students in my cabin! Fun times for sure.
I bring this all up now, because just a few minutes ago I was looking up at the stars and thinking that right now during this very time during the school year I would be getting prepared to spend the next month or so at Bear Trap Ranch. Not this year unfortunately.
The outdoor education program was moved to the summer of 2012 and Bear Trap Ranch has closed due to lack of funding with no real word on the camps future. It saddens me to even think of this. For so many years I have been participating with thousands of kids enjoying the experience. And now, nothing.
I have a huge place in my heart for BTR, and now a large hole exist there because things will never be the same for me or the children in Colorado Springs. They will never get that experience of hiking by the waterfall, climbing to the summit of Devils Slide, rappelling, playing in the pond, the ghost stories and sing-a-longs. For me, I think I will miss the trusting and close conversations that I had with my students. It was a time to bond, and mentor. To make new friendships, that as I look back now are life long.
I want to spend this fall looking back at my experiences at Bear Trap. The times of real pride, and some of the events that inspired true positive self esteem. I have stories of the sick and injured and then the stories of tragedy too. Mostly what I remember are the fun times and again those amazing relationships with my students and the adults that cared for them.
Twenty one years of outdoor education at Bear Trap..... Worth more than all the money in the world, because of all the lives that have come and gone thru that very beautiful place. I will do my best to recreate and paint the picture of this amazing location that so many people treasure in their hearts!
Bear Trap Ranch is a beautiful camp nestled in a valley about 7 miles west of Colorado Springs. Seven miles doesn't seem like far, but on this twisty road it's like going to heaven. Far, far away, yet still close enough to realize you can always return to the busy and hectic world in just 45 minutes.
I have been going to Bear Trap Ranch for 21 years spending 5-6 weeks there every fall with a local school districts outdoor education program. Every week a different group of 6th graders would load school buses for the trek up the mountain. It was the unknown for them, and often very scary. The sense of excitement when they got off the bus was amazing.
For many of the kids, this was their first time away from home, not to mention many miles into the wilderness....... Or so it seemed.
The students would then make their way down the road to the main cabins and lodge, where they would await their teachers for cabin assignments. I too awaited to see which students would be assigned to my cabin. Sometimes I would get to choose a student who needed a little encouragement and then there were the other trips that I got the luck of the draw. Typically it would be me, my high school pride leader and as many as 12 students in my cabin! Fun times for sure.
I bring this all up now, because just a few minutes ago I was looking up at the stars and thinking that right now during this very time during the school year I would be getting prepared to spend the next month or so at Bear Trap Ranch. Not this year unfortunately.
The outdoor education program was moved to the summer of 2012 and Bear Trap Ranch has closed due to lack of funding with no real word on the camps future. It saddens me to even think of this. For so many years I have been participating with thousands of kids enjoying the experience. And now, nothing.
I have a huge place in my heart for BTR, and now a large hole exist there because things will never be the same for me or the children in Colorado Springs. They will never get that experience of hiking by the waterfall, climbing to the summit of Devils Slide, rappelling, playing in the pond, the ghost stories and sing-a-longs. For me, I think I will miss the trusting and close conversations that I had with my students. It was a time to bond, and mentor. To make new friendships, that as I look back now are life long.
I want to spend this fall looking back at my experiences at Bear Trap. The times of real pride, and some of the events that inspired true positive self esteem. I have stories of the sick and injured and then the stories of tragedy too. Mostly what I remember are the fun times and again those amazing relationships with my students and the adults that cared for them.
Twenty one years of outdoor education at Bear Trap..... Worth more than all the money in the world, because of all the lives that have come and gone thru that very beautiful place. I will do my best to recreate and paint the picture of this amazing location that so many people treasure in their hearts!
Location:My Back Porch
Monday, August 8, 2011
It's been a while!
Wow.... I can assure you that I have not been getting lazy with my post. I just have been busy and needing a break from technology.
Have you ever noticed that when things go bad.... I mean really bad, that things get worse? Now when I say bad, I guess in the grand scheme of things these "bad" things are nothing.
So here is what I have been doing or fixing for the last 5 days.....
My computer had an electrical spike and fried the mother board and power supply. I ordered the parts and fixed it. That same night that I got the computer up and running the Torsion Spring snapped on our garage door. It's a 44 inch spring that was under so much pressure that it could launch a car from Colorado to the moon in 30 seconds. Of course I slept thru it. My wife says, " so did you hear that loud noise in the garage around 3:30 am?" she said it sounded like someone was trying to break in. Did she wake me up? Of course not..... she must have known it was the Torsion Spring all along! So.... I order the spring and wait 4 days for delivery. Only cost $42.00 and saved me $300.00 by doing it myself. I was concerned about being launched to the moon, if for some reason I screwed up, but all went well.
So just hours after the spring was installed..... I discover a wet floor underneath the refrigerator. Oh yes, the ice maker sprung a leak. Only 4 ounces at a time, every two hours! New ice maker and tubing installed and it works beautifully! I have perfect cubes again!! Yay!
Next morning I needed to put all the stuff back in the garage since the door was now working again. Bummer for me..... The Yamaha 4x4 ATV will not start. Did some diagnostics and discovered the starter was bad. Off to to dealership for parts. Ahhhhh everything working until I get the phone call from my daughter Brittney. She says she is coming home from school and her laptop will not start. Argggggg, really? She gets home and I have to reformat her hard drive and reinstall Win 7 and all of her software, etc. This takes about 24 hours and it's working fine! Well it was working fine until the next morning when I turn it on again. Long story short...... She needed a new hard drive. I race down to my not so favorite store AKA, Best Buy and buy a 500 gb hard drive. Have you ever noticed how cheap hard drives are now? $44.99 is what I paid, of course I had to ask them to price match themselves and give me their online price. What a rip off that is for people who know nothing about their online BestBuy.com website. They insist they are not affiliated with that website. Huh??? Well I didn't care and asked for the $20.00 difference. They did it only after the cashier ran over to the kiosk to verify. The website on my phone for proof was not acceptable.
Took my goods and hurried home to get the computer up and running for Brittney.
That brings me up to today. Ahhhhhhhh, everything was wonderful except when I get the phone message from my wife while working. She says, " Brittney's car is on fire." Oh no, so I call. When I ask if the car really was on fire I get..... "Well it's smoking." So, I ask... Is it smoke from a fire or maybe just steam? The response..... "lots of smoke." I asked the question again, but the response was about the same.
I get home and look under the hood, because that's what you do when you have a car problem. Everything looked good. I suspected a broken or damaged hose since the coolant was gone and I did not see the remains of a three alarm fire. I ran some water thru the radiator and engine and did not see any leaks. I'm guessing that her coolant level was low and the engine over heated causing it to boil over in the cooling reservoir causing steam. Tomorrow's job will be a radiator flush and new coolant before she heads off to school. Glad it happened here on our road rather than on I-25 this week!
So that's my week. Did I mention that I completely remodeled our utility room 9 days ago. New carpet, paint and put in new shelves with grouted inlayed tile? Probably forgot to mention that. Oh, did you know that 7 days ago while cleaning up the work site around the utility room that I stepped in dog diarrhea? Yeah.... Some of you may have read the gory details on my Facebook page. Basically what happened is I did not have my eye contacts in and I stepped bare footed into Talon's mud pie. It was approximately 10 inches wide and at least 2 inches thick. Ooze and goo between my toes! I will say that I have softer feet now, so I may be on to something big because of this discovery.
So there you have it. That's why I have not posted in a while.
I do have to say that I'm very blessed that I have the ability to fix all of these things. Some of it is natural...... Thanks to my dad! Some of my skills come from YouTube. Got to love the good ol' YouTube videos for the DIY situations.
Just remember...... (I'm listening to myself) no matter how bad things get it will get better. If you can't fix something then ask for help. If that doesn't work then try YouTube! God's always there with you, so your never alone..... I just wish he would have whispered something in my ear as I was approaching Talon's mud pie on the floor. Even a "hey put your shoes on" would have been appreciative. Oh well, there was a lesson there too, but that's for another day.
Hope everybody is doing well and I did not bore you! Next week I'll be in Breckenridge, Colorado so I'm sure I'll have something to write about.
Have you ever noticed that when things go bad.... I mean really bad, that things get worse? Now when I say bad, I guess in the grand scheme of things these "bad" things are nothing.
So here is what I have been doing or fixing for the last 5 days.....
My computer had an electrical spike and fried the mother board and power supply. I ordered the parts and fixed it. That same night that I got the computer up and running the Torsion Spring snapped on our garage door. It's a 44 inch spring that was under so much pressure that it could launch a car from Colorado to the moon in 30 seconds. Of course I slept thru it. My wife says, " so did you hear that loud noise in the garage around 3:30 am?" she said it sounded like someone was trying to break in. Did she wake me up? Of course not..... she must have known it was the Torsion Spring all along! So.... I order the spring and wait 4 days for delivery. Only cost $42.00 and saved me $300.00 by doing it myself. I was concerned about being launched to the moon, if for some reason I screwed up, but all went well.
So just hours after the spring was installed..... I discover a wet floor underneath the refrigerator. Oh yes, the ice maker sprung a leak. Only 4 ounces at a time, every two hours! New ice maker and tubing installed and it works beautifully! I have perfect cubes again!! Yay!
Next morning I needed to put all the stuff back in the garage since the door was now working again. Bummer for me..... The Yamaha 4x4 ATV will not start. Did some diagnostics and discovered the starter was bad. Off to to dealership for parts. Ahhhhh everything working until I get the phone call from my daughter Brittney. She says she is coming home from school and her laptop will not start. Argggggg, really? She gets home and I have to reformat her hard drive and reinstall Win 7 and all of her software, etc. This takes about 24 hours and it's working fine! Well it was working fine until the next morning when I turn it on again. Long story short...... She needed a new hard drive. I race down to my not so favorite store AKA, Best Buy and buy a 500 gb hard drive. Have you ever noticed how cheap hard drives are now? $44.99 is what I paid, of course I had to ask them to price match themselves and give me their online price. What a rip off that is for people who know nothing about their online BestBuy.com website. They insist they are not affiliated with that website. Huh??? Well I didn't care and asked for the $20.00 difference. They did it only after the cashier ran over to the kiosk to verify. The website on my phone for proof was not acceptable.
Took my goods and hurried home to get the computer up and running for Brittney.
That brings me up to today. Ahhhhhhhh, everything was wonderful except when I get the phone message from my wife while working. She says, " Brittney's car is on fire." Oh no, so I call. When I ask if the car really was on fire I get..... "Well it's smoking." So, I ask... Is it smoke from a fire or maybe just steam? The response..... "lots of smoke." I asked the question again, but the response was about the same.
I get home and look under the hood, because that's what you do when you have a car problem. Everything looked good. I suspected a broken or damaged hose since the coolant was gone and I did not see the remains of a three alarm fire. I ran some water thru the radiator and engine and did not see any leaks. I'm guessing that her coolant level was low and the engine over heated causing it to boil over in the cooling reservoir causing steam. Tomorrow's job will be a radiator flush and new coolant before she heads off to school. Glad it happened here on our road rather than on I-25 this week!
So that's my week. Did I mention that I completely remodeled our utility room 9 days ago. New carpet, paint and put in new shelves with grouted inlayed tile? Probably forgot to mention that. Oh, did you know that 7 days ago while cleaning up the work site around the utility room that I stepped in dog diarrhea? Yeah.... Some of you may have read the gory details on my Facebook page. Basically what happened is I did not have my eye contacts in and I stepped bare footed into Talon's mud pie. It was approximately 10 inches wide and at least 2 inches thick. Ooze and goo between my toes! I will say that I have softer feet now, so I may be on to something big because of this discovery.
So there you have it. That's why I have not posted in a while.
I do have to say that I'm very blessed that I have the ability to fix all of these things. Some of it is natural...... Thanks to my dad! Some of my skills come from YouTube. Got to love the good ol' YouTube videos for the DIY situations.
Just remember...... (I'm listening to myself) no matter how bad things get it will get better. If you can't fix something then ask for help. If that doesn't work then try YouTube! God's always there with you, so your never alone..... I just wish he would have whispered something in my ear as I was approaching Talon's mud pie on the floor. Even a "hey put your shoes on" would have been appreciative. Oh well, there was a lesson there too, but that's for another day.
Hope everybody is doing well and I did not bore you! Next week I'll be in Breckenridge, Colorado so I'm sure I'll have something to write about.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Computer Explosion!
Anyone ever have their computer explode before? I have been having problems for a while on my Intel P4 desktop for a month or so. Some pretty bad lightening strikes in the area and I'm sure a few power surges too.
Today when I turned my system on a large spark raced towards my head with galactic speed. Good thing I'm quick! There was smoke and a small fire inside my computer originating from the power supply.
As of now, the entire system is dead. The power supply is dead and possibly the CPU. The power supply was a hefty 1000 watt PSU that was very reliable too.
Well this gives me an excuse to build another machine that's even faster and not feel guilty. This build is 4 years old, so it was time to upgrade anyway. I think I'm going with the Intel i7 2600k and an ASAS motherboard, and 16gb of RAM. I also want to overclock the CPU just a bit.
All the parts were ordered with birthday money, so now I wait until they arrive. I'll keep you posted.
Today when I turned my system on a large spark raced towards my head with galactic speed. Good thing I'm quick! There was smoke and a small fire inside my computer originating from the power supply.
As of now, the entire system is dead. The power supply is dead and possibly the CPU. The power supply was a hefty 1000 watt PSU that was very reliable too.
Well this gives me an excuse to build another machine that's even faster and not feel guilty. This build is 4 years old, so it was time to upgrade anyway. I think I'm going with the Intel i7 2600k and an ASAS motherboard, and 16gb of RAM. I also want to overclock the CPU just a bit.
All the parts were ordered with birthday money, so now I wait until they arrive. I'll keep you posted.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Last Day of Vacation Part 1
Well today is officially the last day of my vacation. Yuk! So I have to work a week and work the county fair. Oh.... Then Vacation Part 2 begins before school starts.
For those of you wondering if I was ever going to blog again after Mexico....... The answer is yes. I was on vacation remember?
Hope everyone is well!
For those of you wondering if I was ever going to blog again after Mexico....... The answer is yes. I was on vacation remember?
Hope everyone is well!
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Missing Mexico
The Mission Trip to Mexico was just simply amazing. It was nice to meet new people and spend time with some friends from last year.
The new staff at Niño's de Baja (Jerry and Robin) are great people, and I enjoyed meeting them as well. They were very helpful with are trailer issues.
So I have been back almost one week, however I'm still feeling a bit sad about leaving. It's a strange feeling that I get when I leave. Everyone in Mexico was very nice and kind to all of us that it seems very much like home......except for the heat, and not having my family there.
Looking forward to next years trip. The date is already on the calendar, so it's just a matter of time now! Yay!
The new staff at Niño's de Baja (Jerry and Robin) are great people, and I enjoyed meeting them as well. They were very helpful with are trailer issues.
So I have been back almost one week, however I'm still feeling a bit sad about leaving. It's a strange feeling that I get when I leave. Everyone in Mexico was very nice and kind to all of us that it seems very much like home......except for the heat, and not having my family there.
Looking forward to next years trip. The date is already on the calendar, so it's just a matter of time now! Yay!
Location:Colorado
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Day 8 (Thurs)
All pictures on this entry.
Ray riding around the store in Ensenada. He jumped out when he saw the ice-cream machine .
The babies at the Niño's de Baja orphanage.
My friend Raymundo at the orphanage.
Debbie and Ray before devotion on the last night in Mexico.
Leti with her new kaleidoscopes.
The girls working hard on removing the trash and debris.
Digging post holes with Pastor Darrin.
Luke playing drums after the church service.
Ray riding around the store in Ensenada. He jumped out when he saw the ice-cream machine .
The babies at the Niño's de Baja orphanage.
My friend Raymundo at the orphanage.
Debbie and Ray before devotion on the last night in Mexico.
Leti with her new kaleidoscopes.
The girls working hard on removing the trash and debris.
Digging post holes with Pastor Darrin.
Luke playing drums after the church service.
Day 9 (Friday)
Our adventure continues.....
We got up at 5:00 am to finish packing and to clean the guest house prior to leaving Mexico.
Breakfast consisted of fresh breakfast burritos made by a local restaurant in Porvenir. They were amazing!
We were on the road by 7:00 am just as planned. When inside the vehicle we collected the passports for re-entry to California. We had 15 passengers in the van and 14 passports. Not good! Someone was staying in mexico.....
After a check it was discovered that Donnie's passport was missing. Since it was not with the others it had to be in my personal bag. That bag was in the trailer. In the back..... on the floor ....under three layers of stuff. Figures!!!
So we pull over at the next Pemex Gas station, so I can have the honors of jumping into the trailer to find my bag with the missing passport.
As I'm rummaging in the HOT trailer, I find the bag. Just where I thought it was. Buried underneath everything from dirty laundry to snacks.
While searching deep in the bowels of the trailer for the bag, I could hear an air horn blaring from a semi truck. Thinking my life was coming to an end while sitting on stinky pile of dirty laundry at a Mexican Pemex station was not how I wanted to go.
Todd tells me, "ah, we need to move faster if possible". Apparently the Pemex gasoline truck wanted to park right where we were unloaded, so he could refill the underground fuel tanks. Great timing and he was starting to become impatient. I suppose it looked pretty odd with me inside..... feet hanging and LOTS of luggage all over the place.
Oh..... back to the passport.
So we were able to remove my bag and look for Donnie's passport.
After a through search, we found nothing!!! No passport, which could be an issue. We like Donnie, but...... we were just going to have to leave him. So we told him at least.
While we were looking for my bag and passport we noticed that the inside trailer light was somehow stuck in the on position. The light bulb was so hot that it was melting a sleeping bag. The good news is that if we didn't stop for the passport, we would have had a fire in the trailer. This trailer belongs to the orphanage since our original trailer is still in Tecate awaiting repair.
When I got into the van I checked in the map box, the console and under the seats. I found Donnie's passport under the seat! We told everyone that we found Donnie's passport.... well everyone except Donnie of course! Ha Ha
When we arrived at the border we were asked to provide all the passports by the US Border Patrol. The officer took the passports and immediately asked for Donnie to identify himself. How ironic that the person who didn't have a passport gets selected at the border to identify himself. Of course Donnie did not know that the Border Officer already had his passport. Funny time. Sorry Donnie :)
Crossed the border and picked up our new trailer. Robin and Jerry took the orphanage trailer back to Porviner, Mexico.
Arrived in Chandler, AZ at approximately 7:45 pm. The nice people at the Chandler Christian Church had dinner prepared for us when we arrived.
I think out of all the nights we have been gone, tonight had to be the most exhausting. I think it's all catching up with me!!
We got up at 5:00 am to finish packing and to clean the guest house prior to leaving Mexico.
Breakfast consisted of fresh breakfast burritos made by a local restaurant in Porvenir. They were amazing!
We were on the road by 7:00 am just as planned. When inside the vehicle we collected the passports for re-entry to California. We had 15 passengers in the van and 14 passports. Not good! Someone was staying in mexico.....
After a check it was discovered that Donnie's passport was missing. Since it was not with the others it had to be in my personal bag. That bag was in the trailer. In the back..... on the floor ....under three layers of stuff. Figures!!!
So we pull over at the next Pemex Gas station, so I can have the honors of jumping into the trailer to find my bag with the missing passport.
As I'm rummaging in the HOT trailer, I find the bag. Just where I thought it was. Buried underneath everything from dirty laundry to snacks.
While searching deep in the bowels of the trailer for the bag, I could hear an air horn blaring from a semi truck. Thinking my life was coming to an end while sitting on stinky pile of dirty laundry at a Mexican Pemex station was not how I wanted to go.
Todd tells me, "ah, we need to move faster if possible". Apparently the Pemex gasoline truck wanted to park right where we were unloaded, so he could refill the underground fuel tanks. Great timing and he was starting to become impatient. I suppose it looked pretty odd with me inside..... feet hanging and LOTS of luggage all over the place.
Oh..... back to the passport.
So we were able to remove my bag and look for Donnie's passport.
After a through search, we found nothing!!! No passport, which could be an issue. We like Donnie, but...... we were just going to have to leave him. So we told him at least.
While we were looking for my bag and passport we noticed that the inside trailer light was somehow stuck in the on position. The light bulb was so hot that it was melting a sleeping bag. The good news is that if we didn't stop for the passport, we would have had a fire in the trailer. This trailer belongs to the orphanage since our original trailer is still in Tecate awaiting repair.
When I got into the van I checked in the map box, the console and under the seats. I found Donnie's passport under the seat! We told everyone that we found Donnie's passport.... well everyone except Donnie of course! Ha Ha
When we arrived at the border we were asked to provide all the passports by the US Border Patrol. The officer took the passports and immediately asked for Donnie to identify himself. How ironic that the person who didn't have a passport gets selected at the border to identify himself. Of course Donnie did not know that the Border Officer already had his passport. Funny time. Sorry Donnie :)
Crossed the border and picked up our new trailer. Robin and Jerry took the orphanage trailer back to Porviner, Mexico.
Arrived in Chandler, AZ at approximately 7:45 pm. The nice people at the Chandler Christian Church had dinner prepared for us when we arrived.
I think out of all the nights we have been gone, tonight had to be the most exhausting. I think it's all catching up with me!!
Friday, June 24, 2011
Day 7 (Wednesday)
Wow... What a day! My team gives me so much to write about that I can never get it all organized.
My day began at 3:30 am!! Yes, that's right.... 3:30 am.! Your probably thinking wow they sure get up early in Mexico! Well, not exactly......
I was awakened by RAIN! Well, not exactly rain. While I was sleeping, Brenden in the bunk above me knocked over his can of Mountain Dew! The Dew was dripping on my face and all over my sleeping bag. I was totally drenched from an almost full can of soda. I tried to get out of the way, but to no avail. I attempted to wake Brenden, but nothing..., I jabbed him... He rolled over and said, Hi! I explained that his can of soda had tipped over and rained on me! Brenden's response was.... "okay", and went back to sleep.
I dried my sleeping back and de-sticked (new word) my stuff and went back to sleep.
The tile floor in the room was a mess with soda and lots of unknown to man substances.
When we woke up at 7:30 am Brenden asked if he could borrow my facecloth. I only brought one, and had not used it yet, so I said yes he could. He returned a few minutes later and still had the cloth in his hand, so I asked him if he was done using it. He said, "No he was going to mop the floor in the bedroom with it! Ahhhhhh..... Not my face cloth. I was able to avoid another sticky situation.
All is good now except the floor needed to be cleaned. So, Brenden and Donnie decided to sweep and mop the bedroom floor. I know the correct mop was going to be used because I actually saw it go by me in the hallway.
Before I could check the room, we were called out to go on a tour of Niños de Baja.
When I returned to my room at 10:30 am I discovered the floor still dirty and the dirty mop still in my room. The mop was on my bed this time with the dirty mop head on my pillow. Ahhhhhhhhhh! That was totally gross! I asked Brenden about it and said " Oh sorry I forgot" he was really feeling bad, but did not think about the location of the bed ........ and where he placed the dirty mop. The rest of the day went better and as of this writing, I have not died from any creepy illness or germ cooties.
We stopped at the beach on the way to La Bufadora and played in the Pacific Ocean. That was a lot of fun, and the kids loved it.
We had dinner at a little taco stand restaurant on the Bufadora street, where we ate here last year. The food was amazing, and I had 6 tacos.
My day began at 3:30 am!! Yes, that's right.... 3:30 am.! Your probably thinking wow they sure get up early in Mexico! Well, not exactly......
I was awakened by RAIN! Well, not exactly rain. While I was sleeping, Brenden in the bunk above me knocked over his can of Mountain Dew! The Dew was dripping on my face and all over my sleeping bag. I was totally drenched from an almost full can of soda. I tried to get out of the way, but to no avail. I attempted to wake Brenden, but nothing..., I jabbed him... He rolled over and said, Hi! I explained that his can of soda had tipped over and rained on me! Brenden's response was.... "okay", and went back to sleep.
I dried my sleeping back and de-sticked (new word) my stuff and went back to sleep.
The tile floor in the room was a mess with soda and lots of unknown to man substances.
When we woke up at 7:30 am Brenden asked if he could borrow my facecloth. I only brought one, and had not used it yet, so I said yes he could. He returned a few minutes later and still had the cloth in his hand, so I asked him if he was done using it. He said, "No he was going to mop the floor in the bedroom with it! Ahhhhhh..... Not my face cloth. I was able to avoid another sticky situation.
All is good now except the floor needed to be cleaned. So, Brenden and Donnie decided to sweep and mop the bedroom floor. I know the correct mop was going to be used because I actually saw it go by me in the hallway.
Before I could check the room, we were called out to go on a tour of Niños de Baja.
When I returned to my room at 10:30 am I discovered the floor still dirty and the dirty mop still in my room. The mop was on my bed this time with the dirty mop head on my pillow. Ahhhhhhhhhh! That was totally gross! I asked Brenden about it and said " Oh sorry I forgot" he was really feeling bad, but did not think about the location of the bed ........ and where he placed the dirty mop. The rest of the day went better and as of this writing, I have not died from any creepy illness or germ cooties.
We stopped at the beach on the way to La Bufadora and played in the Pacific Ocean. That was a lot of fun, and the kids loved it.
We had dinner at a little taco stand restaurant on the Bufadora street, where we ate here last year. The food was amazing, and I had 6 tacos.
Location:El Porviner, Mexico
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Day 5 (Monday)
Today was our first work day. My group elected to do the electrical work in the boys house. We had to install 5 ceiling fans, all the light fixtures, and some cabinets in the bathrooms. We got about half of the work completed today.
The other groups did everything from digging fence post to cleaning out gray water in the septic tank! All I can say is that all of the teams worked under the hot sun and did an awesome job.
After working we went out to dinner at the Taco Stand across from the town park. A local guy owns the business and cooks some amazing food. I had a taco and burrito. Seriously, the burrito was on par with Chipotle. It was that good!
We played with the local kids in the park before heading back to the guest house.
I'm wiped from todays activities, and need to get some sleep. Tomorrow is another day and we have the same schedule.
No pictures in this post because they just would not load for some reason.
The other groups did everything from digging fence post to cleaning out gray water in the septic tank! All I can say is that all of the teams worked under the hot sun and did an awesome job.
After working we went out to dinner at the Taco Stand across from the town park. A local guy owns the business and cooks some amazing food. I had a taco and burrito. Seriously, the burrito was on par with Chipotle. It was that good!
We played with the local kids in the park before heading back to the guest house.
I'm wiped from todays activities, and need to get some sleep. Tomorrow is another day and we have the same schedule.
No pictures in this post because they just would not load for some reason.
Location:El Porviner, Mexico
Day 6 (Tuesday)
This trip is flying by. It's already Tuesday and the trip is almost over.
Today I continued installing the electrical fixtures with Brenden and Saxon. Saxon replaced the outdoor lanterns and Brenden did all of the indoor lights. Brenden did such a great job on the electrical that I was able to let him work by himself installing. All I had to do was check the connections, which were always right on. He was a great help!
Luke was out digging holes and making cement. Luke did an awesome job with Pastor Darrin on the perimeter fence. Extremely hard work in the sun. At the end of the day Luke was riding a bike around dropping off water bottles to the teams. He became the self proclaimed runner of the group.
Everybody on the teams worked very hard today doing a variety of projects. I saw Debbie and Leti painting. Anna and Emily moving large chunks of cement and debris. Todd working in the cistern with Randy! Ewww gross! Brandon was just dirty when I saw him, so who knows where he was? What I do know is he works hard, so where ever he was he was giving 110%. Phil was all over the place helping every where from digging holes to helping me on electrical stuff.
After we worked we went over to the orphanage and played with the kids. I spent two hours playing with Reynaldo, Ernesto and Brenden. What great kids. Even Leti the young girl that I met last year sat on my lap. She talks and talks and giggles. Not sure what's going on, but she sure had lots to say!
For dinner, the orphanage staff made dinner for us. Steak Ranchero, homemade tortillas, guacamole, and Mexican rice. Nothing better than the real stuff, while sitting with friends on the porch in Mexico.
Today I continued installing the electrical fixtures with Brenden and Saxon. Saxon replaced the outdoor lanterns and Brenden did all of the indoor lights. Brenden did such a great job on the electrical that I was able to let him work by himself installing. All I had to do was check the connections, which were always right on. He was a great help!
Luke was out digging holes and making cement. Luke did an awesome job with Pastor Darrin on the perimeter fence. Extremely hard work in the sun. At the end of the day Luke was riding a bike around dropping off water bottles to the teams. He became the self proclaimed runner of the group.
Everybody on the teams worked very hard today doing a variety of projects. I saw Debbie and Leti painting. Anna and Emily moving large chunks of cement and debris. Todd working in the cistern with Randy! Ewww gross! Brandon was just dirty when I saw him, so who knows where he was? What I do know is he works hard, so where ever he was he was giving 110%. Phil was all over the place helping every where from digging holes to helping me on electrical stuff.
After we worked we went over to the orphanage and played with the kids. I spent two hours playing with Reynaldo, Ernesto and Brenden. What great kids. Even Leti the young girl that I met last year sat on my lap. She talks and talks and giggles. Not sure what's going on, but she sure had lots to say!
For dinner, the orphanage staff made dinner for us. Steak Ranchero, homemade tortillas, guacamole, and Mexican rice. Nothing better than the real stuff, while sitting with friends on the porch in Mexico.
Location:El Porviner, Mexico
Monday, June 20, 2011
Day 4 (Sunday)
Today was a relaxing day. We had breakfast at 9:00 and then cleaned the kitchen. My team is still having some issues with working together so it has been taking longer than it should to do our chores.
After cleanup, we went to church. Pastor Marcos had a nice service for Fathers Day! I really like meeting the people there. We also had lunch at the church. It consisted of 3 tacos and rice. Muey Bien! Probably spelled that wrong!
After lunch we went over to the orphanage where we got to play with the kids. I have been writing 8 year old Ernesto, since I met him last year. I brought him a watch and he was so excited. When we needed to go, Ernesto tried to keep me from leaving by wearing my boots. It was pretty funny.
We came back around 6:00 pm and had a great Mexican dinner prepared by Trisha. She has made some great meals for us. Not easy cooking for 25 people.
Celebrated Donnie's birthday this evening although it's officially his 14th tomorrow! Donnie is a great kid that I'm very happy to have as a friend. I was really thrilled to have him join us this year as well and to have him on my work team. We have gotten close over the years. I have had the privilege to watch him mature into a fine young man.
Just a few thoughts on my other team members:
Luke: Now this is another great kid that I was glad to see join our mission team. Luke has a heart of gold and is full of questions. He calls me his second dad and is 110% boy! He never stops moving and is always on the go. I hope he learns many things about himself, and others and as an result becomes closer to God. Love ya Luke!
Phil: I have known Phil for many years and it's him that I owe the most thanks to. He is the one that got me involved in the mission trips. I first went in the summer of 2010, and it changed my life. Here I am in 2011 with many of the same team members.... including my friend Phil. Phil is another very caring young man with a real sense of compassion. Sometimes he gets upset with me for redirecting him when it's necessary, but I do it to help him become the great person he is destined to be. Thank you Phil for helping me become involved in mission trips.... something I'll remember for a lifetime and longer! You're a great friend!
Well, I need to get some sleep! We have a busy day tomorrow at the worksite. More later and Happy Birthday Donnie!
After cleanup, we went to church. Pastor Marcos had a nice service for Fathers Day! I really like meeting the people there. We also had lunch at the church. It consisted of 3 tacos and rice. Muey Bien! Probably spelled that wrong!
After lunch we went over to the orphanage where we got to play with the kids. I have been writing 8 year old Ernesto, since I met him last year. I brought him a watch and he was so excited. When we needed to go, Ernesto tried to keep me from leaving by wearing my boots. It was pretty funny.
We came back around 6:00 pm and had a great Mexican dinner prepared by Trisha. She has made some great meals for us. Not easy cooking for 25 people.
Celebrated Donnie's birthday this evening although it's officially his 14th tomorrow! Donnie is a great kid that I'm very happy to have as a friend. I was really thrilled to have him join us this year as well and to have him on my work team. We have gotten close over the years. I have had the privilege to watch him mature into a fine young man.
Just a few thoughts on my other team members:
Luke: Now this is another great kid that I was glad to see join our mission team. Luke has a heart of gold and is full of questions. He calls me his second dad and is 110% boy! He never stops moving and is always on the go. I hope he learns many things about himself, and others and as an result becomes closer to God. Love ya Luke!
Phil: I have known Phil for many years and it's him that I owe the most thanks to. He is the one that got me involved in the mission trips. I first went in the summer of 2010, and it changed my life. Here I am in 2011 with many of the same team members.... including my friend Phil. Phil is another very caring young man with a real sense of compassion. Sometimes he gets upset with me for redirecting him when it's necessary, but I do it to help him become the great person he is destined to be. Thank you Phil for helping me become involved in mission trips.... something I'll remember for a lifetime and longer! You're a great friend!
Well, I need to get some sleep! We have a busy day tomorrow at the worksite. More later and Happy Birthday Donnie!
Location:Niños de Baja
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Day 3 and 1/2
We crossed the US/Mexican border at approximately 3:30 pm. About three miles outside of Tecate on Hwy 3 Todd started to notice smoke from one of the trailer wheels. We pulled over and discovered that the wheel bearings and hub were damaged. It was decided to park the trailer at a restaurant just up the road. The owner of the restaurant allowed us to keep the trailer on their property as long as necessary.
So now we had to remove the contents of the trailer into one of the three vehicles with 25 people. The white van ended up with 21 people crammed in it with lots of luggage. That's right 21 people and luggage in a 15 passenger van! It was a very funny site. Good thing we were in Mexico where we really didn't look unusual!! :)
We arrived in El Porvenir at about 8:30 pm. It was a very long day especially for the younger travelers who have never experienced a trip like this.
We ate a fast leftover dinner because most of the food could not be taken with us due to the limited space in the new 21 one passenger van.
In bed at midnight! The plan for tomorrow is to sleep in late, and go to church. After church we are going to spend the afternoon at the orphanage.
Great day. Sorry about the quality of the pics and grammar. I'm writing this fast due to the lack of Internet time available.
So now we had to remove the contents of the trailer into one of the three vehicles with 25 people. The white van ended up with 21 people crammed in it with lots of luggage. That's right 21 people and luggage in a 15 passenger van! It was a very funny site. Good thing we were in Mexico where we really didn't look unusual!! :)
We arrived in El Porvenir at about 8:30 pm. It was a very long day especially for the younger travelers who have never experienced a trip like this.
We ate a fast leftover dinner because most of the food could not be taken with us due to the limited space in the new 21 one passenger van.
In bed at midnight! The plan for tomorrow is to sleep in late, and go to church. After church we are going to spend the afternoon at the orphanage.
Great day. Sorry about the quality of the pics and grammar. I'm writing this fast due to the lack of Internet time available.
Location:El Porvenir, Mexico
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Day Three
Well we are all up and getting ready to head south to Tecate, California. This is where we cross the border. Although I will continue to update our progress inside Mexico, the updates will only occur when we have access to the orphanages wifi. Hopefully daily but.... well you know how that goes. Oh.... I need sleep!
This picture was taken prior to us leaving the church near 7:00 am.
This picture was taken prior to us leaving the church near 7:00 am.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Day Two
On our way to Chandler, Arizona! I'm in the white van with all of my closest friends! Here is a picture! In case you're wondering, I'm the guy in the back seat. You can tell by the excitement on my face.
11:42 AM
Bet you don't know what we are doing in Thoreau, New Mexico?
Snacks and Bathroom break of course. Thoreau is such a beautiful place that we stopped twice! More on that later.
On the way to Gallup at a trot speed!
8:27 P.M.
Made it to Chandler, AZ!! Time for bed and QUIET time!
11:42 AM
Bet you don't know what we are doing in Thoreau, New Mexico?
Snacks and Bathroom break of course. Thoreau is such a beautiful place that we stopped twice! More on that later.
On the way to Gallup at a trot speed!
8:27 P.M.
Made it to Chandler, AZ!! Time for bed and QUIET time!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Day One
We Made It!!! We set out from Pikes Peak Christian Church in Colorado Springs at around 10:00 am.
I had a seat saved for me in the white van! It was me , Todd and Randy! Oh did I mention the 11 kids in the van with us!
I'm the leader of Team B.
Team B consist of Luke, Donnie, Saxon, and Phil!
I'm glad to have these guys on the team, and they certainly will keep me busy.
Tonight we ate at Wendy's and Luke says... Where are we! I said we are in Albuquerque and he says.... No, that's not true we are in New Mexico. Luke had this serious face like.... What? Don't tell me we traveled all day and we are in Colorado still.
Oh..., I learned how to knit.. That's right I knitted a sock for a mouse. Tomorrow I should have the gloves done. I have a new appreciation for people who knit.
Lots of stuff running through my head but I can't put it all down because I'm really tired.
Above is bathroom break # 12, and I think we are still in Pueblo.
Hmmm, this was potty break #13, but as you can see they had a plumbing problem. We passed on this.
On the way to Chandler, Arizona in the morning!
I had a seat saved for me in the white van! It was me , Todd and Randy! Oh did I mention the 11 kids in the van with us!
I'm the leader of Team B.
Team B consist of Luke, Donnie, Saxon, and Phil!
I'm glad to have these guys on the team, and they certainly will keep me busy.
Tonight we ate at Wendy's and Luke says... Where are we! I said we are in Albuquerque and he says.... No, that's not true we are in New Mexico. Luke had this serious face like.... What? Don't tell me we traveled all day and we are in Colorado still.
Oh..., I learned how to knit.. That's right I knitted a sock for a mouse. Tomorrow I should have the gloves done. I have a new appreciation for people who knit.
Lots of stuff running through my head but I can't put it all down because I'm really tired.
Above is bathroom break # 12, and I think we are still in Pueblo.
Hmmm, this was potty break #13, but as you can see they had a plumbing problem. We passed on this.
On the way to Chandler, Arizona in the morning!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
The Night Before
Well here it is the night before we leave on our journey to El Porvenir, Mexico. Our final destination will consist of three days of road travel under brutal conditions. I'm not talking about the 110 degree desert heat, or bumpy roads! I'm talking about being in a rental van with ten of your soon to be best friends! Like I said..... Best friends! If your not friends you will be after this expedition to Mexico.
This is my second adventure to Mexico with the Pikes Peak Christian Church (Widefield) and they are the most awesome caring group of individuals I have gotten to know over the years. I could think of no other friends that (other than my wife or daughter) I would want to travel with.
Now as for tomorrow.... I feel a little uneasy about going. Simply because it's out of my usual comfort zone. That always changes as we get moving along and I realize that it's too late to turn back. More importantly I know that I was guided to participate and to grow in many ways by going on this adventure.
My wife told me tonight that people always dream of going on a trip such as this. I agreed, and I have been blessed to go for a second time. The thought of the children at the orphanage and the friends I left behind last year motivate me so much.
Well, time to get to the last bit of packing and to get some sleep. I certainly won't have the best sleep for the next ten days, but everything else will just be amazing!
Pray for our safety!
This is my second adventure to Mexico with the Pikes Peak Christian Church (Widefield) and they are the most awesome caring group of individuals I have gotten to know over the years. I could think of no other friends that (other than my wife or daughter) I would want to travel with.
Now as for tomorrow.... I feel a little uneasy about going. Simply because it's out of my usual comfort zone. That always changes as we get moving along and I realize that it's too late to turn back. More importantly I know that I was guided to participate and to grow in many ways by going on this adventure.
My wife told me tonight that people always dream of going on a trip such as this. I agreed, and I have been blessed to go for a second time. The thought of the children at the orphanage and the friends I left behind last year motivate me so much.
Well, time to get to the last bit of packing and to get some sleep. I certainly won't have the best sleep for the next ten days, but everything else will just be amazing!
Pray for our safety!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
A Look Back To 2010
My friend Jose and I putting up drywall at Niños de Baja. Between the two of us we finished off the room pretty quickly. Notice the straight edges! We even autographed the wall to the right.
The below photos quickly became my favorites. While at the orphanage the children were given many different treasures (gifts) from our group. Everything from hugs and candy to clothing. These pictures are of the children right next to the orphanage. They were watching the other children swim in the plastic pool and receive their small gifts, while they could only watch thru the fence.
I had lots of wrapped gifts, so I went over to give them some presents. When I initially went over they ran and hid from me. No matter how much I tried they would not come over to the fence to see me. I decided to just leave the gifts thru the small space on their side, so they could come over without me being there. I then walked away.
After about 10 minutes one of the children at the orphanage got my attention and led me by the hand over to the fence. When I got there, the two boys who were so shy at first had showed me that they opened their presents. Then they just ran away. After several minutes, they returned...... Gesturing that they had a gift for me. It was only wrapped in his hand, but he had this look that he was very proud of the present he wanted to give me.
He opened his hand and it was a rock! A beautiful rock that he wanted to give me. Both boys kissed the rock and passed it thru the hole in the fence. They thanked me in Spanish for their gifts I had given them and I did the same for their present. These boys and their family are so poor that they could only give me a rock they kissed. To this very day, that rock sits on my desk in my office to remind me of how fortunate we all are. That rock has more value to me than if it were gold, because to me it is a treasure!
The below photos quickly became my favorites. While at the orphanage the children were given many different treasures (gifts) from our group. Everything from hugs and candy to clothing. These pictures are of the children right next to the orphanage. They were watching the other children swim in the plastic pool and receive their small gifts, while they could only watch thru the fence.
I had lots of wrapped gifts, so I went over to give them some presents. When I initially went over they ran and hid from me. No matter how much I tried they would not come over to the fence to see me. I decided to just leave the gifts thru the small space on their side, so they could come over without me being there. I then walked away.
After about 10 minutes one of the children at the orphanage got my attention and led me by the hand over to the fence. When I got there, the two boys who were so shy at first had showed me that they opened their presents. Then they just ran away. After several minutes, they returned...... Gesturing that they had a gift for me. It was only wrapped in his hand, but he had this look that he was very proud of the present he wanted to give me.
He opened his hand and it was a rock! A beautiful rock that he wanted to give me. Both boys kissed the rock and passed it thru the hole in the fence. They thanked me in Spanish for their gifts I had given them and I did the same for their present. These boys and their family are so poor that they could only give me a rock they kissed. To this very day, that rock sits on my desk in my office to remind me of how fortunate we all are. That rock has more value to me than if it were gold, because to me it is a treasure!
Saturday, June 11, 2011
The Count Down
We leave in a week for Mexico! The entire team met for the first time last Saturday, and I'm excited to see some new faces. I like the idea of meeting some new people and still having some close friends on the journey as well.
My plan is to journal along the way (daily) thru pictures and words.
I'll post the high res pictures of the trip when I return since I will be posting from my iphone and will not be able to transfer pics from the camera.
My plan is to journal along the way (daily) thru pictures and words.
I'll post the high res pictures of the trip when I return since I will be posting from my iphone and will not be able to transfer pics from the camera.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Day One
Okay... So finally got the new blog up and running. Thank you to all of my friends for title suggestions and patience.
As many of you know, I will be leaving on a Mexico Mission Trip in a few weeks. I will be posting pictures and lots of updates here on what we are doing and where we are. This trip will be amazing and I hope you can enjoy just some of what I will feel on this journey. More to come.
As many of you know, I will be leaving on a Mexico Mission Trip in a few weeks. I will be posting pictures and lots of updates here on what we are doing and where we are. This trip will be amazing and I hope you can enjoy just some of what I will feel on this journey. More to come.
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