Memories of Morning Star Camp - 2004

I know this is going a LONG way back, but I thought it might be neat to post some pics of our much-enjoyed trip to Bright and Morning Star Camp in Wyoming in 2004. This will be very picture-laden! But everyone likes pictures, right? J has had the opportunity to go back a few times since then, but the rest of us have not been back since. We had a wonderful time - it was a grueling drive (UGH!) but well worth it.

It was a spiritually refreshing trip, and we met a lot of people we had not known before. The kids loved it. The scenery was beautiful. The question and answer times were interesting and helpful. Mr. P's outlines and related discussion were thought provoking. The sings were special. The trail ride, raft trip, side trips, etc. were fun. The visiting with those of like precious faith was encouraging. The food was AMAZING. The fire was warm. The tent, however, was NOT. Nights were very cold, which was bearable in the teepees where they had a fire. We brought our own tent, which is basically a screen octagon with a fly over the top that let the cold breeze whistle through all night - we've never done camping in anything but the summer heat, so didn't even think of the fact that this tent is not for cool temps since you can only zip up some of the screen. Everyone else in the family seemed to be able to be sleep well, but I kept waking up, wondering if the kids were warm enough and making sure they were still covered. I didn't want my pumpkins to freeze! A very kind lady offered us some extra blankets that she had, which really helped. We slept in our winter jackets, long underwear under pj's, toques, and 2-3 pairs of socks. If we go again, we will be even more prepared for the cold nights! It was the only downside. Sorry if I'm stressing the cold so much, but it's a large part of what I remember. Truly - the days more than made up for the nights! I loved it.

On to the photos . . .

This pic is taken somewhere on the drive there. The kids have grown a lot in 4 years!



Camp:



Caterers and family on the left, host family in middle, bus driver in back, A LaB's dog in front (I think), us on right:



K, just hanging around:



J spent a lot of time playing volleyball with the young people and discovered her hidden talent for serving.



C, being attacked by little boys - he loved it. And another dog.



Lots of people brought their dogs, which K thought was great. She made friends with someone's great dane.



One of the sings:



Yours truly before our trail ride. It was great - brought back some of my fondest memories from childhood - of trail rides while on camping trips.



A Rare Sight Indeed - this is A:



K got to help prepare pineapple upside-down cake one day - she felt like such a big girl for helping.



Group pic of some who had taken a side trip one day. This waterfall was on the way, and we couldn't resist stopping to take a closer look.



C (in red jacket) and some new buds - he really did have a great time.



Mr. LaB was our alarm clock each morning - he walked around serenading everyone with his "It's time to get up, it's time to get up, the sun is over the ho-ri-i-zon" yodeling song. Wish I had a recording. :o) Some mornings he was like the pied piper, with kids and dogs following him around - it was neat. C always wanted to go with him but never managed to wake up all the way in enough time to join him.



We took a side trip to a thermal pool one day - it was nice and warm. But A and a few other guys decided to take a dip in this very cold mountain stream - the temp was 35 F or something.



Chow time:



J just relaxing at the door of our tent. You can see the doll carrier that K brought along:



K and a new-found friend. I found them more then once at this spot, having wandered off by themselves. In prime grizzly territory. We had a talk.



Pearly Gates raft. Don'tcha love the name? We did not do the white water trip, but did the scenic trip. It was beautiful. And plenty exciting enough for me. :o)



The view from our lunch stop during our scenic raft trip. I never got tired of looking at those beautiful mountains. Sigh . . .



J & K at the raft launch site near the dam. More gorgeous mountains.



We left our mark on a teepee, according to custom. If we ever go back (which, Lord willing and if He tarries, we will) we'll be looking for it.

No, I don't have a Halloween template up ...

. . . just be patient and the black and orange will go away! For some reason it's taking a few extra moments for my new template to load. Or maybe it's only happening on my computer.

By the way - I love the templates at "The Cutest Blog on the Block". If you're interested, click on the little blue box at the top left of my blog. They have LOTS of free blog templates and it's really not that difficult to use them on Blogger - after all, I was able to figure it out! I like to 'rearrange the furniture' now and then.

In Heavenly Love Abiding

In heavenly love abiding, no change my heart shall fear,
And safe in such confiding, for nothing changes here.
The storm may roar without me, my heart may low be laid,
But God is round about me, and can I be dismayed?

Wherever He may guide me, no want shall turn me back;
My Shepherd is beside me, and nothing can I lack.
His wisdom ever waketh, His sight is never dim,
He knows the way He taketh, and I will walk with Him.

Green pastures are before me, which yet I have not seen,
Bright skies will soon be o'er me where the dark clouds had been.
My hope I cannot measure, my path to life is free,
My Saviour has my treasure, and He will walk with me.

Ere yet another morning my spirit may be free,
As absent from the body, at home, O Lord, with Thee.
O sleep, O rest, how precious! As, guarded by Thy care,
I'm waiting for Thy promise to meet Thee in the air!

The Lord Himself, e'en Jesus, amid the ransomed throng,
Its glory, joy, and beauty, its never-ending song.
O day of wondrous promise, the Bridegroom and the bride
Are seen in glory ever; forever satisfied!

Thanks, F, for donating your time!

C's dog, Cowboy needed a doghouse for the upcoming winter. Last year we made him one out of straw bales in my flower bed in front of the house. It worked, but was messy and we wanted something more permanent. F became aware of this need, and offered to make one, letting the kids help, which they thought was great fun.

Previously houseless dog:



Cutting out the door:



Assembly begins:



Cowboy supervises, and seems to approve:



Since A sells P2000 insulation (great product), we have some on hand, and F put some on the doghouse. Cowboy should be quite toasty this winter.



K was busy putting the reflective tape over the P2000 seams.





C helped F put pieces of wood over the insulation so that they would have something solid to screw the siding to.





I suggested that they make it in such a way that it can be easily cleaned (ever the practical one). The lower portion of one side of the roof is hinged for easy access.






Finished product:



It's pretty nice - especially when you consider that it was made entirely of scraps, (except for the insulation).

Thanks again, F!

St. Leon Wind Farm

Wind farms are being developed here on our windy prairie. There is one being proposed not too far from where we live and there's been plenty of local controversy about it. We had to drive through St. Leon on our way home from Boissevain (which was on the way home from Regina - see post below), and since they have a wind farm, we decided to take an up close look at one of the windmills, take some pics, and stretch our legs.






The screws that hold the windmill onto the concrete base are really big - they stick up about a foot or more. They're each covered with a plastic sleeve.




The windmills really are huge. Wouldn't it be neat to have a small one on your own yard and generate your own power?

The farm sits on the Pembina Escarpment and there are 63 windmills, occupying over 18,000 acres (with crop surrounding them) - enough to generate power for 41,000 homes. Having this up and running is supposedly the green equivalent of taking 70,000 cars off the road or planting 1.7 million trees.






They have an interpretive center there (K's class had a field trip here last year) and behind it there's a dock on the lake. The lake was so tranquil - it was a gorgeous eveing.



Soon we were back in the car for the rest of the ride home.

Tommy the Turtle

This is going back in time a bit, but when we came home from Regina the beginning of August, we had to make a stop in Boissevain so that A could do a tiny little job there for a customer. I'm never thrilled about doing this, because sometimes these little jobs can grow into bigger ones, and it ends up taking much longer than expected. This time I was promised "only 15 minutes!" and in actual fact it turned out to be less than 10. Meanwhile, I took the kids a couple blocks away to check out Boissevain's giant turtle, Tommy.



C was less than excited about being part of this shot. It is kind of little kid-ish, but he survived:



Apparently they have turtle races during their town festival.


Not too far from Tommy, there's a gift shop with some neat items for sale. Here's a chair made of antlers:



The International Peace Gardens are just a little ways down the road from Boissevain (25 miles or so) and I've always wanted to go, but it was getting late and we had some miles yet to cover to get home, so we decided against it. We'll have to check that out another time.