Girls Camp

I spent 4 days this week at Girls Camp. It was for the Young Women’s program at my church.  The girls range from age 12 – 17.   We went to Steadman’s in Raft River in South East Idaho.  We had Sunshine, Wind, Clouds, Wind, Rain and more Wind.   It was such a great time.  

The first day we got settled and put up tents.

The second day we sent on a hike to The Parting of the Ways.  This is the part of the Oregon trail where the pioneers had the choice to either continue to Oregon or go to California.

Mr. Steadman drove us to a memorial, we then hiked up the bluff to get to the Parting of the ways.  The bluff is solid lava rock.  We could see where the wagon wheels had carved out grooves in the rock.  It was sacred ground.   It brought tears to my eyes and I stood and contemplated the long journey they had been on and the long journey they were to continue.

We talked about how we each of us have our own Parting of the Ways in our daily lives.  How each decision and choice we make could affect 100’s of thousands of future generations.  How would the pioneers lives have been if they had chosen Oregon instead of California?  or vice versa.   We had a moment where we all separated and time to contemplate choices that we have made; were they the right choices?   How can we improve?  How could these choices affect our future?

We hiked back to Steadman’s which was just under 5 miles.

Check out the Steadman’s link above and you can see how beautiful the area is and all of the activities that they have to offer.   Most of us went down the water slide numerous times.

And of course this picture is priceless…  (The Young Women Leaders).  I found out why they wanted me to be the front of the train. 

Some of the brave ones  went down the zip line.

We had a flag ceremony every day.

We had little workshops.

We had craft activities.

We ate all kinds of foods.

Christine was our camp cook.   She did a fabulous job!

We had silly times.

And we had quiet times.

The final night there was a mud football game.

We sang silly camp songs.

 

We did skits.

 

And we gathered around the fire and shared testimonies.

 

It was an awesome week and a great experience.  I love these girls!

 

Enjoy!

Muddin’

While walking around the reservoir at Steck Park I noticed a swarm of Swallow’s flitting around in the mud.   At first I thought there must be some sort of bug hatching.   Then I realized they must be filling their mouths with fresh mud and working on their nests. 

Sure enough,  they all flew off and above me on the big rock pillar were dozens of nests.  It’s amazing how fast they dive bomb into them.  At the last second, close their wings and in they go. 

Be Creative!

 

Journey

Can you imagine the country that this Ole Freight train has seen? What an adventure.   It is pulling about 50 loads of cargo.  Probably either heading to a barge along the Columbia River or possibly on into Portland.

First stop across the bridge is Huntington, Oregon.

Remnants of the Old Oregon Trail can still be seen today when one is traveling north from Farewell Bend State Recreation Area toward the town of Huntington on U.S. Route 30.

Evidence of the hardships and tragedies of the pioneer movement still exists: a small iron cross, visible from Route 30, marks the location where Snake River Shoshone Indians killed a number of emigrants in 1860.

At the turn of the 19th century, Huntington developed a reputation as "Sin City", a rugged frontier town having its share of saloons, Chinese opium dens, and gunslingers.

 

Be Creative !

 

R & R

My Handyman and I went camping this weekend.  It was such a beautiful weekend to be out and about.  The weather was in the mid 70’s.  We caught some nice catfish (6- 1 gal freezer bags after filleted), and relaxed.   I took quite a few photo’s. Not my usual.   I’ll share some of them with you over the next week or two.

There is a bridge that crosses from the Idaho side of the Snake River to the Oregon side near Steck Park.  This is the beginning of Brownlee Reservoir.  Quite a few freight trains come through the area.  

I stood on a trail near the tracks as this UNP train came through.

Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) is one of America's leading transportation companies. Its principal operating company, Union Pacific Railroad, is North America's premier railroad franchise, covering 23 states across the western two-thirds of the United States.

 

Be Creative!

 

Reflections

Watery Wednesday:

I haven’t been to this beautiful spot for a couple of years! I took this photo while fishing in a little aluminum boat on Wallowa Lake near Joseph Oregon. Its not that far from home! I need to plan a weekend camping .

EnJoy!

The Big One!

Well.. We had a fabulous weekend camping... We caught 100's of Crappie. The water was really high and the fish were not quite big enough to keep. We had alot of fun though. Our Friends, Skip and Teresa met us there and camped in the space next to us. It was alot of fun sitting around the camp fire in the evenings and visiting. We even roasted Strawberry marshmallows!

The first afternoon there, we were fishing Brownlee Reservoir on the Oregon side. We had been catching Crappie all day long. My Handyman decided it was time to try for catfish again. The bait sat in the water for about 45 minutes.. His pole started shaking and the bells started dinging. We knew it was a big one! He was so excited. HOLY SH__! He was yellng; over and over! I think its a sturgeon! I told him his 12 pound test line would have snapped pretty quick if it were . His adrenaline was really pumping. It took about 15 minutes to get the Monster to shore. I had to use the net and the fish was over twice as long as the net. We were guessing probably 15-20 pounds. An old timer next to us said he guessed about 7 pounds. It was a fighter. We crammed it into the cooler we had. It was curled like a horseshoe inside. We continued to fish for a while longer but not another bite.







On our way back to camp, we stopped at the local bait shop slash beauty shop slash liquior store. LOL! Small town! The guy had a fish scale so he came out and weighed it for us. 26 pounds and 6 ounces! It measured 37 1/2 inches long! He said he hadn't seen a Flathead that large for quite a while. Too bad we were a week early for the Memorial Day Catfish Derby!

Does he look a little Giddy with that big ole grin on his face??







Aren't they ugly? They remind me of prehistoric sea creatures! They sure do taste good though.



EnJOY!
Michelle