Sabbatical

Starting in July 2005 we will be taking a four months sabbatical from our work at Tall Timber Ranch.

My plan for this 12-week sabbatical includes studying innovative camp and conference centers. I will conduct an online survey with camp Directors, visit selected camps and conduct interviews with their administrators and program directors. I will also experience innovative programming first hand by attending several retreats, some with my wife and others with my children. The retreats will be an opportunity to experience new traditions in camps and pray and reflect on what I am learning. I will help myself retool by taking several classes on web site development. I will reflect myself by spending significant time between camp visits in prayer and reflection, pursuing personal passions in music, climb a few mountains, and spending extended time with my family.

Camp Visit list

Bowron Lakes Canoe

Dispatches

Dispatch 1-June 13-15
Aaron, Jessie, and I made an attempt on the North Ridge of Mount Stewart. The purpose was to use this climb as a test run for our trip to the Bugaboos. We found way too much snow and stormy weather to make a success of the climb, but we had a good time together trying. We are going to all need to work on being in better shape and lighten our packs before the Bugs. (pictures)

Dispatch 2-July 20
Today is my first day of being on Sabbatical. Wow! It has finally arrived. I could sleep in, but I don't. Instead Becky and I meet with Mike Nash and cover some last details about taking care of camp while we are gone. Then I spend time planning. I do take the time for a long run.

Dispatch 3- July 24
Aaron and I drove the Born Free Motor Home to Port Townsend today, where we will be attending the Port Townsend Jazz Festival. We will spend all week here together. We will each play in a combo, led by a Jazz pro, attend master classes, and listen to some of the greatest jazz musicians in the world today.

Dispatch 4-July 28
Today I attended a truly magical concert. It featured Bob Florence(piano), Jiggs Whigham(trombone), Bill Mays(piano), Jon Wikan(drums), Kurt Elling(voice). It finished with a truly memorable rendition of Mockingbird with Kurt and Nancy King. Tomorrow Aaron and I will play concerts and Becky and Nellie will arrive. Our time this week has gone very fast. (pictures)

Dispatch 5-July 30
Yesterday was a big day for Aaron and I. We each had our final rehearsals with our combos. Then Aaron accompanied a piano improvisation class. Becky and Jessie arrived from home in the afternoon, then we all attended a concert featuring Kurt Elling. Last night, both Aaron and I gave concerts with our combos downtown Port Townsend. (pictures)

Dispatch 6-July 31
Today we returned home from Port Townsend. Our plan is to spend today and tomorrow packing and leave for climbing in the Bugaboo's by Tuesday. Becky and I spent most of the drive detailing our trip plans for the next months. There is so many stops we would all like to make and so little time. It is going to be a real challenge to make choices for what we will and will not do. On our way home we learned that there is a forest fire behind our home. This could change our plans again.

Dispatch 7- August 2
It has been an eventful couple of days. We were advised to evacuate our home. We have packed a few of the most valuable things in our home and moved them to Tall Timber Ranch. Camp has been evacuated. We are still at home, but are ready to leave at any moment. On top of all this we also learned that Faith, Becky's cousin died last night. (pictures)

Dispatch 8- August 4
Smoke is in my eyes! The Dirty face fire is really smokey tonight. The evacuation level has been lowered to level 2. We have decided to leave for out trip in the morning. We will leave two truck loads of our things at Tall Timber for safer keeping and ask the staff to return them to our home when it is safe. Our house is not yet really safe, but we have all decided to take a chance and leave. We have already taken so much extra time that we will cancel our climbing trip to the Bugaboos. This is a huge disappointment for Stan.

Dispatch 9-August 5
Yesterday we first drove to Camp Bighorn in Plains, MT. We were given a wonderful tour of this 80 acre Christian Camp. We then drove on to Glacier Presbytery Camp, where our friend Keith Newman is Director. We arrived at Lakeside at 12:00 AM. Today we met with Keith and toured Glacier Camp. Everyone in our family has been given assignments for our camp tour. Now we are on our way to Yellowstone National Park. The wonders of new technology! I am updating this web page from the motor home wirelessly while we speed down the highway.

Dispatch 10-August 6
Today is what I have dreamed of for a day on the road together as a family. We started with a devotion together. It led to a discussion about prayer. What can make us better at prayer? Is just spending more time in prayer improve prayer? Can we learn better skills, or learn to listen better. It was great talk together. Then we biked through a geyser basin. We ended our day looking out across Jackson lake and up at the Tetons. God is very good! (pictures)

Dispatch 11-August 9
The last two days we spent in the Tetons. Aaron, Jessie, Nellie, and I made a climb of the Grand Teton (13,700 ft.) Aaron and Jessie climbed via the Underhill route, while Nellie, and I climbed Exum Ridge. We then met on top and decended together. It is a tough climb! Our climbing day started at 2:30 AM and we were not back to the car untill 11:00 PM. (pictures)

Dispatch 12-August 10
To native Americans Devils Tower is a sacred place and should be held in great respect, that includes not climbing the tower. Well. we climbed it anyway. We arrived at the Tower late in the afternoon and quickly got ready to climb the Durance route. It is one of the 50 best climbs in America. Aaron and Jessie climbed together and Nellie and I climbed together. The climbing went well. It was quite challenging and sustained and included lots of stemming and chimneys. The climb was six pitches long. By the time we all made it to the summit it was starting to get dark and a large storm was moving in. We started to see lighting south and west of the tower. It was time to get down! Then as we were starting our third repel the storm was right on top of us. It rained hard, the wind gusts made it hard to stand, and the lightening was striking the top of the tower above us. Our afternoon climb quickly became an epic. We finished the fourth rappel, pulled our ropes and sloshed down to the parking lot. All of us with prayers of thanksgiving on our lips. We were all so thankful to see Becky and the motor home at the bottom of the trail. (pictures)

Dispatch 13-August 12
It is 3:00 AM and somewhere in Minnesota. The road is so bumpy it is really hard to type. We have been seeing lots of motorcycles on the road the last several days. Especially Harley Davidson. In fact at Devils Tower there were over 4,000 bikes. It is all part of the Sturgis bike rally. There is said to be more than 700.000 bikes in the rally. Today we visited Mount Rushmore and the Badlands. Now we are driving through the night to Wisconsin to visit more camps. (pictures)

Dispatch 14-August 13
It is 7:00 AM and everyone else is still asleep. We spent a wonderful afternoon and evening at Honey Rock. It is a camp owned and operated by Wheaton University. Becky and I visited with the Wilderness Director and the Director then toured the camp, while Jessie spent time with a summer staff person, and Aaron and Nellie looked around. Today we visited Timber Lee and Stronghold. Then spent the night at Stronghold. (pictures)

Dispatch 15-August 14
Today we tried to worship in Wheaton, but unfortunately had the wrong information about the service. It was a disappointment. We did look around the Wheaton University campus and enjoyed real deep dish Chicago pizza for lunch.

Dispatch 16-August 15
We made a visit to Niagara Falls today. What an experience! The falls are incredible, but so is the commercialization. Then it was a long drive across New York and onto see Berkeley School of music for Aaron.

Dispatch 16-August 16
I am sitting this afternoon in Salem, NY. We finally made it across the country. Everyone is in Boston tonight to attend a blues concert. I needed to stay behind because of no parking, but it gave me time to catch up on the website and relax. I just stepped into the Alantic. I haven't done that since I was very young. (pictures)

Dispatch 17- August 18
We are on our way to New York City, after spending 2 wonderful days in the Boston area. Becky and I spent yesterday in downtown Boston. We walked the Freedom Trail. It lead us through all the important historical locations downtown Boston. I even found the grave if mother goose. We then ate at Durgin-Park, a restaurant dating back to the 1800s. Then finished with a concert of the USAF big band, with guest artist, Ann Calloway. Today we are on our way back to New York. We will visit the Presbyterian Camp at Holmes, and Stony Point Conference Center this afternoon.

Dispatch 18-August 20
We are at the Presbyterian Center at Holmes, NY. The Director, Peter Surgenor has treated us wonderfully. First, on Thursday he gave us a tour of the camp, spent lots of time with Becky and I for questions, gave us dinner. and a cabin to stay in. Everyone enjoyed the break from the close living of the motor home. Then Peter gave us information on visiting New York city and loaned us a car. Yesterday we spent touring the city. We saw the Today show, visited the 86th floor of the Empire State Building, toured Saint Johns, dined in Little Italy, and saw a Broadway show. Today, after sleeping in we will drive to Washington DC. (pictures)

Dispatch 19-August 22
Yesterday we started out from camp to find the subway, asked for directions, and was invited to church. So, we attended a small black worship service in DC. The pastor was Pastor Queen. The service lasted two hours and everyone was asked to participate in one way or another. They were wonderful and kind people. I felt blessed beyond words. The Spirit moved. We did find DC and spent the afternoon and evening looking around the DC mall. Today will be spent downtown again.

Dispatch 20-August 23
Today we head to North Carolina and will see several more camps tomorrow, Yesterday was another day sightseeing in Washington DC. The kids went to the Zoo, while Becky and I saw the Constitution, and the Air and Space Museum. We all met and went through the Holocaust Museum together. Then went by the White House. I then went to the Capital and saw the US Navy band. We finished our day by riding the subway, then our bikes back to our campground. (pictures)

Dispatch 21-August 25
We are now driving through Oklahoma on our way to New Mexico. It is our longest drives of the trip. All four of us will take turns behind the wheel today. Yesterday we toured Montreat Conference Center. Montreat is one of three centers for the PC(USA). IT was founded in the late 1800s. We were able to spend time interviewing the President and several Program Leaders and tour the facility. There is also a College on the grounds of Montreat. There are about 1,000 students. We looked at the college, met with Dave Speery, who teaches Outdoor Education and discussed how Tall Timber could work with the college. We also made a very brief swing by the Cove. It seems like every day brings a new experience and surprise for each of us. (pictures)

Dispatch 22-August 26
We arrived in New Mexico this morning at 2:00 AM after driving straight through from North Carolina. The drive took over 24 hours. We finally stopped at a roadside picnic area somewhere west of Santa fe. After sleeping a few hours we made our way to Ghost Ranch Conference Center and arrived in time for breakfast. It has been a wonderful day. This morning Becky and I spent meeting with Rob, the Executive Director. We then looked over the facilities. Aaron spent the afternoon with facility staff rounding up several burros and talking about environmental systems at the camp. We enjoyed a hike up a steep box canyon, enjoyed a southwest dinner and art show, and finished the day at the Director's home for good conversation.

Dispatch 23-August 27
We finished up at Ghost Ranch by doing a morning hike to Chimney Rock. Then we loaded up the Born Free and drove to Mesa Verde National Park. We toured Indian Cliff dwelling and camped in the park. The next day we will head to Grand Canyon National Park. (pictures)

Dispatch 23-August 28
As we drove into the Grand Canyon the Born Free suddenly lurched forward and the speedometer dropped to zero, broken and dead. The transmission had instantly failed. We limped the rest of the way into the park in second gear at not much more that 25 miles an hour. The nearest place to try repairs will be in Flagstaff, 90 miles away. After discussing our options we have decided to enjoy the Grand Canyon for a couple of days and then try to limp into Flagstaff. Jessie and Aaron are scheduled to fly out of Las Vegas on Thursday afternoon. As I have said before everyday of this trip is a new adventure!

Dispatch 24-August 30
I woke up yesterday feeling terrible. I have been trying to get over a bad cold for several days and it was much worse yesterday morning. So, everyone but me left for an overnight backpack down into the canyon yesterday. It was a very hard choice to stay behind, but the right one. I spent yesterday resting and reading. Today I'm feeling a little better. I am waiting for everyone to make it back to the camper. Then we will start our trek to Flagstaff. I pray we make it. Ninety miles at 25 MPH seems like a long way! (pictures)

Dispatch 25-September 1
We are in Las Vegas today.  Our motor home had transmission problems in the Grand Canyon.  I should hear in just a few hours if the repair will be minor and done today or something much worse.  Last night we went out along the Strip, we ate at a great buffet, saw several free shows, and went to Cirque Du Soleil. We put Aaron and Jessie on a plane here this morning and they will be home tonight.  If the motor home is ok we will start home tomorrow. If it isn't just a speed sensor. it could quite a while.

Dispatch 26-September 2
The good news is that the motor home transmission repair is done and cost only $250.00. It could have been so much worse. We enjoyed another night in Las Vegas last night and will head north this morning.

Dispatch 27-September 4
We are now in Napa, California. From Las Vegas we traveled through Death Valley to north of Bishop and spent the night. Yesterday, we traveled to Lake Tahoe and then on to Napa. While in Death Valley Nellie and I walked through Sand dunes at the elevation of 5 feet. It is near the lowest and hottest location in the western hemisphere. Then at Lake Tahoe we toured and met with the Directors of Zephyr Point Conference Center. They are just finishing a 9 million dollar Adult Conference Center. We will visit with my parents this morning and start north toward home this afternoon. (pictures)

Dispatch 27-Septemer 9
We have arrived back home. After a month of being on the road it is good to be home. Thanks for following along with us. Our sabbatical time is not yet over and I am planning on continuing to add to this website although it will not be as frequent.

Dispatch 28-September 26
My Bowron Lakes Canoe Solo was both a spiritual and phycical adventure. I paddled more than 72 miles and spent a great deal of time with God. God filled my heart with joy! What a blessing. (pictures)

Dispatch 29-October 6
I have just spent the last 10 days replacing the roof on our house. Aaron and three of his house mates spent last weekend helping, while Becky cooked incredible meals for all of us. We could not have done it without them. Lord does provide! I finished today. It is raining hard tonight, but we are dry and warm inside our home. (pictures)

Dispatch 30-October 29
Becky and I are on the road again. We are in Colorado Springs, CO attending a Marriage Get Away at the Navigators camp, Glen Eyrie. It is the most amazing facility I have ever seen. We are staying in the top of a tower of an old castle, surrounded by 750 acres of beautiful grounds. A small area around the castle is gardens, but then there are trails into the wilderness the we explore each afternoon. The food is also great. The program has been inspiring. Just what Becky and I can use. Praise God yet again! (pictures)

Dispatch 31-November 2
Following the Marriage Get Away Becky and I have been viiting camps around Colorado. We have visited quite a few and met with several camp staff. It's been great. We have seen Glen Eyrie, met with Program Leader from Eagle Lake, visited Bear Trap, Raven's Crest, YMCA Estes Park Center, Long's Peak, High Point, Covenant Heights, Saint Malo, and Highlands Presbyterian Camp. We also found the Stanley Hotel. It was built by one of the twin brothers who built the Stanley Steamer. (pictures)

Dispatch 32-November 3
We have arrived in Richland, Virginia. Our plan is to vacation for three days in the area, before attending the PCCCA National Conference.

Dispatch 33-November 7
We have arrived at Massanetta Springs, a Presbyterian Conference Center in Harrisonberg, Virginia. The last several days we have traveled to both Williamsberg and Gettysburg. I have enjoyed a history lesson. Colonial Williamsburg is one of the earliest towns in America and has been restored back to colonial times. Gettysburg, of course is the location of the bloodiest battle of our civil war. There were over 50,000 lives lost at Gettysburg. Becky and I enjoyed a devotion together in one of the oldest Presbyterian Meeting halls in the US, on Sunday worshiped in the church that Abe Lincoln and Eisenhower worshiped in, sat in a jail where Black Beard's crew waited for trial, and stood in a church where Pocahontas was married. (pictures)

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