Goodbye Rocky Mountains...

Here I am, sitting with Kelly in Denver International Airport. Kelly, Job (one of the other students from Calvin), and I fly out this morning! Because the only person left with a car at SMR had to work this morning, he dropped us off here last night at around 1:00 AM. The three of us took turns sleeping and staying awake to watch our luggage (I think I got 20 minutes total of actual sleep). At 4:00 we watched the airport come to life, and were able to watch our last Colorado sunrise a little later. My plane doesn't actually take off until 10:30 AM, so I'm seeing Kelly off on her plane to Grand Rapids at 8:40 then heading to find my terminal.

Though this summer was an adventure- an experience that I wouldn't trade for anything, I am SO excited to be heading back home to see my family... and though I'll miss the mountains, I might even be a little excited for the good old midwest humidity ;)

It's the little things...

Tonight, tomorrow night, AND Thursday night, my roommate Kelly reserved a room at Indian Peaks with her complimentary nights that we get as staff. I am so excited for this "retreat" with my roommates, but I'm also excited about things that I would've taken for granted a couple months ago...

#1) The Bathroom: Having a shower right in my room that is clean, well lit, has warm water (as opposed to HOT or COLD), and has water pressure!

#2) The Bed: Being able to stretch out my legs in bed and not have my feet hanging off, not worrying about the creaking it makes at the slightest movement, and being able to sit up in it without banging my head on the top bunk... (and the mattresses are SO comfortable:)

#3) The Silence: Going to sleep without hearing other people talking in the rooms around me! (I might even be able to take an actual nap tomorrow! :)

#4) The Screens: There are no random bugs in this room- the windows have screens!

#5) The Internet: Indian Peaks has its own wireless, which is faster and more reliable than the internet in Blue Ridge

#6) The Fridge: I don't know what I'll use this perk for yet, but if I want to bring something back to my room that needs refrigeration, I have that option!

It feels like a mini-vacation already :)

One is Silver and the other Gold :)

These past few weeks have reminded me of how richly blessed I have been in my relationships- new and old :)

Since my last post, I was surprised by a (brief) visit from Jerry and Bonnie Van Someren, a couple from my home church who were riding through Colorado on their motorcycle and happened to drive past SMR. Just a few days later, I had a chance to visit shortly with my Uncle John and Aunt Caroline while they were here for their Larson family reunion.

This past weekend I was blessed with a visit from 3 of my high school friends, Kya, Jennifer, and Leanne. Yes, they drove all the way from Wisconsin just to camp at Snow Mountain Ranch (and see me :)! We had a great time hiking (though not all of them went exactly as planned...), driving (Trail Ridge Road... kudos to Kya for excellent driving skills), shopping (plenty of souvenir stores in the area!), and hanging out at the campsite (/in the tent, when the weather wasn't cooperating with our plans). I am so glad that they took the time and effort to make the trip, and hope they enjoyed it as much as I did!

Today was the last day at work for many of my co-workers... it was hard to say goodbye, and the Grill will not be the same without them, but I am thankful for the chance I had to get to know so many incredible people this summer!

Just Jump!

This past Sunday I jumped off a 50 ft. cliff.

Don't worry, the Colorado River was below to catch me and I survived with only a few bruises. I went cliff diving with some girls I work with at the Grill, Kelly, and about 7 more Navigators, and it was one of the most unique experiences of my life. It was completely thrilling and terrifying at the same time... as I was standing at the edge, contemplating what I was about to do, I was told "Don't think, just focus on the voice counting down, and when it gets to 1, just jump!"

In retrospect, that doesn't sound like very good life-advice...

I have been promoted to a Supervisor position at the Grill. I'm excited about my first legitimate "promotion" (it includes a pay raise!), but nervous about the responsibility as well. I have been blessed with great coworkers, though, who I can trust to do their jobs well with good attitudes, so the stress level hasn't risen too much... yet :)

Time flies..

Wow, this week has gone by sooo fast! Monday, my family arrived safely at SMR after a long road trip. I took them on a tour of the campus, then we had a picnic supper at Columbine Point. Tuesday we went to breakfast at the Commons (I had to make sure they got the full SMR experience... ;) and had the opportunity to hike 9 mile trail, walk through Grand Lake, and hike in Rocky Mountain National Park to Adam's Falls. It was a beautiful day, even with the 20 minute thunderstorm that blew through. Wednesday, I left in the afternoon for the Calvin LCI retreat. We camped at the Meadow Creek Reservoir at an absolutely beautiful, isolated site. It was a great chance to just hang out and spend some time enjoying creation and each other. Thursday afternoon, after getting back to SMR, Dad, Emily, Katelyn, and I hiked to the first peak of Snow Mountain. Emily and Dad kept going, and did all 5 peaks (after only a few days to adjust to the altitude! :) while Katelyn and I went back down to meet Mom and Justin for a round of mini-golf. I spent Thursday night at the campsite with them (before working a 6:30 shift this morning :P), roasting s'mores and drinking hot chocolate. This morning (Friday), Dad drove me back to Blue Ridge bright and early. The family came to The Grill for lunch, then, when my shift was over, we got in one last hike, to the Waterfall. We said our goodbyes, and they set off for Ontario to visit mom's family there. I miss them already, but am so glad that they were able to visit me here!

Snow Mountain- 1st peak!

Grays and Torreys

This Friday, I had the opportunity to hike my first TWO 14ers*! I went with some other Calvin students, Dave, David, and Melissa. I was more than a little apprehensive about this trip... my hiking companions were more experienced/in better hiking shape than I was, but I went hoping for the best!We set off at 6:30 AM (which I'm told is late for climbing 14ers... it's better to do it earlier so you can be sure to be off the summit by the time the daily thunder-clouds roll in) and drove for 2 hours to get to the trailhead. On the drive, hiking stories that I have heard about other people's 14er-induced sicknesses (vomiting and diarrhea are just a couple examples) kept replaying in my head. The car ride over, we set off on the trail (the trail began at about 11,000 feet... 3,000 feet higher elevation than SMR). The guys set a fast pace, and after a while Melissa and I decided that we would slow down a little (I would say that our pace was still pretty good... we just weren't jogging up the mountain...:). It was challenging, but, when we made it to the top of Grays, I realized why people 'enjoy' pushing themselves to these extremes. The view was spectacular- God's handiwork was breathtaking! However, we still had one more peak to reach. We were able to summit Torreys at noon, and were blessed by great weather... not a thundercloud in the sky! We made it back down safely- the trip home was a quite one... I think Dave was the only one who didn't nap (yes, he was the driver), and that night I had one of the best nights of sleep I've gotten in a long time!

Grays Peak is on the left, Torreys is on the right.

You can see the saddle between them that we crossed to get to Torreys :)

The group on top of Grays...

Raising the bar on top of Torreys :)

*A "14er" is slang for a mountain that is over 14,000 feet at its summit. These are the tallest mountains in Colorado.

Crazy busy, Crazy fun

Wow, I am long overdue for a new post! Time flies so fast here, between work and other activities, that I have a lot to catch you up on. Two Sundays ago (June 27) a group of Calvin students went to Rocky Mountain National park for a hike. The 7 mile hike was a slightly challenging but enjoyable one, though there were a ton of mosquitos throughout a good majority of it. I didn't get bit, but some others in our group were itching for days to come.

Monday the 28th, both of my roommates and I had the day off, so we went for a walk to Columbine Point, waded in the creek, and sat out for a while there talking. Sunscreen would have been a good idea, but since none of us used it, we were in pain the rest of the week (though I have a good tan now! :P). Despite the burns, on our way home we walked past the Rowley Homestead. The old house, barn, and shed are almost 100 years old, and were built and lived in by some of the original settlers of what is now Snow Mountain Ranch. While we were there, we talked with the lady who was in charge of showing visitors around the homestead. She suggested we grab some of the 'pioneer clothes' they have there, and offered to take pictures of us. Of course, we took her up on this! We had a great time, and felt like little kids again in our 'dress-up clothes'. I still can't help but laugh out loud when I look at the pictures that we took!

***more to come about this week... SOON, I promise :) ***