Westminster Woods PLUS Mini-Mission Trip Blog
Saturday, June 23:
(This is the PLUS part!)
Rick and I left
Baker City around 10:45 – I was running a little later than planned! We went to Les Schwab to have the tires
pumped up a little, then to gas and coffee, and on the road right at 11
am. Destination? Emigrant Springs State Park and then on to
Hermiston for Wyatt’s University of Oregon graduation party.
Arrived at
Emigrant at 12:10, selected one of the full hookup sites (B-5) and hooked up
the trailer, but did not unfold the ends.
Good thing because a heck of a storm came through while we were
gone! We registered and pulled out for
Hermiston shortly before 1pm. As soon as
we began the descent, we could see the black clouds stretching clear across the
western sky – angry skies! Then wind
blew and while we drove through Pendleton the rain pelted down.
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| With Wyatt and his girlfriend, Christina |
By the time we
arrived in Hermiston at 1:50, the skies were shifting to blue and the storm was
past. Midge said it had sent the party
indoors quickly! Everyone had just
finished watching the video of Wyatt’s speech at UofO….we asked for another
showing later in the afternoon and got it!
This party was for Wyatt from UofO and Jordan Smalley, OSU graduate – a
Civil War party! Smalley’s have a beautiful
backyard for entertaining – pool, putting green, and Ping-Pong table set up. And we were able to head outside by 3pm as
the sun warmed things up again. Nice
time seeing Wyatt and his girlfriend Christina, Margie and the kids, Cal’s
parents Richard and Priscilla who used to live across the street from us on
Second St. We left around 5:30!!
Quick stop for gas
at the Pilot and we pull into Emigrant at 6:45 – things have filled up
considerably! Two couples in the site
east of us traveling from BC down to Ghost Ranch! We visited with them for about 15 minutes,
and then set up the ends of the trailer, changed clothing, and went for a good
walk.
The forest is
thick with vegetation and flowers!
Thimbleberry, Queen’s Cup, Wild Roses, Red Columbine, Wild Honeysuckle,
Bunchberry, Paintbrush, and Wild Geraniums…to name a few we saw! The rain has made everything was green. We wandered up around the horse camp area,
then to group shelter, around the cabins, and back to the trailer. Inside to read and crossword (Rick), while I
organized my GA materials, downloaded some pictures from Wyatt’s party, and
wrote! In bed shortly after 10pm.
Sunday, June 24:
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| Mountain Lady Slipper |
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| Our Emigrant Springs campsite |
Sunday morning I
figured was my last stretch of six hours of unscheduled, relaxing pace for the
next two weeks! Things are going to get
busy from here on out! Rick and I spent
a leisurely morning, reading & drawing.
Then we took a walk along Westminster Lane past the Conference area,
spying and identifying wildflowers along the way. We went back up to the horse camp so I could
photograph some of the wild roses and honeysuckle up there. Rick had the major find of the morning: a
mountain ladyslipper! Similar to a
Fairyslipper, this white flower is bigger and has a yellow & red polka dot
“sock” slipping in at the back. A really
pretty orchid.
Back at the trailer
we showered and then eventually packed up, ate some lunch, and meandered our
way down to Westminster Woods (a whole mile!) and found plenty of people have
already arrived! Tours of trailers,
walks in the woods finding flowers, and visiting with Judy Wilkins and our crew
occupied the afternoon while the Session members met up in the chapel.
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| Dinner crew for the potluck! |
Bill and Pat
Fessel drove up to join us for dinner!
That made a total of 26 for the potluck, which was a FINE spread of
salads and meat entrees. Lynn and Rick
cleaned up most of the dishes and we met with Dale at 7 at the chapel, where he
introduced us to the camp and its history, talked about thinning trees a
little, and outlined some of the jobs ahead of us over the next two days:
staining the decks, ramp, and parking lot sides of the dining hall and dorm,
rubber molding along the baseboard in both sides of the bathhouse, spreading
bark chips on the trails, weeding around the chapel, new border “tree poles”
along the walk to the bathhouse, and thinning and pruning some trees.
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| Working HARD on devotions! |
After Dale was
finished, we dove right into our first Devotions. Katy is gone this coming Sunday, so our
devotions are going to focus on preparing the liturgy for worship and each
writing a portion of a sermon, which Amber will deliver since NONE of the rest
of us will be in church!! Tonight we
discussed Genesis 1 and our role and responsibility in God’s call to care for
Creation. We all agreed we didn’t like
the term ‘subdue’ used in NRSV, but rather like to figure we are to tend and
care, be responsible for, the natural world which is God’s gift to us. The opening hymn for Sunday was also
selected.
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| Lynn is dynamite at holding those sticks! |
Then campfire
time! Music books, instruments, guitar,
and s’more fixings were taken down to the campfire. Rick worked hard to get it going – things
were damp! But successfully done and
music flowed….in sorts! By 10 we headed
up to sleep! Amber and boys are in one
end of the dorm, Nanette and girls in the other end, Katy in a tent up in the
meadow field, Conks, Lynn, and us in our trailers.
Monday, June 25:
I am up at 6 to
head to the dining hall where I write, draw, and put the cinnamon rolls into
the oven for heating up! See Dale arrive
around 7am, and eventually everyone stumbles in to find some breakfast!
Our task for the
morning, which started out sunny and has turned cloudy, was the bathhouse and
the staining. The forecast for Tuesday
is rain, so we want to get the stain on with a chance to dry. But the clouds aren’t looking good. An opening prayer asking God for a little
time, and we are blessed with a BEAUTIFUL day of sunshine!!
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| Kate and Michelle stain away! |
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| Darrell lays down molding |
Bathhouse: It took most of the day, but Darrell, Rick,
and Nanette accomplished this task, with a little help from the three girls at
one point right before lunch. Thanks to
Dale for bringing up e-directions on how to turn the ‘corners’.
Staining: Katy, Cherrie, Lynn, Amber, myself, and the
three girls painted all morning. Katy
and I went up to the chapel and applied a coat on the air conditioning cover as
well.
Tree crew: Dale took Benny and Carl and they applied
bark chips to both playground areas, plus helped Dale cut down a few trees, one
of which will be used for the border of the bathhouse path.
Late morning,
Laura Harriman arrived with Corey and his friend Corbin, to work for the
day. They joined Dale and boys and did
some more tree thinning.
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| Benny & Carl cut down a tree! |
We broke for
lunch around noon.
Afternoon jobs
saw Katy, Amber, Laura, boys and girls all go with Dale to start spreading bark
chips on the paths up by the chapel, as well as around the trees in the aspen
grove. Lynn, Cherrie, and I began work
on the bathhouse path, while the molding crew continued their job! They finished!!
Work closed for
the day around 4:15. People were tired,
backs and knees were sore (old folks), or enthusiasm had waned (kids!). Showers, games, exploration followed.
Lasagna dinner
around 6! Still eating up the leftovers
from last night’s potluck as well.
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| S'more time again! |
Evening was
devotions (based on Matthew 4:8-11) and the writing of the Confession and
Assurance of Pardon and selection of the second hymn. Campfire included the “Spontaneous Melodrama”
skits of the Prodigal Son and Daniel and the Lion’s Den. We have some great actors and actresses in
this group! More songs and s’mores
created with peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies. (The PB was actually a prop for the skit, but
it it delicious on a s’more as well!)
Earlier to bed
tonight. People are tired!
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
I awoke around
1:30 to hear the sounds of raindrops on the canvas of our trailer, and then a
funny sound, which I finally figured was the raining hitting the plastic vent
cover in the bathroom! It rained
steadily all night and it still raining now as I write at 6:45 am. It could be a wet work day!
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| Tuesday work crew |
The group
gathered in the dining hall around 8:45 to finally meet with Dale – nearly .8
of an inch of rain has fallen since it started shortly after midnight. Forecast is for rain off and on all day long,
heavy at times. What to do?
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| Michelle, Kourtney, & Nanette wash chapel windows |
We meet up at the
chapel for Dale to share a presentation on trimming trees and forest
management. Interesting, but a little
over the heads and interests of our younger workers! And still too wet to actually go out and put
it into practice. So we put most of the
crew to work giving the chapel a thorough cleaning – bathrooms, windows,
etc. Rick and I went outside and weeded
the area that has been planted with a low growing drought resistant ground
cover. We got caught in a couple of
downpours, so quite wet when done!
After lunch we
got enough of a break in the rain to finish up the log borders on the bathhouse
path, finishing just as the skies opened again and it poured! By this time, Will had arrived to cut a few
of the final logs.
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| Afternoon hike! WET!! |
Back to the
dining hall to hold early devotions and finish up the liturgy, “sermon” and
hymns for Sunday’s service. Katy and
Will then left after taking down Katy’s VERY wet tent. Quiet afternoon, but around 4:45 we decided
the sun was momentarily shining and we would take a walk up to the Oregon Trail
ruts: Lynn, Cherrie, myself, Amber and the boys. A wet hike, but we saw tons of Mountain Lady
slippers, plus some of the invasive species that Dale had discussed this morning:
Hounds tongue and St. John’s Wort. I
learned a little!
Dinner was Wolf
Meal as Lynn put it – scrounge and find something to eat! Leftover lasagna, hotdogs, beans, spaghetti,
watermelon, etc. all put out and most consumed!
I also cleaned out three cupboards in the kitchen where the dishes had
been piled up helter-skelter.
No campfire
tonight. Too wet out. Evening enjoyed with a few games (Cherrie and
Lynn played a round of cards) while I played a few games left by the PYGS four
years ago with Amber and boys. All out
of the dining hall by 9:30 and into bed.
I stayed to write and draw for a few minutes, plus to read through a few
of the overtures for GA.
We have dropped
down to just 8 by tonight. But a good
time is still enjoyed by all.
Wednesday, June 27:
All cleaned,
checked out, and on our way by 10 am!!
Rick and I took Amber and boys home in our truck, which seemed to be a
great adventure for the boys! (although Benny fell asleep!)
Mission
Accomplished!! When Ed checked us out,
he was filled with praise for the work the group did and the conditions of the
grounds as we left. Great job Baker City
Presby!! Westminster Woods is in better
shape because WE WERE THERE!!
Click HERE to view all Westminster Woods pictures
Click HERE to view all wildflower pictures
