Geocachin' In

I made an unofficial goal to visit all 22 City of Fremont parks while I'm still here. Today I went a little out of the way to visit a park I had never even driven near before, and I also tried out a new hobby.

I have wanted to go geocaching ever since I found out about the concept. It's pretty much a treasure hunt for grown-ups. It all started with an article about geocaching in Brio magazine. After reading about that adventure, I was ready to set out on my own, but soon found out that I was lacking a several-hundred dollar piece of equipment. I remember when I was in my young teens and going for a walk with some friends, and my best friend's neighbor showed us a geocaching container he'd found before. While it was interesting to see it, how much cooler would it be to spend weekends actually finding these things? Since I got a Garmin for Christmas, and the weather has (finally!) warmed up, I decided that, at last, I would try out geocaching on my own.

This morning, I logged onto Geocaching.com and found an easy cache near Fremont, and wrote down the coordinates. After church, I ran a few errands, and then I drove over to Wildwood Park, which is in the vicinity of Fremont Lakes. It was a very beautiful road and reminded me a lot of the Rogue River area- minus the mountains. In fact, it was such a nice drive that I didn't even care that my GPS took me right past the entrance and told me to turn on several roads that didn't even exist. (I had just learned a few minutes earlier how to enter coordinates instead of an address, and soon after this I learned how to switch from driving mode to pedestrian mode- that made things easier!)

Wildwood Park is a natural park, with a trail looping from one entrance to the other. I knew this cache was a pill bottle. I thought it might be difficult to find such a small cache, especially with beer bottles and vagabond belongings strewn about. Yes, this is a place where I definitely wouldn't go to after sundown, but I felt perfectly safe walking it alone in the middle of the day. I only ran into one other person in the park, and he was very nonthreatening. He asked if I was mushroom hunting. I told him I was actually geocaching, and I had to explain to him what that was. As I got closer to the target coordinates, I began looking intently for the cache.

I was so happy when I found it. I literally said, "I found it! I can't believe I actually found it!" I'm actually surprised that I found it right away. The bottle was wrapped in camouflage duct tape, and it was hanging by a wire in a tree. I guess it was a good thing it was close to my eye level, because I noticed that there was something odd stuck to the tree before I realized that it was exactly what I'd been looking for.

Inside were two slips of paper- one was instructions and the other was the log list. I proudly added my name and date- in bright orange marker, no less. I put everything back in the capsule, and then continued on the walking loop back to my car. (The other guy at the park found me again, and I proudly told him about my finding!)

I took a scenic drive home after that, with a smile on my face and a desire to set out on another geocaching adventure soon. Of course, this is just one of many things that I ended up doing this weekend (others included giving a speech at the homeschool co-op, discovering the delicious flavor of cherry avocado smoothies, having a late-night Duck Dynasty marathon with friends, making giant peanut butter cups, having the kids over, and discovering that I can have semi-intelligent conversations in my sleep). But out of everything, geocaching was definitely a highlight!

Journey Through Photos

There are a lot of things I've done living here in the Fremont Area besides just work at camp. I took an EMT class. I got involved with church's Awana. I'm speaking my way to a CC in Toastmasters. I volunteer at the Jefferson House. (Last week, I was even able to bring the J-House kids to camp for an afternoon of climbing the wall, seeing the river from the observation tower, swinging on the giant swing, and cooking dinner over a fire. That was definitely the work highlight of the month!) But the highlight of living in this area is that I can GET AWAY! (I'm not being snarky; it's actually a nice centralized location to use as a "launch point" to see America.)

Sometimes I'm disappointed that I haven't afforded more travel, especially after I got my own car. But looking back, I actually have traveled quite a bit. I guess I'm just one of those people who could travel full-time! (I decided the other day that my dream job would be a traveling nonprofit ambassador.) Even before my "big trip" of moving from Oregon to Nebraska in August 2011, I spent that summer visiting places like the Rogue River via Rafting, Newport Beach, Monterrey, Camp Tadmor, and Crater Lake (all pictured above). Since that time, here is a little photo journey through my real journeys!

Black Hills, South Dakota- August 2011

Lifelight Christian Festival, South Dakota- September 2011

Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado- October 2011

Kansas City, Missouri- December 2011

Amtrak Ride from Omaha to Klamath Falls, Oregon- December 2011

Covenant Harbor and Geneva Lake, Wisconsin- March 2012

Adventureland Amusement Park, Iowa- July 2012

Nashville and Martin, Tennessee- September/October 2012 

Southern Oregon- December/January 2012/13

Crown College, Minnesota- February 2013 (I went in 2012 as well, but didn't bring a camera that time!)

Silver Birch Ranch, Wisconsin- March 2013

Central Nebraska- March 2013

It was fun to take a walk down memory lane and relive these memories. Not to mention there were so many local "trips". Some pictures I haven't seen in a long time, and I know that several of these trips were never really blogged about. I especially wanted to relive the moments spent in Tennessee. The dream for that trip began years ago, and it was amazing to turn that dream into one of my most adventurous trips! I actually wrote this blog post because I thought I might need to look back at the trips in the past, because, lately, I've been looking to the future.

In two weeks I'll be catching up with the rest of my family in Walt Disney World, Florida. People who haven't been there wonder why a family with adult children would want to go. While I admit that some of the attractions are cheesy and created just for kids, there's actually plenty to do as an adult. (But knowing my family, we'll be doing some of the "kid stuff" like character meet-and-greets, but we usually only do that when there's no line and we have the chance to interact with the characters- I once got several smooches from Eeyore! Oh, and we'll be doing absolutely everything that's related to Phineas and Ferb because we love that show and those things have only been added in the past couple of years.) The last time I went to Disney World was when I was turning 18, and I actually found more thrills than when I was a kid. I would actually consider taking a solo trip to Disney World myself, but there's so much more of the world that I have yet to explore.

My first, and so far only hostel experience was in Nashville a few months ago. And after getting my feet wet last year with a three-day Amtrak ride, I realized that there is more than just car and air travel. I found out recently that Greyhound is the actually safest form of transportation- who knew? Well, at least the prices are worth trying out- a round-trip bus ticket generally costs less than a one-way train or plane ticket! Between Disney World and prepping for family camp and summer camp, May is pretty much booked, along with the months of June and July. And while I don't know where I'll find myself in early August, I think that might be a good time to break up the transition between summer camp and whatever comes next. This weekend I've been looking up Niagara Falls. By taking the Greyhound and staying in a hostel, I could take a week-long vacation for around $300. That doesn't include food (most of which I'd bring) or attractions, but admission fees didn't seem too pricey, and I can take advantage of AAA discounts. It would also allow me to finally get to Canada. I made a "New Year's Goal" to get out of the country, but costs have been holding me back. Crossing a few feet over the border into Canada counts, right?

At this point, I know I'll go to Niagara Falls, but I don't know if it'll actually happen in August or if it will end up like my Tennessee trip and not happen until a few years later in a way I never would have guessed. Now that I think about it, my original Tennessee plans were put on hold because I had a rarer- and much cheaper- opportunity to serve in Mexico that summer. But no matter what happens, I have faith that something better will come this summer.

The Unwanted Roommate

I pride myself in being fairly low-maintenance. For the past twenty months, I've lived in a basement that could hardly be considered an apartment. Over the course of time, I've shared this basement with a total of seven housemates and numerous guests. But there are a few particular guests that were not invited, and I hope do not return.

My toilet has captured and killed three mice since I've lived here. Sticky traps have caught two more. A few weeks ago, I walked into my office after lunch break to find a plastic bag on my computer. A dead mouse was inside. (I screamed when I had seen the live version of that mouse running around earlier... oh, cruel office jokes.) Unfortunately, there have been several more mice around the home, but it seemed like they all eventually found their way back outside. In fact, after seeing a mouse run around in August, there has been no evidence of mice since. That is, until a few days ago.

While preparing lunch on Tuesday, I found two Jolly Ranchers on my hot pad. That was odd, since I kept the candy in the next drawer over. Then I realized that the pieces of candy had the wrappers torn off and displayed little teeth marks. Even worse, I noticed that my small rubber spatula had been completely chewed up! (Why was it so appealing? It was just clean rubber!) I took everything in that drawer to the camp kitchen so that I could sanitize it in the dishwasher. (I left the chewed-up spatula out; I'm never using that again!) And all of my food that didn't have a tight seal is being quarantined in a fridge or freezer.

Yesterday morning, around 6 am, I was enjoying my sleep when I heard the sound of rattling plastic. Thinking it was just part of my dream, I continued to sleep. When I heard it again, I realized that a small, annoying creature found a plastic object- right beside my bed! It ran away at the sound of my movement, and I didn't see it again.... until nighttime.

I was once again in bed (but this time I was awake with all the lights on), and I thought I saw something small and gray run between the couch and the desk. I saw it a few more times running around that area, which explains why I was unable to sleep until after midnight. I opened the lid of my toilet and dropped a few Jolly Ranchers in, hoping to attract it into the watery grave. I also slathered some mint toothpaste on my face. (Apparently the smell of mint is too strong for them, and I couldn't think of any other way to protect myself other than wearing toothpaste!) Although I did not trap him, fortunately I haven't seen my unwanted roommate at all this morning...yet.

Camp: The Movie

Recently, I've been thinking about how today's "Christianity" isn't really Christianity at all. Church service topics are more often selected based on how they will make the congregation feel and less often about how it will glorify God. Many Christians sugarcoat things to make life sound like an ever-wonderful thing. Perhaps it's even more than just Christians; maybe Christians are doing this because they, like everyone, want the storybook ending seen in the movies.

I just came back from a movie. In fact, it was a Christian movie. Very little was sugarcoated. And I liked it.

Camp Rivercrest often hosts the area's Royal Family Kids Camp. This is a camp for vulnerable and foster children. Theaters in areas that have a Royal Family Kids Camp have been showing the new movie, "Camp".  It just came to Fremont theaters this weekend. I was planning to go sometime this week (it only has a one-week run), but after running into Paula and Mikayla at the YMCA this afternoon, we made plans for me to go with them tonight. 

I currently work with foster kids several times per week. I've been asked if I share the gospel with any of them. In reality I do, but not they way that people expect me to share the gospel. Spirituality is one of the many tough subjects that could bring up a past hurt or send someone over the edge. I am a godly model for them, and I answer any questions they ask me, but I don't do the traditional "presenting the gospel". It's not that I'm shy or scared; it's because I know that, because of this touchy subject, they won't listen to me in the traditional way. 

I was wondering how a Christian movie would go about portraying foster kids. True, there are some very sweet foster kids (who often have many phobias or other challenges attached), but this only covers a portion of foster kids. These kids are more prone to get into fights, cuss people out, and break the law. I actually know someone who went to Royal Family Kids Camp, and he said that while he liked the free food, he thought the "religious stuff" was kind of stupid. I was curious as to how a Christian movie would go about this. After all, even though I've seen some good Christian productions before, bad words, physical contact, and other negative aspects magically don't appear in any of the difficult scenes. Let me just say, if you would get offended by an angry child flipping the bird, you may be offended by Camp! (But I think you should still see the movie anyway.) I don't advocate violence or vulgar language, but I appreciated how the producers didn't shy away from making this movie as realistic as possible.

Ken (the main character counselor) weasels his way into camp merely to impress a new client. Eli (the main character child) is seen getting beat (on his birthday no less, not that he ever got to celebrate his birthday in his lifetime), and later displays the scars to prove it. A girl whose mother wouldn't take her to school can't read her camp mail. Another girl is scared to go to bed because of the past experiences she had at night. A heavyset child tries riding a bike for the first time, saying she was told she was too fat to ride a bike. There's one boy where we don't know much about his past, but he's created his own back story convincing himself that he is from another planet and is waiting for his mother ship to take him back. Many children (and even some adults) cuss, fight, and have insecurities. In fact, the stereotypical gospel message isn't even presented in this film, but it's these real-life scenarios that point towards Christ. 

In fact, the only part I found remotely cheesy was the ending (I won't spoil it!). But even then, it wasn't exactly unrealistic. In fact, I think the ending will make more people think about ways they can contribute to this great cause. Oh, and it was pretty good acting too. Not "Christian good" but actual good.

Of course, along with the heart-wrenching scenes, there were some good moments too. After all, camp is one of the few places left in the world where kids can actually enjoy their childhood. Toward the end of the movie, counselor Ken says "It seems like now camp is real and my real life is fake." Because I work at a camp, I'm naturally a big fan of the power of camp. But I think this will speak even to people who have no experience with camp as well. 

I hope to take the time to see Camp.  (40% of theater profits go to help local Royal Family Kids Camps!) In fact, I may even go see it again. A word of warning, be prepared for realistic events, not the normal mushy movie stuff. But even more, be prepared to witness a film about a wonderful effort!

Note: This movie is only playing in select theaters across the country. Each theater has its own opening date, and all theaters will only run this movie for one week. Be sure to visit http://thecampmovie.com/ so that you won't miss out!