Ahh, the Beauty

"I will exalt you, my God the King I will praise your name for ever and ever.

Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.

They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works.

They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds.

They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness."

Psalm 145:1-7

Our God amazes me! Oh, the beauty of His creation. Even in the snow.

(these were taken from our backyard)

History Made!

We hosted a Men's Weekend Retreat here at Big Canyon this past weekend. This was our first time cooking/serving in the yurt. It was awesome! 

Just as the men were arriving, this cow moose was curious of all the commotion. She walked straight for the yurt and just checked it all out.

She stood 10 ft from the yurt door. Peaking in. She must have known we were serving ELK chili.  She was here to encourage more "elk" eating.

Some of my great helpers.

 

First meal in the yurt!

Saturday afternoon we provided activities.

Trap Shoot

 

 

Tomahawk Toss

Caleb was in charge of explaining and scoring this one.

 

    

.22 Rifle Shootout

Hudson was the guide at this station.

 

3-man Football slingshot

 

Adventure Golf

The Snack Shop

Casino Night

Up left pic - Scott teaching my children how to play Craps. What a bad influence! Well, he could have been had he known how to play himself.

FYI - There was no money or alcohol involved. Just a lot of poker chips, peanuts, and soda. Great evening of fun.

Josh Rosenthal led worship and there were 3 different speakers (Brian included)They also had lots of small group break-out times. The men were challenged, encouraged, and changed!!

sidenote: Bill (one of the speakers) was at the Rescue Mission Friday morning and asked 4 homeless men to join him for the weekend. They came (with a counselor) and were truly ministered to.

Thanks to all of you Bloggy Friends for praying.

We've Come A Long Way, Baby

 

Spring of '08 was momentous for Big Canyon. We finished the first lodge. Aspen Lodge sleeps 48 and sits in an open meadow surrounded by beautiful mountain views. It was in full use all summer and many weekends in the fall.

We needed one more thing. A place to feed these people.

Next Project: Kitchen/Dining Hall

Because we did not have the moola to build the actual Dining Hall, we decided to build a Yurt. Yep, a yurt.  Scroll down and watch the progress of our future "Silver Spur Cafe"...

Preparing the ground

Radiant tubing down                            Cement getting poured

Yurt arriving in boxes

Constructing the yurt

Cement stained                     Kitchen wall getting framed

Final touches to the kitchen wall. Kitchen and pantry are supplied.

 

Tables and chairs in dining hall

Done!

This weekend (tonight) is our first group that we will cook for/serve them in the Silver Spur Cafe. We are excited!

Please be praying for the men that will be here this weekend.

Who woulda thunk?

A chicken getting a bath!!

Some friends of ours moved and they gave us their chickens. They are Silkies. Our friends mentioned that they give them baths on occasions - Abbi was all over that idea.  I will say, they were fluffy and very pretty once they dried.

Way Cool ~ literally

OK. Today's "To do" list: Build Igloo!

We watched the "how to" video. Decided we would make a 10 ft diameter igloo. Grabbed the shovels and went to work.

This handy dandy little block maker is called the "Ice Box".

Caleb Hudson and Weston filled the box with snow.

   

Brian and the girls packed it in.

This was the first layer of snow blocks.

Halfway there!

These were the cutest little helpers. 

Digging out the door and making the finishing touches.

The work is done. Where are all the people?

 

Here are the people... Inside the Igloo!

 

 

Now all we need is a few penguins and polar bears. (hmm...maybe NOT the polar bears!)

ps  this is a post i have had in my "drafts" folder for awhile.  apparently, i forgot to publish it.  anyhow, this actually took place a few weeks ago.