Sunset on CCR

A few weeks ago we had a spectacular evening when the sun was setting behind sheep mountain. I took a bunch of photos but just got around to editing for posting. It was awesome night when all the interns took pictures of the sunset and then enjoyed a nice camp fire on our patio. I really enjoy Colorado.

Click on it to see it larger. Totally worth it. The Colors are not enhanced just stiched a few photos together

Maintenance Rotation!

I found out on my first day way back on October 2nd that I would be in the Maintenance rotation of this year long internship.

For those of you who are not really exactly sure what I am doing out here at Crooked Creek Ranch is that I am learning about how a Young Life camp works by working in various departments. For October and November I will be in the Maintenance Department. Come December I will probably rotate into another area such as food services or guest services.

I was really excited about the maintenance rotation. I was expecting to learn to be a little more  handy and help fix problems on camp. Now CCR is one of the newest camps. Only being 12 years old the stuff that other camps have to do during a winter to maintain the property does not happen as much. More new projects happen around camp. Two projects that are being worked on camp are, the new ropes course and a facade for the gym. Our old ropes course was deemed unsafe SO we are building a brand new one on camp! It is pretty incredible so far. The theme on camp is a Mining theme so our game room and all over camp looks like it used to be an old mining facility. The gym just looks like a gym so we are going to be putting up a facade on both ends to make it reminiscent of a mining town.

Now this is where I come in. My ideas of fixing things on camp were change quickly when I was told I would be in charge of the saw mill.

This is My Home

I have been sawing logs and turning them into lumber for the last month. Mostly I am making 6x7's  for the ropes course I am not exactly sure what in the construction they will be used for but I made about 50 of them.                         

I usually work alone but I have for the past week had the opportunity work with Mr. David Bleckley. We milled 30 6 x 6's this week and hundred's of 1 by ? which is all the extra wood that was not part of our 6X6s they will be used for the facade in the gym.

Working the wood mill is definitely a challenge for me. I am a people person and being out behind the shop generally by myself is hard. So please be praying for me as I still run the SAW MIZER. I am sure I am out there for a reason and probably to center myself on the LORD. I am grateful to use that time to pray for people, ministry, camp, and my time out here.  I thought about Isaiah 30:21 a lot "Your ears will hear a word behind you, 'This is the way, walk in it,' whenever you turn to the right or to the left." It reminds me where ever I am placed for the Lord that is the way and I need to walk in it.

All and all time is been great so far here at Crooked Creek Ranch. 

First day of Work

So After arriving October first we were given time to move in and get settled then we were invited to a meet and greet dinner at Brett Wingo's home, he is the Camp Manager here at CCR. We were given and orientation on saturday and sunday was supposed to be our first official day of work.

Sunday Oct. 3rd started off awesome went to Church at 8:00 then headed to Doug and Sue Freitas house for an incredible breakfast. We then got back to camp and were walking to work around 1:00 pm when over the radio it was announced that there was a forest fire on the back side of Sheep mountain, which is the mountain Crooked Creek Ranch is on! Interns were instructed to help escort the guests that were still on camp out of camp and to pack our car with an emergency travel bag. It was crazy.


Thats camp on the right of the photo and the very start of the fire. The photo was taken by one of our neighbors. However when I was helping people leave from the entrance sign you could see the 80 foot flames it was frightening

After we evacuated the guests from camp, all of Camp staff took there cars (now full of the belongings i really didn't want to burn i.e. my guitar.) up to the office. We were told that we weren't being evacuated yet however a reverse 911 call told us to prepare to be evacuated (a reverse 911 is when 911 calls you!). We all sat up at the office we waited to see if the fire would co me over sheep mountain.

The fire department jumped right into action to stop the fire. They had slurry bombers out right away that is what the red stuff is. Another photo by our neighbor he had a great vantage point

Helicopters used the tiny pond on camp to grab water to dump on it.






We watched it for five hours and because there is a lot of dead pine trees from a pine beetle that kills them everyone thought it would be a horrible disaster. Every time the flame hit a new patch of dead trees you could just see the smoke expanding rapidly pretty strange. The maintenance staff trained us with a trial by fire attitude....any who they trained us on how to run hoses if the fire did come close enough though as they were telling us to use the hand sprayer for the garden hose I thought we may not have a huge impact but I went with it. Luckily we never had to use them!

This is a picture by Alyssa Guidon from out in front of the office. As we watched waiting.

The Lords hand was here at Crooked Creek the entire time. Wind is really bad in a forest fire. It pushes the fire along otherwise the fire has a harder time spreading. That sunday the wind, which normally comes over sheep mountain heading south east, which would have brought the fire right on top of us was blowing north west. It blew the fire away from any houses or property. It burned up 520 acres of public land. No property loss.

We never did work that day...

The Intern team!

I arrived at Crooked Creek Ranch October 1st to begin a year of Life in Fraser, Colorado.


I will be working here until September 30th 2011 with 8 other interns. We will all be living, working, and spending most of our free time together as we no next to no one in town and thats just how it goes interning for a Young Life Camp.

From Top to Bottom and left to right.

Alyssa Guidon- from the great State of Washington, She loves to laugh and laughs at me a lot although she assures me its cause I am funny not JUST cause I say dumb things

David Bleckley- from South Carolina the tallest one of our group. Incredible dude who is constantly blown away by the Lord and always willing to share which I need.

Amy Morgan- A true Texan who loves Texas (I dont know if there is any other type of texan) She loves to hunt and fish and literally says the funniest one liners in the world.

SECOND ROW

Brady Carter- the man from Tennessee who is a true red neck in all the best senses. Shoots guns, builds cars, drives dirt bikes, but is also an artist WHAT 

Becky Comston- From Ohio and loves to play Volley Ball which is the greatest sport so we get along expect she usually crushes me at all skills in it even spiking. (only slightly embarrassing)

Savannah Simon- Arizonan who loves tattoos!  Everyone one of them is a significant story in here life. She is super in to adventure sports and journaling.

Grant Alderman - A man from Michigan who was the most mannerisms out of all of us but also one of the most laid back people I have ever met. 

Third Row

Alex Phillpot- A great friend of mine who interned with me at Saranac the Last two summers. She has an incredible heart and loves people well.

Myself of Course

These are the 8 people the Lord has placed into my life to live, learn, and grow together. Please pray for us all that we would constantly push each other to the Lord and Love each other well! 

The Journey

A lot happened between accepting the internship and me actually arriving at Crooked Creek Ranch.

I managed to Graduate with a B.S. from Nazareth College in Rochester, NY

I worked at Young Life's Saranac Village on the Guest Services team. 

and finally I took a three week long road trip to get to Colorado.

The trip was meant to see some people who have influenced my life and also see and experience the Lord creation! It was an incredible road trip.

Started the journey Sept. 9th leaving Saranac Lake to head to Rochester, stayed in Rochester for five days until the 14th Hanging out with great friends and family the entire time. It was hard to say good bye to two very important places to me in less than a week but life goes on!

From Rochester I drove to Philadelphia and visit my good friends Tim Barnes and Christian Mikesell ran into my CIA buddy John Turman. Bummed around there for about five days just enjoying the time. Then drove down to Atlanta to hang out with the Fortier brothers and family. Lots of good times happening in Smyrna, GA definitely played some Vball.

From there the road trip got a lot longer with the driving but totally worth it. Drove 15 hrs from Atlanta to Austin, TX to go  wake boarding with Branden Stathes. He told me the drive wasn't bad and when you have books on tape it really isn't!

From Austin It took me two days but I drove another 17 hours to Phoenix Arizona where I hung out with Sarah Anderson and went to an Arizona State University football game. Unfortunately the Sun-devils lost!  The following day I headed to my main destination THE GRAND CANYON. 

The Canyon is one of those places even though it is full of tourists on the rim, it is a must see. 

It was definitely a spiritual high to be there in God's Creation. It seriously takes your breath away. Definitely a place I would like to return to one day.

I was at the GC for two days first night I looked out over the rim. The second day I walked 6 miles into it!

Originally I wanted to go to the Colorado river in one day and back up to the top but there multiple signs that warn against this. Seeing as I was hiking by myself I figured I would take it safe and not head the 9 miles to the river but go as far as I could. 

I took the Bright Angel trail which is supposed to be one of the more popular It also has about every 1.5 miles a drinking fountain and bathrooms which is super convenient. 

I made it to the check Point called Indian Garden which is a strange oasis in the desert terrain of the GC that was 4.6 miles down. Then I was talked into going out to Plateau point which was another 1.5 but when you get there it was totally worth it.

It was so incredible to see such a beautiful place and sit in the realization that God created both this and us and loves us SOOOO much more than the Grand Canyon. Crazy. 
Ephesians 3:19 "and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to the fullness of God." 

A Pilgrim

There are a number of reasons I chose the title Pi'stis which is the Greek for Faith. Faith has been the key word to my life over last 6-8 months. Since the day back in early March when Stu Nelson called me and asked me whether or not I wanted to be a year long intern at Crooked Creek Ranch a Young Life Camp. That day was the day I realized where the Lord was calling me for the next year. I believe all the things God has taught me over the Last six years were leading me to that point where I could either answer Gods call or say no. However he said "Ian, will you follow me out west? Will you leave your family, your friends, your mentors, and even your dog... and trust me?" That may be the short version so if you want the long one you will have to ask me! 


I have never lived away from Rochester, or Saranac Lake the only places I would call home. All the spiritual and family support will be striped away. However when God speaks to you one must answer him ya know? So I chose the word Faith, definition "conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it" Least thats what the internet tells me is the definition of Pi'stis and I LIKE IT!

I also used the word Pilgrim, mostly cause I dig the word. It has some incredible meaning behind it but I have always thought of it as a person on a journey for something real. I am trying to be Faithful to Jesus by coming out here and taking this pilgrimage if you will. 

Two definitions 

1. a person who journeys, esp. a long distance, to some sacredplace as an act of religious devotion: pilgrims to the HolyLand.

   2.

a traveler or wanderer, esp. in a foreign place

3.a newcomer to a region or place, esp. to the western U.S.

So i see myself as a pilgrim out here.

All of these apply to me in some form. I wish this time for me at Crooked Creek to be full of rich community with the 8 other interns I live, work, and hang out with. Also that this year would be full of me choosing to be Faithful to the Lord. Thank you for reading a little about what is happening in my life and sharing it with me.