Wednesday, November 24, 2004

Thanksgiving

It seems strange to be back in Birmingham. I feel like I have been gone for a long time even though it has been only a few weeks. I will be here until Jan. 4th with a few exceptions. I am going to Savannah for a week (CCI conference) and then to Park City for a week to ski with my family.

Thanksgiving was good. My family and I went to eat at both of my grandmother's houses. One for lunch and one for dinner. They live about a mile apart in Birmingham. It was fun as always.


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http://saundha.dotphoto.com/CPListAlbums.asp

Friday, November 19, 2004

Portland and Seattle Nov.18-22

Another Roadtrip begins...

Nov.18, Thursday
We left the ranch early for Portland today. We crammed ourselves into the Ranch's Jeep Cherokee. Travis stayed back to do some things around the ranch. Our first stop was George Fox University. Gearge Fox is a small school in Portland (about 1000 students I think). We set up a table and played the Ranch video while we talked with the students about the Ranch. The purpose of our visit was to promote the Ranch.

That night we stayed with the Gilbertson's. They are a JH host family and have been to the Ranch several times. They were great. Also, that night Dan's brother, who lives in Portland, showed us around the well known 23rd street and gave us a tour of downtown Portland. There are many coffee shops in Portland.

Nov.19, Friday
We left the Gilbertson's house early Friday morning and picked Dan up from his brother's apartment on our way out of the city. Today we drove to Seattle Pacific University in downtown Seattle to meet up with Sara (our contact their). We set up a table like we did at George Fox and basically did the same thing (promote JH and talke to people).

Seattle is an awesome city (also with lots of coffee shops). We stayed with the Zorn family for the entire weekend. We felt so welcome in their household. SaraRachel Zorn (the two oldest daughters) showed us around the city (the tour was great). We ate Dinner Friday night at a small Mexican restaraunt named Mama's. It is supposedly the best Mexican restaraunt in Seattle.

Nov.20, Saturday
We woke up this morning and Mr. Zorn (Jim) told us he was going to take us on a tour of the Seattle Seahawks headquarters. He is the quarterbacks coach for the team and played for the Seahawks in the late 70's and early 80's. It was great! We got to see all of the training facilites and the locker rooms and offices. This took about half of the day.

The Auburn Alabama game was today. I got to watch the 4th quarter but it was over by then. Auburn won easily but the score was not that impressive (21-13). I wish I had been able to watch all of the game.

The Zorn girls took us to Pike's Place market today. This is one of the most well know things to see in Seattle. It is a market that is covered and right on the edge of Puget Sound. This is where they "throw" the fish and people buy them. We also visited the first Starbuck's today and ate Clam chowder at Puget Sound. Mrs. Zorn cooked dinner tonight and then we went downtown.

Nov.21, Sunday
We went to church with the Zorn's this morning. After church we went to the Seahawks game against the dolphins at Quest field in Seattle. The four of us got tickets for $5 each and then the Zorn's got us into the club level seats. The Seahawks won by 7 on a last second interception that was returned for a touchdown. We got to meet several of the players after the game with Jim Zorn.

Dan, Chris, and Matt left to return to the Ranch after the game (9 hr drive). I went to eat Sushi with the Zorn family after the game because I was flying back to b'ham from Seattle the next morning. Overall, It was a great trip! We had a lot of fun.

Nov.22, Monday
Sara Zorn took me to the airport early Monday morning. I left the Seattle Tacoma airport at 11:15am and arrived in Birmingham at 11:15pm. It was a long day.


Goto this website to see all of my pictures:
http://saundha.dotphoto.com/CPListAlbums.asp

Saturday, November 13, 2004


Dan, Harris, and Chris on the top of Castle Dome. Mt. Shasta is in the background. The view from the top of the dome was one of the most impressive views I have ever seen.Not bad for the first weekend here... Posted by Hello

Friday, November 12, 2004

Weekly Update Nov. 5-12

I have been here a little over a week now and alot has happened. Last Friday we went to an Etna High School football game. It was so cold. The Etna Lions lost to the Mt. Shasta bears 47-20 to complete their winless season. The game was also homecoming. One of the girls rode in at halftime on the hood of an 18 wheeler tractor (I know you wish you could have done that, right Kathryn?). The game was fun. I think the crowd thought we were a little crazy. Jonathan Jensen and a friend of his came to visit us for the weekend. We went to Castle Crags state park. I have always wanted to go there. It was even better than I expected. The rocks are so big. We hiked for about 2 hours to get to Castle Dome (see pictures)and then we climbed it without ropes. It is like a miniature half dome (yosemite) without the crowds. The view was incredible. It was the highest point for hundreds of miles. Definitely one of the coolest things I have climbed so far. Jim (my brother) and I hope to return to it this summer and climb one of the more difficult routes to the top with climbing gear. Sunday, we went to Bethel Church in Redding, CA. We stayed Saturday night with some guys who are in the school of ministry at Bethel. The best way to describe Bethel is the California version of Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, if that makes any sense. Sunday night was the JH Ranch potluck dinner. The winter staff has a potluck dinner at least once a month during the winter months to fellowship and share what God is doing in there lives.I met several people for the first time at this dinner.

Monday Night Matt suggested we spend and hour reading the Bible or another book and share what we learned from it. 3 hours later we finished sharing what each of us had learned. It was an amazing time of fellowship that definitely brought us much closer together and helped us to know where each person is at and what they are struggling with. I think we are going to try to do this at least 2x per week. Matt also suggested we come up with a basic structure for our off time during the week. So that is something we are thinking and praying through as a group.

Tuesday through Friday were pretty much the same. There is a group here until Friday so we have worked in the kitchen for 1/2 of each day (washing dishes, cooking, cleaning). I have been working to get flight info together each of us (5)for the holidays and the Christian Camping International Conference in Savannah,GA we will attend in December. Matt and Chris Installed the Wood burning Stove in our house (The Greanbean is actually a double wide trailor). Also, the heat quit working yesterday so it is cold in the mornings in the house.

That is about all that happened this week. We have big plans for the weekend though. Tomorrow it is Mtn biking in the morning, and then we plan to take a break to watch Auburn Destroy Georgia on their way to winning the National Championship. I wish I could be there. It will be so much fun. War Eagle! Sunday we plan to go fishing for trout in the morning and then to church at Bethel in Redding that night. Don't forget to check out my new picures at the link listed below...

Great Verse:
Psalm 31:24 Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.

Goto this website to see all of my pictures:
http://saundha.dotphoto.com/CPListAlbums.asp

Road Trip Nation by Matt Nolan

Road Trip Nation by Matt Nolan

Three days after resigning my previous job, I was on the road heading across this great nation. Harris generously designated his stylish white volvo for our travels, and Sunday afternoon we met at the GA-AL line to head west. We stopped in at Birmingham to meet three lovely ladies for some Arby's, and then it was time to take some ground.
We tackled five states that night - Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. A special thanks to cracker barrel's genius system of renting books on CD...Lisa Beamer kept us enthralled with her recollection of Sept 11 in "Let's Roll." We finally decided to call it a night, stopping just past Oklahoma City to crash around 3am. Pulling off the nearest exit, we ironically threw up a tent right beside a recently gutted motel.
Day 2 we woke up early to a cloudy cold wind and some penned up buffalo down the hill...only in Oklahoma, folks. After some delicious sausage biscuits we were back on the interstate into Texas, stopping in Amarillo for some much needed cowboy hats (yeah c'mon). Upon entering New Mexico we drove, much to our surprise, straight through a blizzard. Harris insisted we pull over and get out, but I refused to make snow angels. We busted it all the way to Flagstaff Arizona, passing some beautiful scenery in the painted deserts and rock faces. The CD player broke so we managed to get by finding some killer AM stations featuring the likes of Savage, Hannitize and El Rushbo. Two days down and we had flat crossed the entire nation. We snagged a room at the Super 8 for an actual good night's sleep.
Early the next freezing morning, we shot up to the Grand Canyon, hooked up a national park pass, and cruised the rim. After driving around and getting lost for about an hour, we bagged the tourbus for our own exploration of multiple viewpoints. You could find the trusty volvo pulled over along the road as we hiked up through the woods to scope some breathtaking cliffs. Mid-afternoon we'd seen all we came to see, so we shot up to Zion National park in Utah. This place was absolutely amazing, driving through the towering walls of the canyon until dark. There were some killer day hikes that we didn't have time for, so put it in the books, we'll be back. Once the sun had set, we detoured down to Vegas, since I'd never seen it before. (Vegas, baby, Vegas). We ate at the famous Binion's Horseshoe and caught a lightshow on the ceiling of Freemont Street, and then enjoyed some cheesy old geezer with a mullet and a velvet jacket play his saxamophone. We walked the casinos in the new section, and though they looked pretty interesting, going from the beauty and majesty of creation to the corniness of adult-disneyland disenfranchised me. Speaking of disenfranchisement, the election was that night, so we'd intermittently watch polls come in. Vegased out, we drove to the outskirts of the city to grab a room at a normal hotel. It was late, and they gave us the last room just as Ohio went for Dubya. Four more years, beeyotch!
Rising late we piled back in our travelmobile to head west into Death Valley. I was expecting a flat wasteland barely eyecatching beyond some cracks in the ground. What we encountered was an extremely mountainous region spotted with dunes in the valleys. The car struggled.
Next destination was Sequoia National Park and then King's Canyon, but we soon found out that there is not eastern entrance to either park. A massive Lord-of-the-rings-mountain range void of any overpasses. So we followed along the base figuring on an afternoon at Yosemite. A pitstop at a ranger's station along the way informed us that the only way we could get in the park was to completely circle it, since snow had closed all entrances but the South gate. We were further informed to "just get in the car and drive," to immediately continue North, or we wouldn't get through the oncoming snowstorm about to blanket the overpass ahead. We hit the road and soon met old man winter. Although Harris nearly freaked driving, I rather enjoyed the experience of traversing extreme geography through extreme weather. Once we got through the storm, I gladly volunteered to drive the rest of the night to Susanville, CA. Harris was not impressed. Whats up Super 8?
Morning we sprung for the nostalgia of breakfast at a Black Bear diner, then took our time enjoying the scenery towards Shasta and then made the final leg to the Ranch. 5 days, 3000 miles, and 500 dollars later, we'd accomplished one of the top bullets on the list of "things to do before I die."

by Matt Nolan

Goto this website to see all of my pictures:
http://saundha.dotphoto.com/CPListAlbums.asp

Tuesday, November 09, 2004


This is a great view of Mt. Shasta, located about 1 hour from JH Ranch. Posted by Hello

Friday, November 05, 2004


Picture from the trip out to California. Whiteout in New Mexico. It was cold. Posted by Hello

Thursday, November 04, 2004

Trip Log - Birmingham,AL to Etna,CA

It has taken me longer than expected to to get this update out. Here it is...
The trip across the US was incredible! Below is the day to day log of the trip. Matt Nolan road with and is also participating in the program at the JH Ranch. I will be adding pictures to this post as soon as I learn how to do it.

Oct. 31, Day 1
- I left Birmingham at 11am to meet Matt at the Georgia State Line (He is from Atlanta).
- We drove from until 3am and made it to the west side of Oklahoma City where we camped for the night (see picture of campsite)
- Traveled a little over 1000 miles today mostly at night
- It was a slow start because the drive to Memphis was very slow (not interstate highways the entire way), but we made it a long way. Our goal was Amarillo, Texas (probably to ambitious). We were 200 miles short.
- There was not much to see between Birmingham and Oklahoma City so we made few stops today

Nov. 1, Day 2

- Today we drove from the west side of Oklahoma City to Williams, Arizona (50 miles from Grand Canyon National Park) see picture of hotel (It was to cold to camp, below 20).

- 900 miles traveled today

- We drove through a blizzard in New Mexico today (see picture). The weather changed from Sunny and Mild to cold and snowing in about 5 miles. It took about two hours to drive through the storm. It was snowing so hard we could barely see the road (6 inches of snow on the ground).

- Matt and I stopped in Amarillo, Texas to buy Cowboy Hats, Something that will be very useful at the Ranch. Notice I am wearing mine in many of the pictures.

- There was very little traffic today and it was interstate all the way so the drive was easy.

Today was a great day. The scenery west of Albuquerque, New Mexico was the best yet. It is a desert with many plateaus (see pictures). The tape player in the volvo quit working this morning. So we can't listen to CD's or books on tape. It was very cold today.

Nov. 2, Day 3

- Now we are finally in the area we came to see. From here on the rest of the trip is non stop beautiful scenery. We plan to take our time (somewhat) from here to the Ranch.

- We left Williams, Arizona at 7:15am for the Grand Canyon (51 miles)

- Upon arrival at the Grand Canyon we wandered around for a little bit trying to get our bearings and decide what to see on our limited time schedule.

- We walked to the Kolb Studio first. This was where two brothers built a chalet style house on the rim of the Grand Canyon in the 1900's.They were photographers and all around adventure lovers. They took numerous trips down the Colorado river in home made boats and other crazy things. See this link for more info http://www.kaet.asu.edu/kolb/thestory.html . Jim, I think this is what we were meant to do.

- Next, we decided to bypass the guided bus tour to explore the canyon on our own. We took off in the volvo down the Desert View Road (about 30 miles long). See pictures. We did not have much time to do any of the day hikes, but that is definitely something I want to return and do one day. The views were incredible as you can see from the pictures (If I ever get them added).

- We left the Grand Canyon and continued on to Zion National Park, which is north of the Grand Canyon. This looks much closer on a map than it is. It took about 3 hours to get there, We arrived just before dark.

- We took the Inner Canyon Road through Zion. This took us through a tunnel that was over a mile long and opened up to stunning views of the canyon. It is difficult to describe the difference between the Grand Canyon and Zion. They are both so beautiful (see pictures) in very different ways.

- Time was running short so we drove to the end of the canyon and took a short hike through the Zion Narrows and took a few pictures. I definitely want to visit Zion again when I have more time for the day hikes.

- Next Stop Las Vegas!

- Matt had not been to Las Vegas so we had to stop and see a few sites (see pictures). We ate at the World Famous Binions Horseshoe Casino. Home of the World Series of Poker. Then we saw the light show on Freemont Street (http://www.troutman.org/trips/vegas-gc/freemont.html ) and visited a few casinos, took some pictures and went to sleep.

To be continued...




Trip Log - Birmingham,AL to Etna,CA part II

Part II: Birmingham to California

Nov.3, Day 4

- The plan was to leave Las Vegas early, but it did not happen.
- The route I planned for the day included visits to Death Valley, Sequoia, and King's canyon, and camping at Yosemite National Parks. Due to snow storms were were able to visit only Death Valley.

- Death Valley was incredible. It seemed like we were on another planet or something out of the movie "Lord of the Rings"(Matt said). It took several hours to drive through it. The drive was great (see pictures)
- Once we were through Death Valley the weather began to change. I had to drive through another near Blizzard on our way to highway 395 West of Death Valley. It was terrible. The sun went down while we were in the middle of a steep mountain pass. The roads started to Ice up and we almost had to stop for the night and continue on the next morning. We made it through and drove on through Reno, Nevada to Susanville, CA where we stopped for the night.
- We took many pictures today.

Nov. 4, Day 5

- We slept in this morning until 10:30am. We are not far from the Ranch so we planned to take out time.
- Tried to go to Lassen National Park but it was closed due to snow storms.
- Stopped in Mt.Shasta City to try on snowboard boots. Walked around town for awhile.
- Arrived at the JH Ranch at 3:30pm
- Dan Price cooked Chili for Dinner, I moved into the Grean Bean (where we will live for the winter).

Summary:
Overall it was a great trip across the US, lots of adventure. Curt and David, you missed out. Hopefully this was the first of many cross country trips. There are so many more things to see. Maybe we will go through Montana and Wyoming next time? I will be adding the pictures very soon.





Monday, November 01, 2004

Why am I in California???

The profile picture is from my cross country trip to Northern California. It is from a snowstorm in New Mexico. I am in Northern California until the end August (I think? just kidding Mom)working at the JH Ranch (a Christian Outdoor Adventure Camp for parents,teens, and high school students). There are 6 guys here. Soon to be 5 (but that is another story). We do everything together. We are here to work, study, and seek the Lord's direction for our lives. The scenery is beautiful. We are in the mountains of Northern California about 40 miles from Oregon. Check out my link to www.JHRanch.com to see what the place looks like. Also look at my photo link (Harris's Photos)where I have around 900 (and growing)of my best digital pictures.