Student Adventure Trip to Colorado

The Student Colorado Adventure trip was July 9-18, 2010.  

To view the Colorado Adventure trip photo album, click here.

Here are journal writings from some of the students (more recent posts are first):

The trip has been extremely awesome. I would even consider it to be more physically challenging and a lot more beautiful than the Michigan Lighthouse Tour. I am glad to say that I am not affected by the altitude that much unless I am biking. Wednesday was when we had gone hiking. I had chosen to attempt to climb mtn. Yale figuring that I would not be able to make it. The part of Yale that really made me struggle was the extremely steep inclines that would always take a lot of energy to get over them. I would take the time to sit down and take a break for a few minutes then venture on. After getting over the tree line is when I was wondering if I was going to make it. Eventually I had caught up to a group of people and stuck with them for a little while. Bouldering was both the most difficult and fun part of the climb. I knew that I had to make it. It was so awesome actually summiting and seeing a bunch of your friends cheering you on. The view was spectacular. The riding that was this week was also a blast, I even enjoyed the white river rafting. The horseback riding was also awesome.

                  -Alex Good

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Hi everyone, it has been a great trip and I’m sure the bus ride home will be just as fun. Last night was amazing we stayed at Noah’s Arc, a rafting and camping place. A bunch of guys and I slept outside under the stars, we saw a few shooting stars and watched a lightning storm in the distance. This morning we went white water rafting which was a ton of fun. My guide, Aaron, was awesome and we had a lot of fun. Afterwards we had lunch and rode the buses to Breckenridge where we are staying tonight. We shopped and wandered around in Breckenridge tonight, which was a blast. Now we are in the middle of a baggo (bag toss game) tournament, which I lost, but I still had fun playing. Thanks for all your prayers for safety and a good time.

-Nick Hein 

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So, this is GG the beast biker. Just to state it humbly. So today was(/is?) the second day, the “easy day”. Ha. ha. ha. It was a gradual incline along this pretty stream for 17.3 miles or such. Granny-Gearing it almost all the way up, huffing and puffing and sweating and yeah.. There was a point where we stopped and prayed for strength because all of us just didn’t want to be there. After that prayer guys, it wasn’t necessarily less strenuous but something had definitely changed about the second half of that mountain. I think it was God, but that’s just an assumption. We arrived at lunch, and I slept. Then we finished the oh-so-hard work of going down what we just came up.

And a special call out to Mr. Dekker: I told you I would do this. I’m having a great time. I like Jesus and He likes me too.

Sincerely, GG

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Like the title says, this trip has been really amazing. And not just the biking…  the hanging out after a long day, the baggo turney, and the sense of companionship camping creates. Another worthy mention, the landscape.  The stars are amazing (I’m sitting under around a million now), and the cloudless skies that accompany them.  We are also moving camp tomorrow. Even though our tent looks like a tornado went through it, we still have to pack it all up by 7 AM next morning. That will be a challenge…

-Presto-Chango (or so I’ve been named?)

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To my dear friends and family,

I am having a great time here in Colorado. Even though it took two days in a big, white bus with uncomfortable sleeping positions, it has been totally worth it. The hills/mountains have pushed me mentally and physically I have loved getting closer to my Ohana (family) and to God. Everywhere you look you can see the beautiful, snow-capped mountains and God was definitely having fun when he was creating this beautiful state. Only one more day of biking left in my bike trip career, but it’s been a great trip to end with. I miss all of you and look forward to seeing you very soon!

Love, Catie Sattler

PS. Shout out to my girl Jaleccia, you better be behaving this week!

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This trip has been amazing. There have been ups and downs, (climbing and descending), some headaches and sick people, but today we are all have fun at the rec center showering and swimming, and also at the campsite, where we get to eat amazing meals, play catch with the Frisbee, play awesome games of tips, then also some cards. It has been raining most every night but I am still sleeping like a baby. All in all, this has been a great trip and all the time I feel I am growing closer to God.

-Nick Loubert

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I love going on these trips(this is my fourth); It’s so nice to get away and focus on God. The challenge of biking and bonding with my bike group are some of my favorite parts. There are always all sorts of interesting adventures and surprises on bike trips. For example, there was no running water at our camp site. So after four days with no shower, our leaders were willing to bring us to a local rec center… and I’m writing this after my first shower of the trip. Wow does it feel good to be clean! One of the many things I take for granted: a shower.   Thanks for all the support and encouragement and prayer!

~Stephanie Tolbert

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I’m having an AMAZING trip so far! This trip is so unlike anything I’ve ever done before, and it has been a really eye opening experience for me. It really takes a lot of dependence on God to make it up the mountains. I’m learning how to be more of an encourager to others who have a harder time, as well as how too ask for help when I am struggling. Today we went up Vail pass, which was just incredible! The views here are so beautiful! I’m making lots of new friends, and meeting lots of upperclassmen. We got to go to a rec center today to swim. That was the highlight of today because we got to take a shower for the first time this trip! I’m having so much fun this week! Libby, you should have come! Thanks for prayers and support from home!

~Lydia Angell

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Hi sarah, it’s Grant. The week is going really good. I’m having a blast. Today we biked up a not too steep hill that was realy long…kind of a bummer. We had lunch at the top of that and then we road back down.  It was the best part of the trip so far.  We road through the woods on a bike path between two mountains along a river. That was a mouth full.  I sang on the way down and enjoyed the views.  Now we are waiting in a pool lobby to go back for dinner of spaghetti and meatballs.   Well I hope your week in Iowa is going well.

Love you, Grant

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Hey Mom and Dad. The trip is great. Aside from a little sunburn we’re having a great time biking up and down the huge Rockies. The food is great and the people are awesome. The first day we rode up Loveland which was huge, we didn’t get all the way up, but it’s ok. Vail Pass was sweet also and the ride down was amazing.`

Love you,

Robert

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