Four Moose and Elk
I landed in Jackson Hole around 2:45 p.m. today. The airport is nestled in the valley between the mountains… it’s so incredibly beautiful. We drove 40 minutes back to Turpin Meadow Ranch. The drive alone was astounding… we went through Moose Alley, and the guy driving us told us a bunch of stories about the history behind Jackson Hole. I’ll have to write them all down sometime this summer.
We got back to the ranch and spent some time unpacking and resting. A little later, we drove to Diamond D Ranch… a subset of Turpin Meadow about 3 miles down the road. We saw four moose by the side of the road on the way there, not to mention numerous herds of elk along the way. We even saw some huge osprey nests as well, along with a couple hawks that were flying low.
I can hardly believe that I’m here. The vast majority of the horses aren’t here yet… they’re still grazing in a pasture about an hour and a half back up the valley. We should be driving up there in a couple days to herd them back down.
Published on May 8, 2008 at 10:05 pm.
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Filed under Wyoming.
Postcards and Snail Mail
I’m heading out tomorrow… I know, it’s like a virtual count-down. For those of you who enjoy sending care-packages, you found the right place… I enjoy receiving them. :)
My address for the summer is:
Cowboy Codington
Turpin Meadow Ranch
24505 Buffalo Valley Road
Box 77
Moran, WY 83013
Just for the benefit of my family and friends…
Published on May 7, 2008 at 8:40 am.
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Filed under Wyoming.
One More Day
One more day before I fly out to Wyoming. My flight leaves at 7:00 a.m. from Nashville airport on Thursday morning… it’s kind of nuts. I’m flying to Atlanta and then to Salt Lake City and then to Jackson Hole, WY.
I can’t believe it’s already time for me to start the summer there. I cannot wait to take pictures… and to ride a horse again.
Published on May 6, 2008 at 5:22 pm.
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Filed under Wyoming.
New Beginnings
It’s the start of the summer before my junior year of college. I can hardly believe that time has flown by this fast. I still remember the weekend I came up to Covenant to visit my sisters when they were in college.. I was only just starting my senior year of high school, and we had just flown back from England - September 23, 2005. I remember not being able to wait to get to Covenant.. and I remember meeting a bunch of Betsy’s friends — people who have been some of my best friends and greatest blessings during the last two years of being at Covenant.
Three years down the road, they have all graduated… along with Bets. It kind of hit me today that they won’t be back at school in the fall semester when I go back. It was hard saying goodbye today.
Published on May 4, 2008 at 4:36 pm.
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Filed under Friends.
Skiing and Incense
My dad sent me this devotional on prayer… It’s long, but it’s so good and so worth reading. You can spare 7 minutes to read this.
People who ski, I suppose, are people who happen to like skiing, who have time for skiing, who can afford to ski, and who are good at skiing. Recently I found that I often treat prayer as though it were a sport like skiing–something you do if you like it, something you do in your spare time, something you do if you can afford the trouble, something you do if you’re good at it. Otherwise you do without it most of the time. When you get in a pinch you try it and then you call an expert.
But prayer isn’t a sport. It’s work. As soon as I’ve said that I’m in trouble because so many sports have become professional and as such are almost wholly indistinguishable from work. I could say that work is something you have to decide to do, you have to allow time for, you have to go at with energy, skill and concentration. But all those things could be said of the big business which is sports. Competition is deadly, equipment highly technical and expensive, salaries absurdly high.
But prayer is no game. Even if you are part of a “team,” as when others join you in prayer, you are not cheered on by spectators or coached by any experts. You won’t get any trophies–not on this side of the Jordan, anyway. It’s not likely you’ll get any credit at all. For some people prayer might fall into the category of “fun,” but that’s not usually the reason we pray. It’s a matter of need and responsibility. (more…)
Published on May 2, 2008 at 1:29 pm.
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Filed under Quotes/Readings, Prayer.
Hours Away
I’m literally hours away from being done… my last final is at 2:00 p.m. today, and I just want it to be over. It’s just a cumulative calculus and finite math final. I should probably start studying for it, considering it’s in about four hours… yeah, I should be hopping on that train pretty soon.
Published on Apr 30, 2008 at 8:48 am.
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Filed under A Day in the Life.
Finals - Finally
I’m FINALLY taking my finals. I’ve been studying and anticipating getting these over for about a solid week now. I have my first two today, and then another one tomorrow… and then I am DONE! I’ve got my CHOW 2 exam at 10:30 a.m. and then my accounting final at 4:30 p.m. (that one’s going to be a beast - pray for me).
I was looking at pictures of Wyoming this morning that were taken by one of the guys that I’ll be working with out there… the vast majority were pictures of wolves, bald eagles, bison, elk, and a stray grizzly bear. Mm mm mmmmm… here I come, ready or not.
Published on Apr 29, 2008 at 7:01 am.
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Filed under Academics, Wyoming.
End of Sophomore Year
Forgive me for not writing more. It’s crunch time right now, and I’m trying desperately to finish the year out strong. It’s so hard not to become burned out with studying for tests and exams, writing papers, giving presentations, and doing homework. I’m exhausted… three more days left of finals, and then I’ll be done by sophomore year of college. It’s hard to believe.
I’m flying out to Jackson Hole, Wyoming in a week and a half. Hard to believe. I look forward to writing about my time there, as well as the next week or so as I prepare to head out there. The writing might be spare for the next few days though. I’ve got to keep my head down with studying. I have my CHOW II and Accounting finals on Tuesday, and then a cumulative Finite Math and Applied Calculus final on Wednesday. I also have a ten page Business Management paper (my final) due on Wednesday.. it’s a case study analysis on Outback Steakhouse.
Three more days and I’ll be finished. Until then…
Published on Apr 26, 2008 at 2:48 pm.
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Filed under Academics.
Worthy of Being Written
I’m utterly exhausted right now. My day has been… long, interesting, discouraging, somewhat frustrating, and just plain tiring. I got up around 8:00 a.m. to grab a shower and breakfast before being picked up at 8:55 a.m. by Dr. Kapic. I dropped Jonathan and Margot off at school with him, and then he dropped me off at his house to start yet another painting project.
I’ve been doing odd painting jobs for him throughout my time at Covenant. I painted their outside car port, an inside entry way and door, all the baseboards on the first and second floor (that was so boring), and a number of other touch-ups here and there. Today, I started my next project — an old window outside. I say “window,” and no doubt you’re thinking, “It’s a window. How hard can that be?” Well this is an old window… and it is a window with 30 (yes, thirty.. I counted) small panes of glass in it. It had been primered about a year ago but never painted. It was chipping and peeling all over the place, and the old caulking (essentially cement) was still there from the original installation.
I surveyed the project — not a big deal. It would take me a day to prepare the wood — remove the old caulking, chip off the old paint, sand it, and put new caulking around the 30 window panes. Then it might take me an additional two days to prime the wood and put two coats of gloss paint on it. Not a big deal.
I got out there this morning around 9:15 a.m. I grabbed a knife and a scraper to start removing the old caulking. I started with the first window pane… (more…)
Published on Apr 24, 2008 at 5:26 pm.
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Filed under A Day in the Life, Humor.
Baker Tree Music Festival
Saturday was an incredible day! I wish I had had time to write about it then or at least yesterday, but this weekend has been busy writing three papers and studying for a test — all of which are due today (as of now, two papers are handed in and the test is done).
Every year in the spring semester, usually the week before finals, Covenant has a music and art festival called Baker Tree. It happened this past Saturday, and it was an incredible day! The stage was set up on the steps of the chapel, and tables and chairs were set up on the chapel lawn. It was sunny and beautiful for the majority of the day. The music started playing around noon. Various Covenant students that had signed up to play took turns playing favorite songs – songs ranging from jazz songs to “Imagine” by John Lennon… to “Come on Ilene” …to “Burn” by Usher (performed by our very own Director of Student Development, Scott Hwang) …and a ton of other awesome songs. It lasted all afternoon and evening. The dining services brought dinner out to the chapel lawn and grilled fresh burgers for us as all 1000 students (give or take :) stood in line. It was just amazing to hang out with students and faculty, kick soccer balls around, listen to incredible music, and just take a much-needed break from studying.
Brendan James came to perform in the chapel that evening too. He has his first record coming out in June, and no doubt, he’ll be big in the next year or so.
Published on Apr 21, 2008 at 3:42 pm.
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Filed under Music.