Philip's Blog

Grand Tetons

Philip Codington — Mon, 12 May 2008 01:09:48 +0000

Just a few pictures from the great state of Wyoming…

Snow Blizzard

Philip Codington — Sat, 10 May 2008 16:46:51 +0000

Around 7:30 last night, it began to snow again. A couple of the other staff that are here at Turpin Meadow Ranch were playing Apples to Apples… I spent some time emailing and just chilling out. The snow kept coming down. The entire valley and mountains disappeared out of sight because of the thick snowfall - it looked like a heavy white fog had just descended onto the valley, except it was snow not fog.

We decided to go over to Diamond D Ranch down the road about three miles to watch a movie around 9:30 p.m. The rest of the staff live over there, while Corban and I are living on the main ranch. I had to drive a van out there… you wouldn’t think it would be a big deal. It’s just a three mile drive, right?

Wrong. The many herds of buffalo, elk, and moose that roam this area do daily migrations across the main road to get to the Buffalo Fork river further down in the valley. During the early morning and day, they graze in the valley on the west side of the road. Around dusk and evening, they migrate across to the east side where the river runs. Last year, one of the staff members was driving a suburban down the road at night. He was driving around 35 or 40 miles an hour… suddenly, out of nowhere, there was a moose in the middle of the road. There wasn’t any time to swerve and miss it. He hit it dead on. Later on, he said it was as if God had taken the front of the suburban in His hand and just crushed it. The moose simply got up and walked away… the suburban was totaled. (more…)

Four Moose and Elk

Philip Codington — Fri, 09 May 2008 03:05:07 +0000

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.

Postcards and Snail Mail

Philip Codington — Wed, 07 May 2008 13:40:48 +0000

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…

One More Day

Philip Codington — Tue, 06 May 2008 22:22:10 +0000

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.

New Beginnings

Philip Codington — Sun, 04 May 2008 21:36:49 +0000

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.

Skiing and Incense

Philip Codington — Fri, 02 May 2008 18:29:52 +0000

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…)

Hours Away

Philip Codington — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:48:43 +0000

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.

Finals - Finally

Philip Codington — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:01:15 +0000

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.

End of Sophomore Year

Philip Codington — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 19:48:43 +0000

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…