Ponderosa - August 27 - September 14

Even in the midst of added housekeeping duties at The Ponderosa, we found time to make a trip to the Royal Gorge near Canon City.

Needless to say, with Nancy's fear of heights, we DID NOT ride the cable car across the gorge, nor did we even drive or walk across the bridge!

We spoke in an earlier blog about the challenge course at The Ponderosa. We finally were able to catch some of the kids in action!

Climbing the vertical rock wall and then repelling down. In the second picture, you can see the crow's nest which is the "launcing pad" to the suspended rope bridge shown below.

The pole challenge is absolutely breathtaking to watch...death defying to do! After donning a harness to which is attached a safety rope controlled by your friends, the ascent to the top of the pole begins. Once at the top, you turn around, make a promise to the ones controlling the safety rope, count to 3 and leap for a trapeze-type bar 6-8 feet in front of you. IF you grab the bar...all is well! If not, your life is in the hands of your friends controlling the safety rope. Hopefully, all will still be well! These kids had a lot of trust in each other...we saw no one crash to the ground!


A jeeping trip to Balanced Rock Road in the mountains west of Colorado Springs revealed these unusual balanced rocks!

Fall is in the air in the Rockies! Daytime temperatures have dropped down in the 50s, and the trees and bushes are beginning to change color. Our last look at Pikes Peak revealed quite a surprise -- yes, that IS snow at the top.

Our 10 weeks at The Ponderosa were well spent, even though the last 3 were quite demanding with the added responsibilities of laundry and housekeeping. Not only are there 5 large dorm-type buildings where guests bring their own bedding, but there are also 19 private rooms or cottages in which linens are provided by the facility. All the beds in those 19 rooms (some of which have as many as 3 beds) must be stripped and remade, the bathrooms cleaned and the carpets vacuumed, after each guest. Not only was it time consuming, but back-breaking as well. Then, the sheets and towels had to be laundered and folded. Our favorite activity was working in the snack bar and having contact with youth and adults who were guests of The Ponderosa. Last but not least, we met and worked with other volunteers from 5 states, and they will be our friends forever. We look forward to working with them again next summer.

Ponderosa - August 9 - 26

The animals continue to visit us daily. The only way the squirrel can get food out of the bird feeder is to hang upside-down from the tree limb, but as soon as we open the motor home door he scurries away because he knows Abby will be there in a flash! The fox comes by occasionally but spends most of his time stalking the moles and field mice. Mama deer also likes the stuff we put in the feeder - nut and grain mix.

We have 2 hummingbird feeders which we fill every day - did have 3 but the bear got to one of them during the night and tore it up! It amazes us that the deer that come through the campground are so tame. They will stand and watch us as long as we continue to stand and watch them!

It's been so dry here that a fire ban has been in effect for several months. The first night after the ban was lifted, the volunteers came to our camp site for a campfire. You'll notice many have on coats/jackets - the nights here are cool!

Most of the folks who come to Ponderosa are from junior high age to seniors adults. This is 4-year-old Emma, the daughter of the camp nurse and her husband. She is a delightful child and we enjoy having her around. Her favorite place to go is the Rock House for ice cream.

Russ took 3 of the volunteers on a jeep trip in the mountains west of Colorado Springs. They started out with the top up and everyone sitting on the seats with seat belts. When they returned, the top was down and the 2 ladies were perched on the back of the seat whooping and hollering as they came through he camp. Certainly got everyone's attention!

Not only is it our job to run the snack bar, but when there are no campers on site and the snack bar is closed, we are asked to do other chores as well. Last week, following the unexpected departure of the housekeeping crew for an undetermined period of time, we loaded the jeep with cleaning supplies and hit the road, broom handles and toilet paper streaming out the windows. We had several mottos depending on the chores: Making beds for the Master...Scrubbing toilets for the Savior...Vaccuming for Victory...Cleaning for Christ...etc. It took us 2 days to shampoo the padded seats and clean the metal frames of the 300+ chairs in the chapel! After scraping several wads of gum off the bottom of chairs, Nancy can only say "there better not be gum on the chairs when she gets to Heaven."

These are 2 of 6 cabins they call "The Aspens" - probably because they are located on the north end of the camp in a field of aspen trees! Each cabin has a different decor (sleeps 4-5 people), a kitchenette, and bathroom. It's a little scary driving down there on the housekeeping golf cart because we have to pass right by a stream where the local bear comes to drink and we never know when he might appear!


Sign on the road going up Pkes Peak. By the way, we never saw Big Foot! We went back up on Pikes Peak with another couple on a cloudy, rainy day with very low visibility. In fact, we were in the gift shop at the summit and they announced the road had been closed coming up the mountain so that people going down could drive in the middle of the road - the fog was so dense you couldn't even see the sides of the road!

We went to a Diamondbacks/Rockies baseball game in Denver and before the game, ate lunch at a restaurant called Casa Bonita. Dining tables were located around a lagoon where cliff divers did fancy dives, as well as various other activities. The food was good, the entertainment great, and...the Diamondbacks won!

Summer is drawing to a close, the kids have started back to school, but various groups continue to use the campground throughout the winter months. Seven volunteer couples have given many hours to make this place what it is -- a facility that honors and glorifies God. Some have gone to other places to volunteer and after this weekend, we will be the only volunteers remaining. They have asked us to stay until mid-September. After that, we will spend a couple of weeks in the Durango area and then go to Farmington, NM for a Family Motor Coach Assoc. rally. We will continue to keep you posted until we arrive back home in Phoenix.

Ponderosa - July 29 - August 8

(L) Dinner with my cousin Garry and his wife Mary Beth at the Old Stone Church in Castle Rock.


(R) Had dinner and got to visit with my best friend from high school. We had not seen each other in 50 years!

One day this week was free admission to all Colorado state parks. Along with 2 other couples we visited 3 parks and then had dinner at The Hungry Bear in Woodland Park.

We have been attending First Baptist Church of Black Forest, about a 12-mile journey from Ponderosa. It is a beautiful drive on forest roads through neighborhoods of custom homes in excess of 8,000 square feet. Most of them are on 2 -5 acre lots.

The best thing about the drive to church is enjoying God's handiwork, AND NO GRAFITTI ON ANYTHING!!

One of the jobs accomplished by the volunteers this week was making new bunk beds for the cottages. Once put together, they had to be put in the cottages through the windows.

Along with other Ponderosa volunteers, we went back up on Pikes Peak but this time we took the cog train. We decided that we like driving up in the Jeep better except that we can't take all our friends with us!

The Air Force Academy has an impressive campus. The picture at right is the Chapel where worship services are held as well as weddings and funerals.

The headquarters for James Dobson's Focus on the Family is here in Colorado Springs. The facility has a large bookstore and visitor's center and two other large buildings like the one below -- administration, conference/training, and publishing and mail orders.

We continue to have daily visits by the wildlife: squirrels, cotton-tail rabbits, blue jays, humming birds, deer, and of course, the bear! He is getting bolder -- paid a visit to the snack bar in the middle of the day earlier this week. A mountain lion has been spotted across the road from us and in the north end of the camp. We are not so excited about his visits!