The Lost Month, Part III (a.k.a Bishop Bailey doesn't live here anymore)

A quick reader suggestion, start with the post below, The Lost Month, parts I and II before reading this one.

Welcome back,

Here's how July went-

-Found out that not only was I getting released from being a Counselor in the Bishopric but was receiving the call to be Bishop, which as most of you know I accepted.
-Found two great Counselors who to date are doing a great job!
-Got sick, Caryn got sick also.
-Sent Jason up to scout camp.
-Spent a day at the water park with the younger three kids.
-acted as Bishop at a wedding and a memorial service
-spent many hours attempting to get my arms around my new calling.
-work, work, work, work.
-only had two bike rides, one with Presidente Blair.

No time for photography, bike riding or goofing off. I hope to remedy this!

A busy, busy month. But we're on our feet again. Hope to keep the blog updated more regularly.

The Lost Month, Part II

Sunrise on Sunday Morning, July 1st from Grouse Ridge

O.K. So Charles and I finish up rafting on Saturday the 30th. He's due at Camp Marin Sierra on Sunday July 1st no later than 10:00 a.m. I have a plan. It's simple and has two steps, one, eat dinner and two, a great night spent out under the stars.

First things first, I call Caryn to check in. Things are well at home. She's especially excited because the Stake President wants to meet with us and figures that I'm going to be released as a Counselor in the Bishopric since Bishop Bailey and family are moving to Utah.

I tell Charles the news. He smiles. There's nothing else to be said. We drive.

We drive north up highway 49 through Calaveras County, home of the famous Jumping Frog. We dine in Placerville on Mexican food. The hostess seats us away from the rest of the guests at the restaurant - we must look a little rough after three days on the river. Dinner of steak and enchiladas is great and we head up to scout camp. Step one of the plan is complete.

Step two, we pass Scout Camp around 9:00 and head up to the fire lookout on Grouse Ridge which we reach after driving up 8 miles of dirt road and a twenty minute hike to the top.

We slept on the walkway around the lookout. There was a full moon.

The lookout-

The outhouse-

Room with a View

Even after all of this fun I still made it back to Marin in time for Priesthood meetings!

The Lost Month, Part I

July was a blur!

It's been a month+ since the last post however as many of you know it's been a busy month to say the least.

June 28th, 29th and 30th Charles and I went rafting with John Plocher and a few of his friends and family. We put in at Meral's pool on the Tuolumne River and pulled out on Don Pedro Reservoir. Three days of great fun. The trip was run by All-Outdoors, http://www.aorafting.com/ and the staff was fantastic!

The trip included swimming holes, exploring an abandoned mine, good eats, much fun on the river and 18 miles of beautiful scenery punctuated by class 4 rapids.

A few photos . . .

(John and Jared making the leap!)

We had a great time! Make plans and go make some memories of your own!

sj

Camp Helaman Photos

I finally got the photos off of the camera tonight from our trip to Camp Helaman.

I haven't figured out how to format multiple pictures in the post so please excuse the layout.

I only got a few shots the first day. I was recovering from a touch of food poisoning (it was from eating out, not from Caryn's cooking!) and photography was the furthest thing from my mind.

A great trip!

Camp Helaman

Last Thursday, Friday and Saturday I had the pleasure to attend Camp Helaman with Charles and Jason, 15 and 14 respectively, and 37 other young men from our Stake. It was a remarkable spiritual experience. A few memorable highlights-

The Train Ride-The camp was held at Camp Noyo. Camp Noyo is a Boy Scout Camp on the Noyo River. Camp Noyo was formerly a logging camp and is nestled in second growth redwoods. It is as calm and serene a setting as one can find. Access to the camp is either by a 9 mile road or by the Skunk Train. The Skunk Train runs between Ft. Bragg and Willits and originally serviced the logging camps in the area. It has been running since the 1890's. The engine and the cars of the train date from the 1920's and 1930's. The ride from Ft. Bragg to the camp took about an hour and forty minutes. The weather was beautiful and we rode most of the way in an open car where we stood and enjoyed traveling through the redwoods.

The Camp Theme and Lessons-The Camp Theme was Doctrine and Covenants Section 4. If you are familiar with this scripture you know that it is about the gospel going forth, serving God and the qualities we need to be accepted by him. The scripture focused us on the Priesthood, the Spirit was present and we were all edified.

The Canoe Ride-Along with the spiritual lessons and exercises, there was lots of free time. I spent some time at the waterfront with Charles and Jason. The three of us took a canoe out on the river. The boys paddled at either end. I rode in the middle. They splashed me, I splashed them. What should have been a 10 minute canoe paddle was stretched into a 90 minute water war. Good times with the boys!

The Food-Copious, Delicious, prepared and served with style! Two words Tri Tip!

Great times. Thanks to all who planned, prepared for and delivered this most excellent weekend.

Jason's Big Day

Jason graduated from the 8th grade yesterday! Congratulations. As you can see from the pictures he is one exicited young man. Jason had a hard year this year and is now looking forward to a summer of leisure and sloth. Actually, Jason was selected for the Marin Conservation Corps ReGen project again this summer so he will be spending his days clearing invasive plant species, picking up trash and counting sand crabs for NOAA. Big fun for his 13th summer!

Dad's New Shoes

Missing shoes delayed our arrival at the farewell to our departing dental student friends ice cream social last Friday . . .

So the girls helped me out.

Best wishes and happy trails to all of our loved and missed dental school friends.

Thanks to Kara for the picture!

sj