Pastor Ted's FIRST Trip to Camp Metigoshe (May 25, 2006)

This is my FIRST trip to Camp Metigoshe... FIRST, I went from FIRST, Minot to...	...to FIRST Lutheran in...	...Bottineau, ND. Now I can tell people, "Yeah, you've been to Bolivia but I've been to Bottineau!"	Heading north from Bottineau.... crossing FIVE sets of railroad tracks... impressive! This is no One-Track-Town here!
I heard about the Turtle Mountains... the verticle climb sounds intimidating.	A mile and a half later, I climbed a full 100 feet in elevation already!	I can see the mountain pass looming ahead.	Another mile and 100 feet in elevation... my ears are popping and the car is struggling.
I made it another mile and another 100 feet... I had to pull off the road since my car keeps overheating! My dog is distressed!	OH NO!! WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO? ARE WE GOING TO MAKE IT??!!	All right, you've had your fun... get back in the car now...	...and close the hood.
Time for a shot back upon the plains we left behind.	The journey upward continues over the miles... another 100 feet elevation.	Another mountain peak looms on the right.	Wow!! It took all the efforts of the United States military to establish security in this mountainous area.
I looked back... What a vista from on high!! Whew... it's dizzying. (Oh, come on... I'm having fun with my captions.)	Back to the road... heading for the first summit.	Hey... some nice decorations on these signs. It adds to the drama of the driving.	Whew!! I reach the first summit... no more overheating.
Driving over the crest of the first Turtle Mountains pass.	A veiw of neighboring mountains.	Whoa.... another summit looming up on the distant horizon... another hundred feet elevation coming up!	At last... 8 miles later... on top of the mountain. Feeling a little dizzy, but my body will adjust to the mountain altitudes.
More mountain driving coming up... hundreds of feet... well, ALMOST 200 more feet elevation.	Enough of my silliness. I arrive at the Christian Center and take a left off the highway.	Off the highway is a road less travelled. It seems like a peaceful, quiet place.	Time to turn into the driveway.
The main retreat building.	What a beautiful retreat center!	Nice worship space... and a fireplace to relax... hey, does it get COLD around here in winter?	A camp always needs a bell.
A place for evening song... and lilacs... they dried up six weeks ago in Kansas; nice to see them again!	And, of course, the water.	A place to worship for Lutherans and Catholics, it seems.	The youth camp on Pelican Lake... NOTICE the pelican (center and right)... aptly named lake!
Found it... yes, I missed it but traveled some interesting gravel roads before arriving.	A space for worship... a central force of church camping.	A cabin... and yes... I should have rolled down my car window. Oops.	Not just your average canoe, here!
The customary cross on the water camp shot... I must say... sure does look beautiful today!	Back from the water to the dining hall and pavillion.	Now THIS is a deck to make anyone proud. Impressive.	Staff is training... and having a "drive-in" supper after the "Cruise on Main" with cars playing loud music. Sound fun!
A good sized dining hall... a primary requirement for lots of hungry campers.	A camp co-director... yes, I forgot her name. But, I forget most EVERYBODY's name... I like to treat people equally.	On my way out... and WHAT IS THIS?? Counsellors preparing to meet some campers??	Katie suggested I take the windy scenic route back... Let's see what I see...
Why, there's a scene right there to my left... but... what am I seeing... need a closer look.	Ah... the ol' boot on the fence post decoration... quite popular in Minneapolis when I was growing up.	And another boot, to boot.	And even MORE boots... I'm getting a kick out of this.
Hey... this must be one of those new wind generation farms I've been hearing about. Cool.	The road back has it's mountain peaks as well, I see.	And, it provides some more curves.	Up and down... and up and down... Whew... when do I get back to something more gentle on my equillibrium?
I must admit... North Dakota does have some unique beauty. I can see why people love it.	The Bottineau international airport, the white concourse.	Taking a look back on the Turtle Mountain Range.	Time to finish the trip to Minot... wait... I think I see it only 75 more miles away!
First Lutheran Church in Minot, North Dakota