A Camp Out and the Shut Ins

October 10, 2015 - We went on a camping trip with friends over the weekend, and after a great evening spent talking and singing around the campfire, we woke up the next morning.  

Well, actually I'm not sure if I ever woke up, but that's beside the point.

Wow, look at these three happy people!  Looks like they slept well.

After some breakfast and talk around the campfire we headed to Johnson Shut Ins:

So, what is a "shut in?" 

I'm so glad that you asked.

shut-in

The term "shut-in" refers to a place where the river's breadth is limited by hard rock that is resistant to erosion. In these shut-ins, the river cascades in many rivulets over and around igneous rocks worn smooth over time.

Thanks, wikipedia.

I always want to make sure that you learn something from these blog posts. 

From the meaning of "spurious" to why people would want to wear a kilt to the difference between inertia and centrifugal force, you're mental horizons will always be challenged to broaden here at GTC. ;)

Okay, you know what a shut-in is, and I'll shut-↑ and we'll continue...

Where's Waldo?

(it may be easier to find him in the full size image)

Those days went you get stuck between a rock and a hard place

Those are some pretty epic surroundings

Ah, so Matthew's pointing again

These little guys were quite the climbers - you really don't want to know how high up this rock was!

Trudging back to the car sopping wet

Shh...I totally stole this group photo from the Niednagels

Air Soft

May 22-23, 2015 -This weekend we met up with friends to play some airsoft battles together.
So, on the first day, we had some great battles before settling down for dinner around 10pm before heading to the barn loft to spend the night.
Definitely the most memorable parts for me would be seeing Josiah S. jump off a bridge into a creek (flag in hand) during a game of capture the flag.
Another interesting round was when we were playing a hostage scenario at night with all of the barn lights off.  The "rescuers" formed into 4 fireteams by moonlight and the sound of each other's hushed voices.  Each team was assigned sections of the barn to infiltrate and tasks to rescue the hostage.  My team slipped through the front door and then had to weave through the stuff lying on the floor of the barn without making a sound.  The next phase was to silently climb our way up 15' feet in darkness so great that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.  So, I had to feel my way as I climbed up with an airsoft gun slung across my chest.  Ah...good times! Although, we did lose that round actually...

Anyway, enough with all of the words - it's time for some pictures!

The barn loft

Selfie! 

-Hello!

Most of the guys stayed up to watch a movie - which started after midnight.

I tried to get all of the sleep that I could before...

...daylight!

Everyone groggily gets out of bed - er - sleeping bags and packs up their stuff

Gearing up for another full day

Art.

Neutral face

Happy face!

Ah...yeah...caught applying makeup

Riding in the back of the truck

Looks like Noah's guarding our "6"

And then there was that time when I lost my footing while taking photos and crashed on top of Noah. =)

Waiting to ambush

Wow, and in this round Noah and Isaiah "lit up" our entire team in an ambush

And with such very little cover too...

*shakes head*

Our assault team before they breached a door to a house to root out the guys holding up in a house

Reloading during one of the breaks between rounds

Relaxing and talking during dinner