Vacation In Wyoming

As we have done for 3 years (7 years for me), each summer we head to the wilderness that is the Grand Tetons area of north-west Wyoming for some camping and fellowship. Morningstar Camp is a Christian family outreach run by Jonathan LaBenne for more than 15 years, hosting up to 400 people over its 2-week span this year. About midway between Jackson Hole and Yellowstone National Park is where this perfect vacation getaway happens.

We usually attend for up to 6 days, during which there is no shortage of activities to do. There is horseback riding, white water rafting, hiking, scenic tours. Jackson Hole is 20 minutes away and so is Yellowstone National Park. I've hiked to one of the Grand Tetons peaks (very challenging). Once a week, there is a visit to the Bar-J Chuckwagon Wranglers joint and an evening designated "talent night" when participants share music, poetry, and other items to encourage and edify the body. Throughout the week, some people share their hobbies: this is how I learned about guns and shooting, and you don't want to hear about my total failure at fishing (twice). My wife and I usually sneak in a date night in town and invite one of our good couple friends to join us.
On camp grounds, there are games (volleyball, ping-pong, chess, and cards), cooked morning and evening meals (thank you Del Monte Meats), and hot showers; nothing like any other camping experience. Most of all, it is free. I am sure it is a hefty financial undertaking so it should go without mention that anonymous donations are welcome.

Probably the best part of this experience are the people. We have made many lasting friends and enjoyed meeting new people from various walks of life. They come from all over the US to attend, a few from out of the country. Most attendants are conservative Christian of the Brethren fellowship (or its derivative). Even so, anyone is welcome to attend (except break bread, of course) and if anyone were to accept Christ, baptisms can be done in the nearby rivers. Twice a day, there are "sings" (music), in which I wholeheartedly participate on the bass guitar or percussion. Discussions and teaching on contemporary and biblical issues is a core camp activity, originated from questions fielded to elders and a biblical theme/topic chosen for that year.

At the conclusion of our trip, we made a detour to Cody, WY to visit some friends of ours. The only drama on the trip happened on this leg: we lost 3 hours of driving time on an unusable route across the mountains that our GPS urged us to follow. We should have known better by all the clues -- we were the only vehicle on this road, wildlife was abundant, and there were weeds and shrubs growing right on the tarmac. Eventually the paved road turned into dirt and we knew something was wrong. We later learned the road had been damaged and closed after a mountain wildfire a few years ago. Somehow the latest Garmin and Google maps still consider it usable.

Our 8-day vacation concluded on July 4th (Independence Day) in Cody with fireworks and a night out on the town with friends. Ten hours (one-way) and 2000 miles roundtrip later, we were back home to our busy lives. This trip cost us less than $400 in total. Worth it in every sense.