Trip Report by Cynthia D.
“We are small, but we are mighty,” as our leader
Steve Elliott said. Six of us from
three Tri-Valley UMC churches spent 5 days working the two top maintenance
items at Camp Lodestar, which is one of two retreat centers
for the United Methodists Cal - Nevada Conference. The camp can house up to 167 people in a variety of accommodations,
from 8-person cabins to a 30-person “house” (where our team stayed),
complete with a full kitchen and seating/dining area. Our team consisted of Donna L. from San Ramon Valley UMC, Cynthia D.
from Lynnewood UMC, and Dick C., Steve Elliott, Roger E., and Coleman J.
from Asbury UMC.
The primary task was to install a chain link fence around the large backyard of the on-site director’s home. Fortunately for us, the camp director, Jeff Clark, had already set the 10 corner posts and had dug the post holes for the 22 support posts. The secondary task was to remove the walls from an outdoor stage and then put up a rail around the back of the stage, since there was a 5’ drop from the back edge to the ground.
We had all arrived at Camp Lodestar by noon Monday, with each vehic
le filled to the
brim with tools, food, and luggage. The camp is so far up into the mountains that
there would be no “run to the store” to pick up supplies. After lunch, we went
to the director’s house to start on the fence. By 4pm, we had all 22 support posts
set in concrete. Getting the posts straight was a snap with the corner level that
Donna provided.
We spent the rest of
Monday at the stage, tearing down walls, most of which were rotten and
flimsy. Although the stage did
not have a roof, it did have a long 4”x12” beam connecting the top front of
the left wall to the top front of the right wall.
We set up to pull it down with a tow rope over the beam, connected to
heavy chain, and to be connected to a come-along and a tree.
But before we attached the come-along, we gave the chain the ol’
1-2-3
PULL…
PULL… PULL, and down it
came! Wow!
We decided to call it a day after that.
All Tuesday was spent at the stage.
The rest of the walls were pulled down, some rather spectacularly.
After the walls were removed, it was obvious that lots of the decking
was rotten, mostly under where the walls had been, and needed to be
replaced. Coleman stepped
through one of the rotten boards, but luckily was not hurt.
The
rest of the time was spent at the stage, pulling up rotten boards and
several rotten joists, replacing those joists and other rotten foundation
pieces, and replacing roughly half of the deck planks.
Finally, late Friday morning we started the rail, which would run
from the left and right stage steps, down the sides and across the back.
Our plan was to finish by noon, have lunch, pack and leave by 1:00pm
on Friday. We ran out of time, but Roger and Dick stayed to finish the
railing after lunch.
The camp director and
his wife treated us to very nice dinner Thursday night in the camp’s
beautiful lodge. Other nights
Coleman was our chef for dinner, culminating with an outstanding chicken
cacciatore. As always, other
team members pitched in for prep and cleanup at every meal.
Steve led a great
devotion each night, more in the form of a small group.
He presented intriguing questions ranging from, “Is the Universe an
Accident?” to “Who are we?” to “How
will it end… or will it?” The
discussion from these wide-ranging questions was lively, thoughtful,
light-hearted, and serious. They
all sparked more questions than answers, which is the best that small groups
have to offer.
