For the past two years I have had the privilege of leading a trip to the Pacific Northwest (Oregon & Washington) as a bit of a retreat, adventure, and learning experience. The values of this trip are:

Disconnection - We spend the entire week away from technology. On the first day we ceremonially hand in our phones (I keep mine so we don’t get lost - but I have strict rules for myself) and we don’t get them back until the final evening of the trip. It has been fascinating for me to watch the decompression process that happens over the week. No connection to the internet. No connection to the world outside where we are at any given moment.

Developing a sense of wonder - In my opinion, this trip allows you to see some of the most beautiful parts of the United States. It’s ok to just go to see cool things but there is a theological reason for this as well. A lot of our faith communities have built buildings with four walls, and more recently, even left traditional artistic architecture practices behind. For many, worship takes place in dark black rooms with only man made things to look at. I strongly believe that something significant happens when you spend a week around systems and things bigger than what explainable.

Learning about Creation Care and seeing Creation Care in action - Each day holds some experience that is rooted in practicing creation care. We see it being practiced and we practice it ourselves.

Details:

At this time, it is somewhat difficult to send out complete details, which is why I am promoting this trip so early. In the past, I have done this trip with a specific University, which meant a strict budget and everyone traveling to Portland together. I think the fact that we are coming from different places and have slightly different budgets is an improvement to this trip, but it does mean I need some information from you before I can give more specific details. I can, for your planning purposes give you a helpful range though.

You must be 18 years old to come on this trip, unless your parent or guardian is coming on the trip with you.

Price: I think I can keep this trip below $1500 for you. I will know for sure once I see the sign ups. That isn’t what you will pay me, but I will have a clear structure. When I say $1500, that is an educated guess on how much you will spend on the entire trip. The variability should be clear when you visit the sign up form. But for example, if you don’t need to fly because you live within driving distance of Portland, and if you own your own camping gear, the trip should be less than $800-1000. Essentially, I think I can make this trip customizable enough that it will cost each person a different amount, which will also free people up to reduce the cost quite a bit. I will be able to give you an exact price soon, but first I need some of the information that you will provide on the form below.

Dates: Until I see how many people sign up, I can only say late May but I will certainly set firm dates by the end of the year.

Accommodations: We camp the whole week. It’s not exactly backpacking because we do a lot of driving to different locations, but my goal is for us to be outside over 95% of the trip. I do save a reserve for a indoor accommodations in case of really bad whether, or for us to clean up before we fly home.

Physical Activity: This trip is fairly physically intensive. You should be prepared for an 18-mile (no certain pace required) bike ride and a lot of hiking each day. I would be happy to discuss adjustments that may be possible for physical limitations, but generally, it requires a lot physically.

Agenda: Once again, it is a little early to lock in all the details so I would prefer to talk about the trip from the perspective of what we have done in the past. I am certain of my connections for booking all these things from the past, but we should have a day more than I have in the past and I have a couple new interesting connections that I would like to add to the trip. So here is a sample of days from past years.

Day 1: Travel Day. Fly to Portland (PDX) drive to Whidbey Island (about 45 minutes North of Seattle)

Day 2: Work day on Happy Valley Farm.

Yes. I am incredibly fortunate. I have an Aunt and Uncle who own a Biodynamic farm on Whidbey Island called Happy Valley Farm. One of the days of the trip we do a work day on the farm. Throughout the day we are able to talk a lot about environmental issues. We also seek to make a tangible difference on their farm. 1. Because it is in exchange for us camping there for 3 days. 2. Because it allows us to ‘dig’ into creation care. 3. Because it is fun. The last two years we built a bull pen and erected a fence.