A beautiful November day at Gonzaga with our friend Mark.

Once again, the fearsome threesome known as Dan, Jeff, and myself (Chris) headed out across the Cascades.  Sadly to say, on this trip there would be no "Cobalting," however there would be some "trailblazing" through potholes and snow covered dirt roads.

Our first stop was at the Mountain River Lodge. We toured the facilities and spent some time with Bill, the owner. The lodge and its surroundings were absolutely beautiful and we would love to take a group up there later this year.  We then headed over to the delightful town of Ellensburg, which is famous for the rodeo and coffee shops per capita.  Upon arriving in the town, we immediately headed toward the CWU campus.  Once at the campus, we walked into the AMAZING new student union facility.  Inside we met some great guys who work within the student government.

After visiting the campus, we went over to the Smith's for a wonderful tortilla soup dinner.  We enjoyed the food and had a fantastic conversation. At 9:00 we headed over to SALT, one of the campus ministries in town.  Unfortunately, it actually started at 7:00 and we were just in time to see people leave.  But we still ran into some friends and hung out for about an hour.  In the morning we met with Ken, the director of SALT at Starbucks and had a good conversation about that minsitry. 

Our next stop was at the Dutch Bros Coffee shop in Spokane where we met Kevin, the owner.  We were greatly impressed with his friendliness, quick coffee making skills, and the fact that he knew all of his customers by name.  Now that's what I call service!!!!

After our time with Kevin we headed out to the Service Station to meet with the Young Life Area Directors and Whitworth Young Life VIP.  It was a wonderful time to hear what God was doing through Young Life in the area.  Dan and I found some time to sneak off to Whitworth where we met a few of the student government officers.

For dinner that night, Dan and I went to the local favorite known as "Tomato Street" with some friends from town.  We were priviledge to enjoy our first ever Huckleberry lemonades which were mmmmm  good! After dinner, Jeff picked us up and we drove to EWU for the Campus Crusade Meeting.  We were thrilled to be there and to see that it was entirely run by students.  Afterwards we spent some time talking with Liz, Brett, and Linnette. 

From there we went to the North Spokane Appleby's to meet Ryan, Kurt, Jefff, Colin, and Evan (a group from Whitworth).  Over some nachos, cheese sticks, and a few ginger ales we discussed what God was doing at Whitworth and in our state.  That night we stayed with JJ and Katy.

The next morning we met with Ron and Terry from Whitworth and then went to the campus chapel.  We were thrilled to hear the concert choir and a message from the President of the University.  From there Dan and I went to Gonzaga University to spend some time with our friend Mark.  He gave us a glorious tour of the University and told us many great stories from Bing Crosby to the Painted wall. Way to go Mark!

Then, as the afternoon gently faded into night, we headed back West and our magical journey through the cascades, over the great Columbia River, through the central plains, and into the pine covered forest had turned its last page.

We were greatly encouraged to see what God is doing in these places!! Jesus is actively working across our state, may we make him the center of all we do.

until next time...