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It’s cold.  It is very cold.  Imagine the line to a popular roller coaster at a popular theme park.  The line starts and goes back and forth through a series of fences, ropes, and other “herding” devices.  You finally get to the end of the line.  You grab one of the many tubes that are on the ground.  Each tube has a nice “shell” with handles and a tow rope.  You then proceed to yet another line, but one that is much shorter.  Imagine the conveyor belt at Wal-mart check out lines.  Now imagine it being on the ground, and going up a mountain.  Literally.  The line ends and you take a step of faith onto this magic hill conveyor and it carries you(with your tube in tow) up the mountain.  Then you get to the top and step off, but instead of into the arms of a bluevested cashier, you are at the top of a mountain.  You guessed it, another line.  You see eight lanes that remind you of the old block derby car tables-often used in Boy Scouts (the cars that you build out of a small block of wood,  put wheels on them, paint them, and race them on a sloped table.)  You pick a random lane and when it is your turn, off you go.  Down a lane of small hills and valleys all the way to the bottom.  It lasts a whole 7 seconds.  Then you start the process over.  

I grew up on a farm where sledding/tubing was always intense, and honestly more fun.  The only thing we didn’t have was the conveyor, and that would have been nice.   I did enjoy the time tubing, but it was very cold.

I attended with a youth group from a church in central Kentucky.  There were about 40 of us, and I absolutely loved the trip.  I didn’t necessarily enjoy the tubing part, but the trip wasn’t about me.  It was much bigger than that.  I spent the majority of my time just hanging out with the youth as they would come into the lodge to warm up.  This gave me opportunities to talk with them in small groups or even one on one.  It was just a great time.    In the evenings we had a time of worship and devotion which went really well.

Here are a few things I wanted to mention:

  • The youth and other adults loved the tubing, so I’m just old and stubborn
  • Long van rides are exhausting, but man they build community
  • Trips like these are exponentially more about relationship building than the activity
  • Youth love to tell their story.
  • Ski Lodges fall into the same pricing category as Airports and Hotel Giftshops ($11.00 for a burger and fries.)