RA November Trip

November 5, 2005

A group of 11 men and boys had a pancake breakfast at First Baptist Mableton and then drove to Bent Tree for this month's trip. This is our traditional picture spot on the Bent Tree dam overlooking Lake Tamarack. Back L-R are Daniel Torres, Oscar Avila, Samuel Reyna, Javier Lopez and Noe Cabezas. In the center is Johnny Huffman. Front L-R: Sebastian and Jesus (Oscar's nephews), Gerardo Cabezas and Francisco Reyna.

As we approached the gate on Bent Tree Drive, we got a good view of the fall leaf colors.

We drove to the top of Big Stump Mountain at 3000 ft to see the mountains and the lake below us.

We had two fathers with sons with us: Noe Cabezas with son Gerardo left and Francisco Reyna with son Samuel right.

Rod with Oscar Avila near the beach. It was a good time to let the boys play.

Sebastian and Jesus loved the sand and just about dived head-first into it. They got so much sand on them that Rod is swinging Sebastian by his heels to shake some of the sand off him

Javier Lopez and Johnny Huffman with the beauty of the leaves around Lake Tamarack behind them.

Gerardo and Noe Cabezas on the fishing dock with the colored leaves behind them.

These Canada geese cruise on the lake with the bright leaf colors mirrored in the water.

The group by the waterfall below the spillway on the opposite side of the lake.

Daniel and Samuel seemed to enjoy the falls and just exploring the area.

We had our traditional RA lunch of peanut butter and jell sandwiches near the falls.

Johnny was kept busy baiting hooks and acting as fishing coach to teach the boys about casting. They got pretty good with practice.

It was a peaceful afternoon for fishing with the beautiful backdrop of the leaf color around the lake. Some other folks had some colorful kayaks out on the lake.

Johnny and I worked to untangle lines and replace hooks. Sebastian brings a worm to put on his new hook. It was easy to find worms by digging around the area.

The adults also got involved in casting on the lake. Daniel was more inclined to explore the area.

Gerardo really seemed to enjoy learning to cast, and was getting some long casts out onto the lake surface.

Daniel Torres with Francisco and Samuel Reyna. Behind them you can just see the two towers on the top of Big Stump Mountain. We drove to those towers this morning at 3000 ft, and the lake surface is at 1500 ft.

We were certainly blessed with some of God's fine paintings on this day with the leaf colors and the smooth lake surface. We were pleased to be able to share these sights with these families.

The RA (Royal Ambassador) Program is part of the ministry to boys at First Baptist Church Mableton. We meet from 6:45 to 8 pm on Wednesdays and plan a monthly Men & Boys Breakfast and a Saturday activity.