To start this story off we have to go all the way back to the summer of 2014. Here I am a freshly graduated high schooler with a ruff idea of what his gap year was going to look like, however that changed drastically when I went on my church’s young adult summer retreat. We went to a ranch about two hours south of us by Pinnacles National Park. It was supposed to be a weekend of rest and recovery and a time to find the quiet in the hustle and bustle of our day-to-day work and social lives. In Thursday nights talk, Shawn our YA paster gave us two challenges, 1: Get to know someone else 2: take some time to serve someone other than yourself. Well instead of plugging into our group and doing this, I felt led to spend time and get to know the ranch manager Tim. It was a crazy weekend for them. A: We were one of the first large groups they had hosted and B: it was the weekend of the local rodeo. So basically it was just him and all of us with a lot of things needing to get done around the property. So I rolled up my sleeves jumped on the mule with him and started helping them out while I heard his life story. Turns out that Tim is quite the human onion. What do I mean by this? Let me explain. Tim is a former ultra marathoner and athlete. He is the crazy awesome guy that ran all across the United States doing 63 marathons in 63 consecutive days to raise awareness of a rare children’s disease called Ataxia-Telangiectasia or A-T for short. He never imagined himself working on a ranch but that was his wife’s passion and love. So an opportunity arose for them to come down to this property and they took it. So long story short by the end of the weekend Tim offered me an internship for that coming September. After taking some time to think and pray about it I excepted the offer and went down shortly after. The time I spent there full-time has to be one of the biggest foundation blocks in who I am today. Not only did it act as a mile marker in my life, I learned so many skills and so many things about who I am as a person. I gained a family and I gained a place I could go to whenever I needed to get away from the Bay Area. (That last one came to be very handy over this past year and a half as I transitioned to a new new job that came with a lot of stress.)
In April I had one of those times where the stress of work had just overloaded and consumed me to the point where I was totally burnt out. It was Easter weekend and my parents were gone, so It was just gonna be Me, Myself, and I at the house. I decided that I was going rent a campsite at the local state park and recharge my batteries in nature. Well, one thing after another that and a few other options drop through. By that Thursday I was wholeheartedly sad and burnt out and didn’t know what I was going to do. During my lunch break I got a call out of the blue from Tim (totally God timing) asking if I could come down the first weekend of August to help out so he and his wife could take their kids to Family Camp at Mount Herman. I told him about the trip and how I was supposed to leave on the first of August. (This totally met up with one thing I wanted this upcoming year to be about, serving and blessing others.) So naturally I said yes but I also asked him if I could come down that weekend. He said yes and I had one of the most wonderful Easter weekend I’ve ever had!
Now to the present: On July 20th I had my last day at Attitude Aviation after over a year and a half of employment. One week and a day later I packed my bike up and headed down to the ranch to start the trip off right by serving others! With my dad joining me after a wonderful send off by my lovely Mother and our incredible neighbors Becky and Craig. We meandered our way down to the Bar SZ Ranch! It was so nice to start this incredible journey with my dad. He’s been one of the biggest cheerleaders for this crazy dream of mine right from the start. He has been so instrumental in all the details. From helping me get my M1 motorcycle license, to finding the motorcycle, to going to CLASS motorcycle rides with me (That whole experience documented here by my dad: http://harris-ohana.net/2016/04/30/class-rides-at-sonoma-raceway/) to countless shake down rides. He has always been there. So it seemed truly fitting to start the trip with him! After a stop for lunch at In-N-Out Burger in Gilroy and a wonderful drop in visit with Neal from Hollister Powersports (where I bought Sophie through) we arrived at the ranch. My dad and I said our goodbyes and we parted ways.
This past week has been one of the most incredible times I’ve ever had at the ranch. I spent it with some of the most awesome people. This years staff are primarily from Cal Poly Pomona’s Campus Crusade. (5 out of 6 interns) they are some of the strongest and kindest people I’ve every had the privilege and pleasure to serve beside. Oh and have I mentioned that all six are ladies? Going into this week for some reason I was a little concerned about being the odd man out, literally. But as the hours passed I realized I had nothing to worry about. They welcomed me right in and we had a great and wonderfully productive week without Tim, Michelle, and the kiddos.
Looking back now after a day away, I’m just blown away with how God puts people in my life at very specific times. I went down there to serve other people, which I did but in reality I got served and through it I’ve gained some darn awesome friendships. All the dinnertime conversations, the long and deep talks in the kitchen with their incredible chef Calin, and witnessing God’s constant and timeless love for me has left me blown away and speechless. So once again my time at the good ‘old Bar SZ Ranch has acted as a mile marker and the opening chapter to this crazy adventure!
Loading up!
Quick stop at Sophie’s adoption center.
The Ranch family (left to Right: Jess, Calin, Erika, Ashley, Pollyann, Maddi, Myself, Colton, Tim, Michelle, James
Going for a ride around the ranch with Mr. Colton. What a dude!!
Ashley holding Cowgirl’s 8 two day old baby kittens!!
Local wild life just milling about.
Amazing what you can see when you’re out of the city!!!
I think this speaks for itself…..
A pack of riders I followed and fell in behind from the ranch to Hollister on the way home.