Dear B2B Parents,
We started this weekend off staying back at the house on Friday with a relaxing day to prepare many of the new guys first outdoor trip. After waking up our program director and one of our therapists came over to the house and we began the day with an end of week review, where we talked about how we were doing with our weekly individual intentions as well as how we showed up for ourselves and others in our program followed by feedback from all the guys to better one another. Then we went out to the fields and got active playing some volleyball, disc golf and soccer. After we left the fields the staff treated us to some slushies and ice cream at Sonic as a reward for a solid week of personal growth for the boys. Following the fields we came back to the house and played some cards and cut up; naturally being the humorous, joking guys we are. Later that evening we had a delicious burger blowout in honor of sending off one of our guys out of transitional living out into the real world. It was a great day full of relaxation and jokes, but the highlight of the night had to be the vicious roast of our boy to keep him humble as he moves on to the next chapter of his life. Of course we gave him our best regards as well. We ended the night all watching and enjoying some great laughs of a stand-up comedy Netflix special of Sebastion Meniscalco.
Saturday we had a bright and early start to the day, cleaned the house, packed up our bags along with the rest of the group equipment we needed for the trip. The trip leaders beautifully delegated everything needed for the weekend, and ran through the check list of gear each guy needed. We packed up the vans and hit the road, heading to Sedona for the weekend. Windows down, blasting some tunes we let the world know the boys were coming. Our first destination was Bullpen day use area at West Clear Creek. Being more crowded than usual you know we had to pull up with the big dog vibes and show everyone what the B2B boys are all about. After showing up and showing out on the roughly 15 – foot cliff jump we eventually moved down the creek to a more secluded area to kick it and relax with just the boys for a few hours. There we enjoyed the clear skies, bright sun, cool and crisp creek water in addition to some nice pre-packed lunch sammies We did a quick little outdoor safety/trip guidelines brief for all the knew guys in the group to keep everyone safe and respectful of nature and with other hikers we encounter throughout the trip. On the way back to the vans it was necessary to make a quick stop back at the cliff-jumping spot to leave a “splash” of the B2B Boys’ vibes. We headed back to a nice elevated area with a scenic view to set up base camp for the weekend. A couple of the boys started up some burgers and hot dogs for dinner while everyone else helped set up tents and the rest of camp. The feast began and ended very quickly since everyone was so hungry from the full day of swimming and sun. After dinner, we all hung out and bonded with some fun conversations along with a disappointing defeat and yet possibly rigged game of spades for two but satisfying for the other two. The sun set and everyone headed to bed.
Waking up to a nice toasty, sunny day we started up breakfast and coffee to energize everyone for the day ahead. It was a quicker breakfast than we geared up and got an early start in the vans heading to our next destination, Parsons Spring Trail. It was a little bit more of a hike, about 4 miles to our swimming spot for the day. A total of 8 miles. Definitely less crowded than the spot of the previous day, we were able to hang out there for most of the day. There was another nice little 20 – footish cliff for the boys to jump off and the water was absolutely perfect at that spot. One of the boys assumed the role of Captain America and saved the surprisingly “different than Tv” version of Wonder Woman as she tried to climb up the cliff and plummeted to the water. Big props to Cap for coming in clutch and being of service to others while out on the trip. We enjoyed some sun, swimming and more sammies for a while than we rolled along the trail a little bit further and discovered an awesome, pretty out-dated mine. After a little exploration of the mine, the boys gathered up and we ran an AA meeting surrounded by the vast nature of the canyon we were at the bottom of. Finally the exploration for the day ended, we headed back to the vans and of course stopped at the cliff once more to leave another splash of B2B Boys’ vibes at that location as well. We rolled back to base camp and began to unwind and relax as the sun began to set. I must throw out a big shout out to the individual of the group who stepped up as head chef and led the boys in whipping up a gnarly chicken and veggie curry for dinner. Once again after dinner everyone hung out and connected with some beneficial conversations of growth along with some games. Although, this night there was known rigging of spades and the power squad got their redemption in an absolute annihilation with two back-to-back wins including FIVE sets in a row. Of course there were no hard feelings after the game, just handshakes and as always good vibes all around.
Finally the last day of the trip had arrived. With the help of some coffee and everyone’s team effort we got camp all packed up and headed out. With a quick little stop at one last creek spot we wrapped up the weekend with a solid community group. Each guy, including staff got to share their experiences, suggestions, feedback and affirmations over the duration of the trip. It was a great time to get real and work on some very valuable concepts and values from the weekend and how we can help each other move forward in these areas. We ended the group with a final dip in the creek to cool off then it was back to Flagstaff for everyone. It was quite a phenomenal and beneficial trip for the new group, and we all look forward to many more with all the brothers here currently. Arriving back to the house, everyone helped de-rig the van and clean everything up while ya boy wrote this very well thought-out and I must say, fire letter. I hope y’all enjoy, much love from all the B2B boys to all the fantastically supportive and loving parents out there.
The B2B Boys.
