October-November 2003 Trip

by Blake Engel, All Church Sound

On October 24th, 2003, I left Chicago for a 33-day trip. The trip would take me to Colorado Springs Colorado, Morro Bay California, Angwin California, Kent Washington, and Spokane Washington before I returned home just in time for Thanksgiving.

Here's the final GPS track which totals 6,667 miles. Yes, I drove.

(3) photos below - Fellowship of the Rockies church in Colorado Springs, CO. I had visited this church earlier in the year to help with renovation plans.

On the way from Colorado to California, I drove through Las Vegas - and couldn't resist a quick trip over Hoover Dam.

As I pulled into Morro Bay California, I stopped to catch a beautiful sunset.

St. Timothy's Catholic Church, Morro Bay, California (below). A square church used with the platform in one corner. They plan extensive renovations, including removing the balcony and rebuilding the front platform area.

Heading north from Morro Bay along US 1, I snapped quite a few photos like this one (below).

A stop in San Francisco led me to this beautiful church.

Below is a photo of the Fireside room of Pacific Union SDA College Church. This is the room I was asked to work on during this trip.

I also had the opportunity to look over their youth chapel and main sanctuary. The hope is to work out the details for the acoustics and audio systems for both these rooms in the near future. (youth chapel, below; main sanctuary, second photo below).

A short trip into a redwood forest in California (below).

Below is Calvary Chapel Spokane. Seating between 1200 and 1400 (depends how cozy you want to get!), the sanctuary was designed theater style with very wide seating. This was originally a grocery store, but was renovated. New structural supports were installed over the building to support the spans properly so they could remove several of the vertical posts. In addition, the floor was removed and dug out so a sloped floor could be put in. Behind the front platform is a good-size stage area. Behind the stage and a hallway is a very nice shop where they build set pieces as well as furniture and other items for the rest of the church. In addition to the sanctuary, they have a full youth room, fellowship hall (with coffee bar!), and office space.

On the way home, I had the opportunity to see Mount Rushmore among other quick stops along the way.

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