Hi Folks,
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Our 6th and final series of activities is now underway. Those are posted on your Keylog page. The boys who were out of camp on trips will sign up as soon as they return. We have also sent everyone an email with information about your son’s trip home on August 11th. If you have any questions about that, please get in touch with us.
Every once in a while it’s good to just take a deep breath, kick back, and relax. Someday we’re gonna do that . Just not lately, and not coming up in the next few days. It has been a very busy few days up here and we’ve had lots of fun. The weather has been SO PERFECT for the past week or so. We’re getting hints that streak may be coming to an end soon, but we have no complaints. It’s been awesome.
Yesterday was Cruiser Day, and it was a great day. It was warm, but not too hot. The day started off sparkling clear, and then in the afternoon some big dark clouds moved in. We got not a single drop from it, though. South of us in town they had a short spurt of heavy rain, but nothing came down here. So it was Cruiser Day as usual. The Juniors were on the bus, and they went bowling in the morning, water sliding in the afternoon, and then cooked out dinner at a local park and topped the day off with some ice cream. Doesn’t that sound nice? The Intermediates were in the vans, and they scattered about. A few cabins drove up to Bayfield and then took the ferry over to beautiful Madeline Island. A few others went up to Little Girls Point up on Lake Superior. And here in camp, the Senior village owned the place and did a bunch of activities together. Even though the night before had been a late one, everyone had great energy for a fantastic Cruiser Day.
Why was the night before a late one (you ask)? So, fun story. There has been a lot of talk about the Northern Lights making an appearance this summer. It has been a few years, and if you’ve ever seen them, you know…they are breathtaking. Of all Mother Nature’s shows, the Northern Lights is my favorite! First session someone had read there was a very likely appearance one night, so we got all excited, and…they didn’t show. Anyway, on Monday at dinner we told the kids there was a good chance the lights would appear that night, and if they did, their counselors might wake them up so they could come out to the fields and see them. It was a ruse, of course. At 10:40 the counselors did wake their kids and walk them out to the fields to lay in the grass and look up at the sky. Never mind that clouds had moved in and you could barely see the moon. And as they were gazing upwards, suddenly music began to play from the Rec Hall and these oddly lit up stick figure dancing people appeared on the roof. They danced a little jig and then boom! The doors to the Rec Hall flew open and there on tables inside was pizza for the whole camp! It was an all-camp pizza party that soon turned into an all-camp dance party. What a blast! Everyone was happy. The kids got a treat, got to stay out late, and got to dance with their cabin mates and counselors. The staff got to have a treat and hang out with their very happy and surprised counselors. And the nice folks at Dominos got to sell us 50 pizzas! It was all finished and wrapped up by 11:20 or so, and a happy camp went to bed.
That capped off what was already a busy day. We had a warm one…getting up to the mid-80s. And it was very sunny. In the afternoon we had games with a nearby boys’ camp. The older guys stayed here, and the younger guys traveled to the other camp. We played softball, soccer, ultimate frisbee, basketball, archery, and volleyball. To try and slow things down a bit, we showed a movie in the Rec Hall that night. Turns out it wasn’t the most popular movie ever, so there were still lots of kids and counselors out playing soccer, climbing around in the bouldering cave, and burning whatever energy they had remaining.
Sunday was a beautiful day. It started off on the cool side, but warmed up throughout the day. In fact, it seemed the warmest part of the day was after dinner. We had Lazy Breakfast in the morning, and that went well. It was a pretty even pace all morning long, and we fed some hungry guys. During Rest Period we had cabin cleanup, AND we did our last activity sign-up. That afternoon we had 2 great activity periods, but no free period. Instead we had an early dinner, and afterwards we boarded some buses and vans and took the trip to “downtown” Minocqua to watch the Min-Aqua Bats Waterski Show. Our little town is home to the nation’s oldest amateur waterski show, and they know how to do it! Our guys were amazed as they watched act after act ski by, and as the sun went down, it cooled off into a perfect northern Wisconsin evening.
Last Saturday was a fairly typical day. After breakfast we met with the chiefs and medicine men who are in charge of Pow Wow Day, and we picked teams. The tribes this year are Caddo, Illini, Pueblo, and Yavapai. The picking went well, and as you would hope, each tribe is convinced they drafted the very best team. We shall see. Evening program that night was the Camper Hunt where the kids go in pairs or triples and hide around camp and in the woods, and the counselors go and find them. It was a great night, and in the end, we got everyone back out of hiding, which ultimately is the goal, right?
Looking ahead, there are major events coming up. Tonight we’ll head to a nearby girls’ camp to watch the ladies there put on a play, and then we’ll have a little time to socialize. Thursday some of our more accomplished waterskiers will participate in a ski tournament, and then on Saturday it’s Pow Wow Day! Major fun times ahead!
Today’s Trip:
-Porcupine Mountains, MI – 3 days backpacking
After Pow Wow Day we have 5 more trips going out, and that will round out an incredible summer of wilderness adventures!
We’ll write to you on Pow Wow Day!
Benches up,
Mike & Leslie