Hi Folks,
Flexibility and resilience are 21st Century Skills. Saw that in a Ted Talk once. Well, the past few days have given us plenty of practice with that. Y’know, when we have a stretch of sunshine and clear weather, we’re good with that! And truly, when a storm system comes through and it just dumps on us, we’re good with that too! We’ve got the facilities, the experience, and the staff to take on those scenarios without even flinching. When Mother Nature has her cruel streak, though, and sends us sporadic storm cells that come at you and the disappear, or don’t appear until the last moment, that’s when we lean on our flexibility. Such has been the last few days.
As a good example, take yesterday. In the morning it was sunny and beautiful, and the forecast was to stay that way all day. We had normal activities in the morning, and in the afternoon we had clinics. Part of those clinics were the re-scheduled games with a nearby boys’ camp, which had been “dewed” out earlier in the session. Our younger guys went there and their older guys arrived here around 2 PM. It was sunny and warm. However, not long after the games started, some dark clouds began to gather to the northwest. We glanced at the radar, and couldn’t believe the glob of green stuff that had just appeared out of nowhere. So we kept an eye on it and were able to get our first round of games in, including basketball, soccer, archery, tennis, and volleyball. Just as the kids were warming up for baseball, floor hockey, ultimate frisbee, and riflery, we heard the thunder. So we took a pause and waited it out and then came the dew. It wasn’t that hard but it was constant, so ultimately we made the decision to cancel the remainder of the games. The kids from the other camp got on their bus and headed for home. And….the sun came out just as they were leaving. Yeah.
Meanwhile, the radar still looked like storms were brewing, so we implemented an indoor program to run for the balance of the afternoon. This was around 4 PM. And we waited and we waited and the dew never arrived. So finally we figured the kids had been indoors enough, we threw together an organized free period, and we got to spend the balance of the afternoon outdoors.
The day before, Sunday, was another weather-stresser. The morning was gorgeous, and we had an awesome Lazy Breakfast. We had some “old-timers” visiting camp over the weekend, and they were intent on helping us cook, so we had a big crew to get breakfast for everyone. The rest of the morning was beautiful, and we had cabin cleanup and normal activities. After lunch we had regular activities scheduled and we had an early dinner planned so we could be on time for our evening program. The plan was to load up on buses and in vans and head to Minocqua for the Min-Aqua Bats Waterski Show. We were all pretty excited about that.
The radar was trying to put a damper on our plans. Little green blotches were popping up everywhere heading into lunch, and while we were eating, the heavy dew arrived. And then it dried. And then it arrived again. Some thunder came along with it, so we had to delay activities. When all was said and done, we were able to get some shortened activities in, but we were worried about the ski show that night. And since we had an early dinner on the calendar, we could find ourselves with a long evening with nothing planned.
As it turned out, the worry was unwarranted. The sky cleared, and right on time we cruised into town for the ski show. The Min-Aqua Bats are the oldest amateur waterski show in the country. The have a large grandstand built into the shore of the lake, and they put on a fantastic show! The name “Bat” comes from the fact that they ski in the evening, and they have big lights to light up their show course. It would be fair to say they didn’t have their best night that night, as some of the acts flopped. Still, it was very entertaining, and particularly for our kids who are into waterskiing, some of the things the Bats did was very impressive.
On Saturday we had a perfect day. It was sunny and mild all day long. We had a full day of activities, and that evening we resurrected a program we hadn’t done in a while. It was Storming the Castle, which is a station-type of program with a medieval theme. The boys were in their cabin groups running around camp and finding clues that lead them to a specific location. At that location they complete a task (i.e. tell a joke and make the jester laugh or woo a maiden in the tower or make a layup in basketball – maybe that one is not so medieval….). When they complete the task, they receive a piece to a jigsaw puzzle and a clue for the next location. Once they have obtained all of the pieces, the completed puzzle points them to the treasure, and they all get to receive their canteen for the day. It was active, funny, and challenging, and the boys loved it.
Last Friday was also a nice day, and a busy one. We had a regular morning, and in the afternoon we had clinics that included games with a different nearby boys’ camp. For this one our older guys traveled and the younger guys played here. They played softball, basketball, tennis, archery, riflery, ultimate frisbee and soccer. And at the same time, we hosted the Timberlane Climbing Challenge. We invited camps to send us 6 rock climbers, and they completed different tasks and routes on the climbing tower and in the bouldering cave. All of the games and events went well, and the kids had a nice time. It was a tiring afternoon, so the evening program was ideal.
That night we had our Legacy Campfire. This time around we honored RYAN HEARST for his 10th summer at camp, and JOVAN MCGEE for his 15th summer with us. Both guys have developed a large network of great friends in their summers here, and they had some fun stories to share. We also did some singing, listened to some nice guitar music, and then we shared the story of the founding of Timberlane with the boys, going way back to when camp was a small fishing resort. We keep it brief when we do that, and the kids seem to really enjoy it. We end the legacy campfire with a few traditions, and overall it was an excellent night.
Today is Cruiser Day, and it is BEAUTIFUL outside. We’re not taking anything for granted, but the radar is totally clear! The Juniors are on a bus, and they’ll be doing some mini golfing and going to the waterslide park. The Intermediates have scattered in vans. 2 groups are headed up to Little Girls Point up on Lake Superior. One group is headed to a park in Eagle River, another is tubing down the Flambeau River, and the 5th group is spending the day on Madeline Island. The Seniors are here in camp doing activities and chilling together.
Looking ahead, Pow Wow Day is on Saturday. Between now and then we have some fun events in the works. After Pow Wow Day it’s a cruise to the finish line, and we keep the fun and friendship of the summer on the front burner to the very end. Camp has an excellent vibe these days and we’re enjoying every minute of it…dew or shine!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- We emailed everyone with the information you need for your campers’ trip home on August 10th. Please let us know if you have any questions.
- We just signed up for the 6th Series of activities. Those are posted on your Keylog page, and they begin tomorrow.
FUTURE TRIP DEPARTURES:
- Taylors Falls, WI/MN – 4 days rock climbing (departed yesterday)
- Porcupine Mountains, MI -3 days backpacking
- Flambeau River, WI – 3 days river canoeing
The men who went on the Quetico return late tomorrow. We can’t wait to hear about their trip! We still have some other kids backpacking in Canada and they’ll get back on Friday. After Pow Wow Day, we will send our final 3 trips of the summer.
We’ll write again soon.
Benches up,
Mike & Leslie