Hi Folks,
In this posting you will find:
So, what did you do tonight? For me it was just – y’know – another night at camp. I spent 45 minutes lying on the forest floor, under a low canopy of leafy green ferns and higher canopy of aspen, oak, maple, and birch trees, trying to be invisible to all the campers hunting for me and the rest of the staff. It was Counselor Hunt, and it was a beautiful evening. It was warm, but not hot, and there was a steady breeze rustling the leaves. It was so beautiful, in fact, that I managed to fall asleep just a little bit while lying on the dirt and leaves.
And invisible I was! There were kids walking within 5 feet of me, and although I could see them (like a Ninja!), they could not see me. So after about 45 minutes I thought I’d come out of hiding and make a game of it. I tried to make my way onto the athletic fields to have a nice dramatic chase scene, but it didn’t work out. As I rounded a corner, two of our older kids saw me, got that grin on their faces, and gave chase. I turned and ran, realizing I had no possible hope of outlasting 15 year-old legs, but it didn’t matter. As soon as I rounded the next corner, boom! I ran right into the arms of one of our youngest campers! Just proves that it helps to be in the right place at the right time.
We’ve had a continued streak of spectacular weather. The days have been warm, but not uncomfortable at all, and we’ve had sunny, blue skies. So nice! Back on July 4th, we did have a bout of some wet weather, but fortunately it didn’t interfere with us too much. The morning was just beautiful, and the only indication we had that a storm was on the horizon was by taking a look at the radar. By late morning, however, the blue skies had clouded up, and the temperature dropped, and the wind picked up. It didn’t start getting wet until after lunch. The skies opened up for about 90 minutes, and that was honestly really nice. We delayed the start of our afternoon schedule, and ended up getting both activity periods in, though we had to sacrifice the afternoon free period.
By dinner the indecision for the evening fireworks show was getting a little annoying. The radar showed a blob of stormy weather heading our direction, but it progressively appeared to be moving to our north and west. It could miss us! We decided….what the heck. If the town was going to put the show on, we were gonna be there to watch. So we had the kids pack rain gear (just in case), and after a free period after dinner, we boarded buses and vans and made the 10 minute ride into town.
We’ve had the same vantage point for the fireworks show for more than 20 years, and it is awesome! We are really close up, with a great view over a small area of Lake Minocqua, and an unobstructed view of the show. Some years the area around us is pretty crowded, but the weather scared off some folks. We had plenty of room to sit, sing some songs, and wait for the fireworks to start. And as usual, it did not disappoint! Our little town does it up big, and we truly enjoyed it. We returned pretty late, so we slept in the next day.
The days that followed were nice, typical camp days. We did have some games with a nearby boys’ camp in the afternoon of July 5th, and that was fun. We played softball, basketball, soccer, ultimate frisbee, tennis, flag football, archery & riflery. The kids played hard, showed exemplary sportsmanship, and had a great time.
The next day (yesterday) was a gorgeous day, and in the evening we had a campfire. It was fantastic! We sang really well together, and then one of our counselors read a story. After that some kids and counselors played some guitar and ukulele music, and then one of our more senior counselors talked with everyone about how powerful and positive it is to show gratitude. He gave some examples of times and ways to express thanks and appreciation, and it hit home very well. The Keylog Ceremony that followed was an exercise in gratitude writ large. And let’s face it…there is a whole lot to be grateful for up here.
Looking ahead, tomorrow we will have Lazy Breakfast and in the afternoon we’ll spend a little time prepping for UN Day. And then Monday is UN Day! We’ll have a ton to tell you about then, so please stay tuned.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- NO ANNOUNCEMENTS TODAY.
FUTURE TRIP DEPARTURES:
The final trips of 1st Session will depart the day after UN Day. And it’s quite a list!
- Porcupine Mountains, MI – 3 days backpacking
- Brule River, WI – 3 days river canoeing
- Namekagon River, WI – 3 days river canoeing
- Sylvania Nat’l Recreation Area, MI – 3 days lake canoeing
Get ready for UN Day!! We’ll write you then.
Benches up,
Mike & Leslie