Campouts Tonight and WEB/OLS Campfire
Dear Parents & Friends,
We’re still having some problems with the e-camp software and weren’t able to load all the pics tonight. Hopefully we’ll get this worked out in the next day or two. Bear with us. I just returned from taking the Mountainside Bikers a spare bike. They were having some mechanical issues with one of the bikes so it gave me an opportunity to get over to see them. They are doing well and were just finishing dinner and getting ready to start a fire when I arrived. They’ve ridden some of my favorite trails over the past day and a half and were only slightly delayed by rain this morning for an hour or so. It rained at camp as well but no thunder or lightening. Dupont State Forest is an excellent place to ride with over a hundred miles of trails. It’s close to camp depending on what entrance you take but no more than 10 miles at the farthest point. There are a variety of trails that work for beginners through advanced riders. Erin and I are taking the Main Camp Bikers to Dupont tomorrow and will be riding the famous Ridge Line Trail – the most fun trail in the park. We’ll keep you posted.
Tonight at campfire the theme was OLS and WEB which I missed because I was visiting the bikers. It’s always a fun campfire complete with music, stories and a skit or two. John and Emily head up the campfire and set the stage which is held on the Gatehouse Green. One famous camp skit that always occurs is the Bandana (Banana) skit. Two staff show campers how to use a bandana and one of the staff is thinking that he means a banana. It’s always funny no manner who does it. The final blow is when after a long day of working you wipe your face with the bandana (banana), wring it out and wipe again. Of course the campers love it when the staff member squeezes the banana turning it into mush and then wiping their face with it.
Many of our campers are camping out tonight and it’s a beautiful night here. There are some storms off to the east which are providing some good light shows but nothing threatening the campouts. There are 12 campout shelters at camp and some have a variety of amenities such as running water (a creek next to your campsite), easy to find firewood, and others offer you an exquisite view, while others are just around the corner from Main Camp like Hidden Stall which has running water, close to camp but no view. It’s kind of like renting a cottage for the night. You get to choose where you want to go unless it’s already taken. All shelter are built up off the ground and three sided with a roof and a campfire circle. After all one needs a place to cook dinner and breakfast.
Our three week session is in its last week and we’ve really enjoyed having a good many of the children for that period of time. You really get to know them in that length of time and they certainly get into a groove in the three week sessions. I know many children and parents don’t want to commit for that long but I do love those long sessions. You see some real progress with campers and it allows them to truly dive into camp activities in a big way. Given our age group of focusing on younger children at Gwynn Valley we’re quite happy to have your children for any length of time. We appreciate you sharing them with us during the summer and hope they return home full of camp memories that will last a lifetime. Stay tuned!