Special Day!

Dear Parents & Friends,

What a day!  It is our “Special Day” at camp and a special day for all you fathers out there.  So.. happy Father’s Day!  Special Day at camp is a time when the whole camp participates in a camp wide activity that can last all day long.  This morning after a leisurely wake up bell at 8:30 and a 9:00 breakfast we assembled in front of the Lodge to find out what our mission was for the morning.

There were 4 different stations that were geared toward the cabin group effort and teamwork.  Each station was quite different although similar in some ways.  Our young engineers put their brains to work to create the perfect egg drop cushioning system.  They were given some articles like tape, a plastic bag and one balloon.  They could, however, use any natural materials they could find from the forest.  Many eggs did survive the free fall and countdown from the balcony of the upper dwellings.  Another engineering feat came from putting together a few objects that would float your counselor on the lake.  Campers had a limited about of raw materials and did quite well.  Some of our 6’4” men were pretty hard to keep afloat.  I think only one cabin built a raft that kept their counselor dry.  Of course the fun of this was to get them wet!

Then there was the last water on earth and campers had to convert atomic water into fresh water to save our planet.  Not only did they have to transport the water but had to do so from 15 feet away using only tarp cord and a stretchy old bike tire.  You will be pleased to know that we can all drink deeply of our bounty of water tomorrow saved by the Gwynn Valley Water Crusaders.  Can you imagine skiing on the back on someone else’s skis or say walking on a long ski with your whole cabin standing on the same skis you are standing on.  That friend takes teamwork.  Mind Games, your talent perhaps; then the Jedi Mind Game could leave you saying “use the force Luke”.  Mind and movement were combined and all we lacked were light sabers.  Tower Buildings was the other engineering feat that filled out our morning.  Marshmallows, toothpicks and longer sticks had everyone trying to build the tallest structure.  Last but not least this morning was the Human Knot where you had to untangle your whole cabin to reach the next challenge.  All this was in just in the morning hour.

While the cool of the morning was for stretching our intellect, the afternoon was reserved for activity, getting wet and staying cool.  There were potato sack races, rescue the ducks from the pool, find the yellow brick road through the forest and back to the soccer field, the obstacle course Part 1 and Part 2, mud crawl, lake raft challenge, retrieve the package and then deliver it, hoola hoop hop, ring of fire, spiderweb, ice bath in a raft, bomb tree at the Bong Tree (arts area), netting crawl, and the finale was a giant shaving cream party on the Green.  Yes we got very dirty today and we cleaned up and smelled much better after the shaving cream party.  You would not have recognized some of your children covered in white cream.

We had a wonderful dinner of chicken pot pie, fresh broccoli, salad and cabbage from the farm and huge bowls of fruit.  There were some tired campers at Vespers service tonight.  Our theme was God’s Creations and several cabins and individuals chipped.  The boys from Aching Legs helped me with a skit about the Giant Sequoia Trees.  It’s been a full week and a full day.  What’s better is there’s more to come.  Tomorrow Mountainside leaves from their adventures and our main camp children will be going off site for biking, paddling and climbing.  It should be a fun and productive week.  Stay tuned as we get into our last week of B session!  Again, Happy Father’s Day to you guys out there.