On this last day of camp before the weekend, when a camper was asked “Are you happy it’s Friday?” he replied “Not really, because it means I have to leave.” Needless to say that was a great way to start our 1st Friday of Session 2! After making all our stops we stayed at Base Camp where Director Betsy was busy getting our 26′ mobile rock wall camper-ready. While we waited we applied lots of sunscreen, sang morning songs of “3 Short-Necked Buzzards” and “The Hippo Song,” played a get to know you game (Mingle, Mingle) and worked on teambuilding. In this teambuilding experience campers had to problem solve how they would stay on a tarp that continued to become half its size. The campers noticed it was easy at first but then had to put their brains together to make it work. We had campers volunteer to put others on their backs and all balanced on 1 foot, and it worked! Nice teamwork Aqua Ninjas. Campers did a wonderful job of challenging themselves while climbing. During the morning time the group mixed the GORP they had ordered the day before. To do so campers and a partner had to invent a mixing motion and a story to fit that motion. It was nice to see campers creatively mix the GORP and have fun with their stories. To finish off the morning we re-energized by eating lunch under our canopy.
Our destination for the afternoon was Bluff Lake Nature Center. After setting up our table we reapplied sunscreen and got ready for our Bird Hunt. As we descended the bluff and explored the lake area campers took turns looking at the birds through binoculars. Some of the birds we saw were Red Winged Black Birds, Black Birds, Canadian Geese, and a giant (we mean giant) Bird of Prey. As we rounded the Southwest side of the lake we explored many types of prarie grasses and plants. Campers were kept cool in the summer heat with spray bottles and lots of water from their waterbottles. They were able to have play time under the Lake’s gazeebo. When we returned to our table we worked on Pet Rocks – campers were able to decorate one rock of their choice from the hike. We ate the delicious GORP we had mixed that morning -yummy! Before we knew it we were back in the van on the way to send everyone home for the weekend. What a day!
