We had a great start to our week at AO 2012 sleep away camp. We woke up, ate a big breakfast, and got ready to go on some adventures! Those campers who chose to kayak headed out to be outfitted with gear, while the backpackers met in the Opera House to pack and then depart. Meanwhile, the younger campers met at the green to learn how to slackline! (With Director Tom and Counselor Julia’s help, of course.)
The kayakers had tons of fun getting fitted for their kayaks and paddling all around a beautiful lake. Campers had the chance to try a wet exit, and some did it more than once for fun! We enjoyed the scenery as we ate lunch, and then hopped back into our kayaks to learn some different paddle strokes from our awesome guides and to play some fun water games. We played sharks and minnows, piano keys, and had fun giving each other rides on the kayaks! It was a great day, and the kayakers had a blast!
Meanwhile, the backpackers headed out to beautiful Rocky Mountain National Park to hike and camp out overnight. They had a good time learning about backpacking gear, and cooked the “best pizza ever!” for dinner. Check out the photos (photos.aocamps.com, check your camp account for the password), to see more of the backpacking trip.
The younger campers, in the meantime, learned how to slackline, played some awesome teambuilding games with Director Tom–including “cross the crevasse”–and had the chance to make lanyards and friendship bracelets with Counselor Julia. When everyone returned to camp, we all retired to our cabins for a well-deserved rest hour, and then met in the gym for some delightful free time. Campers ate some delicious gorp for snack, and had the chance to spend some time drawing and painting, if they so chose. We also enjoyed playing in the camp costume room!
At the end of free time, we cleaned up the gym a bit, and then headed down to Grizzly Jacks for dinner. Yum! After dinner, campers got into their pjs and headed to the Opera House for a fierce, fun game of Bingo! It was great fun; Nurse Stephanie called all of the numbers, and campers competed for some awesome prizes, including making a kite during rest hour and having 10 extra minutes of swimming. After Bingo, campers had a great time relaxing and playing board and card games–we played Sorry! Sliders, Consensus, Jenga, Uno, BrainQuest, and cards. It was almost too fun to stop, but we figured we needed to get some sleep, so we headed back to our cabins around 8:45 to brush our teeth and get ready for bed.
Lights out by 9:15, and the end of another great day at sleep away camp!