Our Mother Child Campers are gone and probably all showered and laundry in the was but I bet they are still singing or at least hearing camp songs! The photos from Mother Child B are beautiful-take a minute to check them out! http://www.flickr.com/photos/campwestwind/sets/72157634729744000/
I just heard from our travel campers and here is what Platy reports:
And Travel Camp 2013 is in
full swing!!
The first two days were a
success. Pulling away from PCC on Sunday, the levels of excitement were high
and there was already an easy rapport among everyone in the van. We had an
uneventful drive to Maupin during which we played car games and got to know
each other. Upon reaching Maupin, we had lunch and then prepared to go rafting.
Link used to be a raft guide in Maupin and we were excited to have him take us
out on his old guiding route. Before too long, we were heading downstream on
the Deschutes River. After three hours (Link did a great job guiding), we
stopped at the store, ordered some pizza from the local pizza restaurant, and
piled into the van.
We had made reservations at
a campground in Mount Hood National Forest but as we drove out of Maupin,
realized that our destination was further away than we had energy driving.
Instead, we drove back down and found a campsite down on the Deschutes
riverfront. All had gone smoothly up until Bertha, (the name we had lovingly
chosen for our van), got stuck in the loose gravel driving up to the campsite.
After many attempts of digging her out, we were finally able to move her after
unpacking her completely – no easy feat. We set up camp despite gusts of wind
and soon gathered around to play games that allowed us to get to know each
other even better.
Waking up early the next
morning, we set off for Smith Rock State Park. A few of us had been to Smith
Rock on previous Travel Camp trips, but were never there long enough to explore
it. This time, we reached Smith Rock by lunchtime and after eating, set off for
a long hike in the hot sun. We were all astounded by the rugged beauty and
sheer size of the rocks. We admired the courageous rock climbers clinging to
the rocks and slowly made our way to the summit of Smith Rock. Almost four
hours later, dusty, thirsty, and inspired, we arrived at our camp and made an
amazing macaroni and cheese dinner. Smith Rock always offers a unique camping
experience because it is bivouac camping; we chose an awesome campsite overlooking
Smith Rock and fell asleep under the stars.
The next day we set off
towards Crater Lake, stopping in Bend for lunch and a visit to REI. Late in the
afternoon, we arrived at Crater Lake National Park and drove to one of the
highest points to take pictures at an epic viewpoint. Even though the sky was
overcast, the colors of the lake were brilliant and took our collective breath
away. We spent about an hour admiring the lake and then headed to Diamond Lake
campground, finding our site tucked away in a beautiful location right on the
lake shore. While some went swimming in Diamond Lake with Hoku-our trusty lifeguard, others made
dinner and before long, we were eating burgers while admiring an incredible
sunset, framed by the mountains and the lake, created by summer skies and the
smoke of a wildfire off in the far distance. We ended our night with a value
session focusing on the definition of beauty. Everyone was articulate and
thoughtful, and the connection throughout the group grew stronger as the night
carried on.
Today is day four and we're on our way to
California! Tonight we will stay at Hirz Bay on the shore of Lake Shasta and
tomorrow we will head to the redwoods! Everyone is having a fantastic time and
spirits are high. Ahead we have service projects, a Native American Center,
sand dunes, tree climbing, and beautiful sights!
No comments:
Post a Comment