Work Hard, Camp Hard

Hello All,

What a week!  We've had backpacking trips, high ropes adventures, outdoor cooking smorgasbords, and waterfront shenanigans galore.  Day Camp had a double program this week - some foiled the Toilet Paper Villain during Superheroes Week, and others made awesome crafts in Arts Around Us.  It's been so much fun seeing our staff bond with each other and the campers, and watching the campers get out of their comfort zones to make new friends and memories.  I had one camper tell me after getting off the Power Pole, "Wow!  I'm afraid of heights, so I wasn't sure if I could make it!"  She hadn't said a thing beforehand, and just jumped right into the challenge of conquering her fear.

Last Saturday was also our July Ridge Dinner, a New England style four-course meal including a shrimp boil and delicious whoopie pies.  The incredible PRIDE of Newaygo County volunteered for the event, Donald Benson and Jay Round performed, and we were able to raise funds for the PRIDE members to attend the Drug Prevention Conference in Arkansas.  Overall it was a beautiful night.

Next week is the last week of resident camp.  It goes by so fast...

Happy Camping!

Community Picnic Tonight!

Hello All,

I cannot believe we are already four weeks into summer camp!  We only have two full weeks left.  At least we still have Christmas in July to look forward to.  The staff has gotten their Secret Santa assignments and ornaments are being made in the craft shop.  I can't wait for the big reveal on Friday to see who had who!  The kids will leave their "stockings" outside tomorrow night for a special treat, and the day will be filled with decorating, singing, special activities and a great Christmas dinner.

Monday night we resurrected a tradition for the evening:  Newaygo Squares!  Campers tested their knowledge against celebrity panelists such as the Coppertone girl, Justin Bieber, and the Cookie Monster.  Check it out:

Abe is the famous "Rigg'a'Bamboo" - she's red and gold and purple too!

Don't forget to visit the Community Picnic at Fremont Veteran's Memorial Park, hosted by TrueNorth Community Services, tonight.  Get a meal for a $1 donation from 5pm to 7:30pm.  I'll be there selling raffle tickets to support Camp and eating some yummy food.  It's going to be a blast!

Happy Camping!

Summer Camp News!

Hello All,

Camp is in full swing here, and every day is a new adventure!  A lot goes on behind the scenes that our campers probably don't even notice.  So many people help to run camp like a well-oiled machine - counselors, directors, and staff.  While the counselors are here to give the girls an amazing experience at camp, there are just as many people in the background keeping it all going.  Many thanks to Mary, Lori, Caitlin, Caroline, Nikki, Kaci, Liz, Laurie, Mary Ann, Penny, Kari, Naoe, Gary, Julia, Jalisa, Jane, Lisa, Marcia, Jelanie, Mary M., Carol, Shelby, Miranda, Joe, Andrea, Tyler, and Daina!  Phew that's quite a list!

Big news from the 4th of July!  Our very own Day Camp Director Jeremy had quite a surprise for our Waterfront Director Kaci during our lantern ceremony.  As the lanterns were lit and sent up above Pickerel Lake, Jeremy proposed!  It was beautiful.  After the special moment people around the lake began to set off fireworks as if in celebration of the engagement.  Congratulations to Kaci and Jeremy!


Happy Camping!

Super Summer

Hello All,

Staff training has begun, and it looks like we are going to have a fantastic group of counselors this year!  They have been busy with photo scavenger hunts, camp outs, canoe trips, song singing, and more.  We are so excited to get our first batch of campers.

This weekend we are very busy with our last Mom and Me Camp, as well as Kid's Day in Newaygo - come see me at the rock wall!

Happy Camping!

Zip Line News

Hello All,

A little update to our Zip Line - we have decided to postpone our Opening Day and we will keep you updated on when the canopy tour will be open to the public.  Don't worry!  This high-flying experience is going to be amazing when the weather isn't so gloomy and the sun is shining!

Happy Camping!

Variety is the Spice of Camp

Hello All!

What a busy week so far!  Andrea has officially started work on our Wetland expansion, with help from local community members and three students from Cabrini High School.  We are also hosting the zip line build team while they put the finishing touches on the course, the fantastic group of Camp Ability, and twenty five of our staff (including internationals), some of which are getting lifeguard certified.  It's a lot to keep track of!  I am so happy to see Camp busy again.

Students of Boardwalk Building 101

Yesterday we saw a giant Snapping Turtle lay her eggs...in the Day Camp parking lot.  Hopefully I can find her nest and save her babies from a smooshing!  My own pet Map Turtle Tank has a new buddy nick-named Dee, and he's very tiny:

Dee's shell is the size of a quarter!

Happy Camping!

A Not Neat Knot Need Not be Knotted

Hello All,

Summer is officially here now that a portion of our summer counseling staff have arrived!  Last week and this week has been dedicated to building our amazing new zip line canopy tour.  Almost everyone in the office was on hand to clear away branches under the lines - and to sweet talk the wood chipper at times - while the installation team did their thing.  We also put in a few new low-ropes elements, too.  The giant's thumb was somewhat easy to test out for Amazon women like Jalisa and I, but it will be a real challenge for the campers.  A big thank you goes out to the Summit  team for their hard work.

The past two days have been spent training a selection of volunteers and staff on the low and high ropes courses (hence the nifty blog title we learned during knot tying).  The rock wall was a little pollen-covered this morning, which caused some funny moments for the climbers as they clung to the hand-holds mid-sneeze.  I, too, was a victim of allergies and actually came off the wall with the force of my "achoo" (it's an automatic belay system, don't worry).  TrueNorth's camera man Chris brought out a Go-Pro camera to document the first ever Camp Newaygo employee to ride the zip line, Kori - it was awesome!

Unfortunately I was having so much fun on the course that I did not take any pictures of the zip, so instead here's a picture of a very tall, very fresh fern on the boardwalk on my way home last night.  I also got a blurry picture of a Moccassin Flower Orchid, but I was almost eaten alive by mosquitoes to get the shot so I ran the rest of the way home.  I have a feeling we'll be using up a lot of bug spray this month.

Cinnamon Ferns (disclaimer: not actual cinnamon)

Happy Camping!

Gearing Up

Hello All!

Last week was full of adventure at Camp Newaygo:  Andrea returned to Camp and is getting ready to start work on our Wetland Trail and we are so happy to have her back.  Caitlin got a new puppy on Mother's Day - a fluffy little cockapoo named Lou that is absolutely adorable.  We hosted a wonderful group from Grand Rapids that packed their 24 hour stay full of fishing, archery, rock climbing, fire building, drumming, cooking, the high ropes course, and more!

Julia is in Chicago this week for lifeguard instructor training while we are making plans for the zip line being installed at the end of the month.  And then our season really kicks off with Mom and Me Camps, lifeguard and staff training, and then summer camp!

Say hello, Lou!

Happy Camping!

Mother's Day Well Wishes

Hello All!

What a wonderful and busy weekend here at Camp Newaygo!

We had a beautiful wedding here on Saturday, with a creative theme - old Hollywood!  The bride's dress had a million buttons down the back and the bridesmaids' hairstyles made them look like classic starlets.  They even had an 11-piece jazz band!  It was absolutely lovely.

 A beautiful day for a wedding

Speeches!

On Sunday we transformed the lodge from wedding reception to Mother's Day buffet.  It took some work, but it turned out great.  The food was delicious and the weather even cooperated for us so that guests could check out the Wetland Trail.  We were so happy with the turnout for the event, and we might even expand it next year.  We hope everyone had a nice Mother's Day!

Happy Camping!

Camp is OPEN!

Hello All!

This weekend was full of hard work, great people, and most of all fun!  Saturday was our Spring Volunteer Day - our annual day to get things in ship-shape for summer.  The red chairs came out, the units were opened, the windows cleaned, and ALL the leaves raked away.  The place looks immaculate!  Our Youth Advisory Council girls even raked out Blueberry and Sassafrass, our camp sites on the other side of the bog.

While our volunteers were busy at Camp, Gary and I were in Hesperia manning the rock wall for Project FOCUS's STEM competition.  We had kids racing to climb to the top, first-timers climbing for the first time, and we even convinced a few of the chaperones to give it a try!

Setting up the wall for the first time this year - and carabiners!

On Sunday was our Spring Open House, and the YAC girls did an amazing job showing off camp to new and returning campers and their families.  Kids playied with the magic sand, ate popcorn, played Spikeball, watched our amazing video, and made new friends!  There's only nine weeks left until the first session of camp starts and I am so excited!

Happy Camping!

Everyday Superheroes

Hello All!

Last night TrueNorth hosted its annual Community of Efforts dinner for our amazing volunteers.  Ridge Catering served herb crusted chicken, roasted redskin potatoes, seasoned green beans, salad and rolls to the guests.  Julia and I helped Gary prepare for 200 people!  That kitchen was hopping.

Camp Newaygo helpers Fran Gibbs and Michael Danhof both won awards for their excellent service - Fran was awarded the Peggy Stone Award and Michael was given Camp Newaygo's program award.  Congratulations to the both of them for their hard work and many hours of service.

The evening ended with a performance by Fly Paper, a band from Kalamazoo.  The Volunteer Resource Center team - Lora and Jena - did an excellent job with the decorations and the flow of the night, and the video showing all the volunteers wearing capes was adorable.  All of our volunteers are superheroes to us!

On the homefront, the Wetland Trail is passable again!  Julia and I hiked through the bog to Cliff House on Sunday and the frogs were practically deafening.  Our feet got a bit wet from the high water level surround the boardwalk, but it was lots of fun picking our way through the trail.

Happy Camping!

Whirlwind April!

Hello All!

What a wonderful week to live in Michigan, huh?  Hail, strong tornado-like winds, snow, and tomorrow it will be back in the sixties like nothing ever happened.  We had some co-workers lose power for a few days as well as some property damage and some flooding.  We are very fortunate that Camp fared well in the storm.  Mother Nature proved once again that she's a force to be reckoned with!

Jalisa and Julia are away all week showing Grand Rapids all of our amazing programs, and we are gearing up for a busy Spring!  They only just returned from Chicago where the Mid-States ACA conference was held. Jane is back from a wonderful vacation to Key West - so warm! - and we are preparing for our next big events - Spring Volunteer Day and the first annual Mother's Day Buffet.  It is turning into a very popular event, so if you have not reserved a spot yet, do so now!

Happy Camping!

Off Season Shenanigans

Hello All!

One way I like to keep myself entertained in the off-season, when there are no kids around to keep Camp busy, is to play trivia downtown on Tuesday nights.  And guess what team won two weeks in a row!  It's a lot of fun, especially when we have someone in the group that knows the sports questions.  Unfortunately that is not my area of expertise.  I play with some folks from the local library and we share some laughs along with random knowledge and good eats.  I think Camp Henry was there this week, but I can't be sure...

This year's Buckeye Leadership Workshop was absolutely fantastic.  I learned so much!  BLW had an amazing guest instructor named Bil Lepp, a professional story-teller.  I highly urge you all to check out his website (leppstorytelling.com) as well as his CDs, books and videos.  He was hilarious, and taught some great classes about the art of storytelling.

I also learned a lot about being productive and some tools that people can use to help stay organized.  I'm very excited to start adopting some techniques into my everyday routines, like the Eat Your Frog First Rule - get the not-so-fun stuff done first - or the 2-Minute Rule - if it can be done in two minutes or less, do it.  It was all extremely helpful.

Here is a photo of my Think Together Group for the workshop for the week.  They were all so nice!

Photo bombed by the tire.

Happy Camping!

The one where you realize you have to pack and have no clean laundry

Hello All!

Buckeye is SO CLOSE!  We will be leaving tomorrow, and I have not even thought of packing yet.  So tonight will be a mad scramble of laundry and panic.  I don't even have a duffle bag or suitcase to put everything in.  I hope I don't forget anything.  Is this how it feels to go to Camp each summer?  Or do you have everything packed a week prior?  I wish I was like that.  Good thing we have toiletries at the Camp store.

Speaking of, we've been working on our ordering for the Camp Store and this summer is going to be AWESOME.  We've got lots of cute plushies, some great shirts, running shorts and accessories.  It's going to be hard to resist nabbing all the CN swag right when it arrives.  I'll try to resist and leave some for the rest of you!

Bonus picture of me on an old fashioned bike at the GR Public Museum:

How did those people not fall over ALL THE TIME?!

Happy Camping!

M-37 Take Me Home

Hello All,

Around this time of year I get very nostalgic for camp songs.  Also around this time of year I realize I've forgotten some of the lyrics and must remedy that problem immediately.  Luckily I have most of them all written down in my trusty song book, but for the life of me I cannot remember the ending to Ragtime Cowboy Joe.  Any help?

I love the fact that Camp has so many songs that each summer we get to "retire" ones that we sang a lot the previous summer and bring back old faves.  And maybe introduce new ones!  The hit last summer seemed to be "Rattlin' Bog" (or "sphagnum bog" as we call it).  Who knows what this summer's hit will be...

As for quiet time songs, those always seem to get into my head right before bedtime or when I'm driving alone at night.  I miss hearing all the harmonies and the warm starry nights on the patio or the beach with the campers and staff, but I know summer is right around the corner.  I can't wait.

Boy, now that I think about it I know the lyrics to so many songs.  I should make a list - I'm sure it would be over 50.  My head is full of music!

What are your favorite camp songs?

Happy Camping!

Spring has Sprung...sort of...

Hello All!

I have a theory that the movie Frozen is somehow responsible for this long and chilly winter.  Maybe now that it's on DVD, the curse will be broken.  Who's with me?

Julia has definitely hit the ground running this past month, and she has made herself right at home!  We are so happy that she is settling in.  She had tea time in Holland last weekend and is heading to Grand Rapids tomorrow for a superhero night.  And in two weeks we all head of to Buckeye Leadership Workshop!

Question:  One of the themed nights at BLW is "BIG."  Should I dress up as Bigfoot or as Bigbird?  One requires lots of yellow feathers, and the other lots of fur.  Either way I will be very itchy.

Here's a bonus St. Patty's Day picture from a Cheerobics class Lora Stevens, Lisa Daniell and I attended:

I mustache you a question - do we look festive enough?

Happy Camping!

Back to the Future

Hello All!

Humans are so cool - we can control time!  Although who knew time jumping would be so tiring.  Did anyone else feel the time change really hit yesterday morning?  I was really wishing for that hour back when I hit my alarm clock.  It was nice to have lots of sunshine in the evening, though!

This week I am working with all of the awesome people at TrueNorth Community Services while Camp is rolling along with its Spring schedule.  TrueNorth has some great programs and services that affect 61 counties in Michigan - that's over two-thirds of the state!  Camp Newaygo is just one (amazing) service that TrueNorth offers.

Julia and I visited chilly Grand Haven over the weekend and we took a trip out to the pier for her first sight of the frozen lake!  It was hard to tell where the beach ended and the water actually began, but we could definitely tell when we passed chunks like these!

Ice.  Deal with it.

Next up on Julia's winter to-do list: snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling.  I don't think melting snow will be an issue for a while...

Happy Camping!

The Winter That Wouldn't End

Hello All!

A ton of new and exciting things are happening here at Camp!  I've got so much news to share!

Winter came in like a lion at Camp Newaygo, and it looks like it will be going out like one, too.  Our newest addition to Camp Newaygo is Julia Burger, all the way from Atlanta Georgia.  She's our new Assistant Program Director and will be in charge of lots of different things during the year - from recruiting in the spring, evening programs in summer, to wedding assistant in the fall.  She brought a refreshing outlook to the rest of the office with her excitement about snow - without her, I think we all would have perished from Cabin Fever by now!

Check out her handiwork at the gates:

I knew those flamingos would come in handy for something.  She put about forty all over the giant snow piles.

Our winter events were amazing, starting with my favorite, the Murder Mystery Dinner.  Camp Newaygo "classmates" joined together for an 80's themed class reunion complete with 80's cuisine and a live DJ.  Daddies and daughters danced the night away at our annual Daddy Daughter Dance, and we tested out couples' knowledge on Valentine's Day at our Date Night Challenge.  Lang Lodge was a hoppin' place this winter!

Camp Fairs and shows are in full swing right now, and we are heading out to some awesome schools for teambuilding days.  On the homefront, we are gearing up for our spring events and our open house - hopefully there won't be any snow left by then...

Happy Camping!