Happy Camper

       Some of you may recall my appointment to serve in the young women organization of my church. Well, one really cool part of this assignment is the annual Girls Camp. All the young women (ages 12-17) in our area come together at a camp specifically designed for this purpose. This was my first time at Heber Valley Camp, and I hope and pray I get to go back! It's all run by volunteers, mostly senior couples referred to as "service missionaries". They provide their own equipment and stay at the camp to help out the hundreds of youth groups that come through.       

       While I was very excited to go, I was also concerned for my young family. I'd never spent the night away from my children before, and my baby was still nursing 3 times a day. Lucky for me, I have the greatest husband in the world who decided that he'd simply pack the 5 kids into the car and make the hour drive up to visit me everyday at noon so baby could still nurse. "It's only 4 days," he said. (can you see why I love this man?) I borrowed a nursing pump (thanks, Denise!) to cover the regular morning and nightly feedings. And each day, I drove to the entrance of the camp to meet 5 cheerful kiddos and an incredibly supportive husband for lunch.

       Here are some of the highlights from that week:

       My girls and I got to try out the Challenge Course. 

       At the beginning, I was assigned to monitor the "Spiderweb" station. It's known as a low-course. As each group came through, I explained the objective: to get each member of the group through the web without touching it, using each hole only once. It required a lot of teamwork and deliberation. The groups rotated through the low courses and ended at the high course and zip line. Manning the spiderweb, I thought I had a valid excuse to avoid the high course. But when everyone finished with time to spare, they asked if I'd like a turn. And actually, I am so glad I did! What a thrilling experience!

Here's one of my girls all geared up for the high course.

Climbing this net was trickier than it looked. Those bands had a lot of give,
requiring more use of your upper body strength to make it to the top. 

Walking across the air! One of the service missionaries was stationed at this platform
to help hook you up to the zip-line.

Now it's my turn.
 I'm so glad one of the other leaders snapped these 
shots on my camera. (Thanks a bunch, Saundra!)

I look cheerful enough, but honestly I was encouraging myself with the thought,
"The sooner you get up there, the sooner you can come back down!"

This part was nerve-wracking for me at the time, but I think if I get another chance,
I'd like to take it slower and actually "look down", even though everyone advises against it.
It's just such a rare and incredible opportunity to see things from that perspective.

What peace to be surrounded by growing things, to close your eyes and to hear the sounds of life all around you. One morning I was awake early and decided to take my camera on a nature stroll. 

I was elated to capture this caterpillar on camera, enjoying its breakfast.

    I made it a personal goal to photograph each type of flower I discovered while I was up there. Not everyone on our 3 mile hike was thrilled about this idea. I kept holding up traffic on the trail. "Oh! There's one I haven't got yet! Ooo! Look at those over there! Okay, just a second. I've gotta get a closer shot."

It was quite the climb, but totally worth it. What a view! My camera couldn't do it justice.

The girls on our hike were good sports, singing along the way to keep up their spirits
-- even when we took a wrong turn and had to backtrack a ways!
They also helped one another with the Camp Challenge, to memorize this
so we could all recite it together that night at the fireside.

     Of course, every camp has it's drawbacks. The girls were adamant about their dislike (and outright fear) of the bugs. They didn't bother me much, though. I don't think I got a single mosquito bite. One of my girls became ill and was disappointed to have to leave early. But there were greater threats. . .

    All of us had been warned to look out for bears, but never did I imagine we'd actually see one, much less get a photograph of one! One afternoon we stepped out of our cabin and the leader from the cabin next door stood there, stock still. "Shhhh. . ." she said, trying not to move her lips. "There's--a--bear--over--there!" And indeed there was, lumbering up the same path we walked every day to the amphitheater for morning and evening flag ceremonies. Holy cow, were we excited! When the brute had wandered out of sight, the girl I was with echoed my own thoughts. "Gosh, I know it's a foolish idea - but I have to fight the urge to go after it!"

    The greatest reward of the experience however, was being able to establish close relationships with the others there. It was such an enjoyable and freeing time. I loved the late night talks, the inside jokes and attempted pranks! What a rare treat to enjoy the beauties of nature, the comfort of friends and the challenge of wilderness survival! (I know, compared to most campsites, my experience looks more like a luxury hotel!)
     With the sacrifices that had to be made and the investments of time and effort from each participant, I am so thankful to all those who came up to camp. I had the time of my life. Hope to see you all there next year, too! (With the possible exception of that bear. . .)