Bittersweet goodbyes

 

Today is certainly a bittersweet day. It is our last day of summer camp for 2014. While our staff will be leaving soon, we also say goodbye today to a fantastic group of campers. With some fantastic days and nights, our campers certainly had a blast this week. Everyone slept well Tuesday night after our camp wide game of capture the flag. Wednesday morning saw our weekly Lake Swim, with campers being boated across the lake and then getting a chance to swim back. Our electric blue swimmer’s were escorted by lifeguards, yak boars, and powerboats. Afterwards, they definitely appreciated the hot chocolate and donuts at breakfast. Wednesday is always an exiting day here at camp, with lots of crazy things happening. From taking a dip in the mud walk, to learning to flip over canoes, campers are always making many unforgettable memories.

Wednesday night saw campers hunting for Brandon’s belly button in an adaptation of a fair hunt. While looking around in the woods, campers found different forms of Brandon and they helped make a new song to the tune of old camp songs. This night was certainly one of our goofier nights. Thursday was also a blast, especially during our “Rock Concert.” Working with an ’80s theme, cabins and staff came up with some amazing dances to some of the most popular hits of the 80s including “Eye of the Tiger,””Danger Zone,” and “Girls just wanna have fun.”

After a good nights rest, it was time for the Final Friday. While always a little sad, the energy and enthusiasm around camp was palpable.  After enjoying morning and afternoon activity periods, our campers helped in the areas around camp to help clean and prepare them to be shut down. Many of our campers truly feel like they are apart of the Daggett family when helping to tidy up camp. We certainly appreciate all of their hard work. Friday night of course saw our initiation ceremony, where new campers were welcomed into the spirit of Daggett by returning campers and staff alike. Friday evenings are certainly something most will never forget.

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Campers practice some yoga during free time

A refreshing dip in our mud pit

Campers show off their poster during our rock concert

Piper is a hit in nature

Some wonderful wacky Wednesday costumes

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Final Friday

Wow, it is hard to believe that the energy and excitement that our campers this week showed on Sunday is still just as strong today! Last night was a blast, as campers performed their  “Mock Rocks.” Our oldest boys cabin, Ottawa, helped move our stage onto the rec field to help get the night going. Then, one by one, cabins performed a little dance number set to music of their choice. It was clear how much time and practice campers put into creating their mock rocks. It was also nice to hear counselors rave about how their campers came up with most of the moves on their own, with very little help from their cabin leaders. Campers were also treated to some cookies an skits by some staff members! Of course, the night wouldn’t be complete without a giant dance party with campers learning lots of new, awesome dance moves.

Today, like every Friday, will be a blast. Even though it’s a little on the cooler side, campers will still be treated to lots of great activities in our areas. With music playing, campers will have dock parties, beach parties, and lots of other fun things to do. Today will end with our cookout, as our Director John will grill up some hamburgers and hot dogs for everyone. Everyone will love eating outside with their cabins as we celebrate everyone’s last Friday here. Tonight will end with our initiation ceremony, where first some awards will be given out. Following this, campers will watch a slideshow with many pictures of everything that went on this week. Our ceremony will end the evening, with campers taking home many new memories and friendships.

It is also important to note the significance of this Friday. Since it is the last of the summer, campers will be helping to take part in getting camp ready for the long offseason. Instead of free land and free water, campers will help the area directors do some cleaning and packing up. Most campers really like doing this, as it makes them feel apart of camp. Again, while it is certainly a bittersweet day, it is amazing to see the smiles on campers’ faces, and hear the laughs as we begin to end the summer.

One last day

Today is Friday, and we couldn’t have asked for a better day to end out week on. It certainly seems like it has been more than a week though; it seems that we have done so much! Wednesday saw so many new things. In our canoeing area, campers learned some canoeing safety when they had to flip their canoes over, and then flip them back. This is a very important skill, especially for our oldest and 2nd oldest cabins (Crow and Huron, and Blackfeet and Ojibwe, respectively). These cabins canoed to their campouts on Wednesday or Thursday night. Crow and Huron went on Wednesday while Blackfeet and Ojibwe went last night. Wednesday also saw our famous “Mud Walk,” put on during free land by our nature staff. In this activity, campers wore their bathing suits to nature and went for a quick dip in our mud puddle. Then, everyone got  a chance to take a dip in the lake. Wednesday morning also saw our lake swim. At 6:30 in the morning, 20 campers and some staff were boated across to the other side of the lake, and then got a chance to swim back. With lifeguards swimming, yak boarders, and power boats, everyone was safe as the group swam the 3/4 mile swim back to camp. At breakfast, those who participated got some hot chocolate and donuts.

Wednesday night was a bit of  a surprise, as we told all the campers that is was going to be “Sarah” night, in honor of the many Sarahs that we have on staff. However, while they were explaining the activity, a van driven by some supervillans abducted our assistant program director Nathan, as well as hit pet rock Herbert! With the help of some good superheroes, campers went through various stations and followed many clues to help rescue Nathan and Herbie. In the end, campers witnessed an epic battle between the superheros and villans on our raft. Eventually, the good guys won (don’t they always?), and saved Herbie and freed Nathan from clutches of evil.

Thursday was also an exciting day. A big hit always on Thursdays is yak boarding. Yak boards are like small open kayaks that campers get to go on in canoeing, and everyone seems to love it! Thursday night also saw some interesting games in swimming, including a newer hit “Where’s my tugboat?” Using teamwork and cooperation, campers had to steal a tugboat and swim through the water without getting caught, in the style of red light-green light. Our basketball court also got covered in some wonderful sidewalk chalk art thanks to arts and craft. A classic activity that never gets old was nature’s trips to our frog pond, where campers used nets to catch (and release) some wild frogs.

Thursday night ended with our “Medieval Night.” During a fancy dinner of roast beef carved fresh by our night cook Dennis and our canoeing director Alex, campers were split into “houses.” During the night activity, campers pledged their support to these houses. In this free for all activity, campers practiced jousting, got knighted, and even had their fortunes told by our ominous fortune-teller. A battle concluded the night, with staff members fighting for control of our throne. In the end, everyone had a blast.

Today, Friday, marks a bittersweet time. While this is the last day of camp for this week, there are still many things to be done. Parties are being held in areas, with music, dancing, and of course lots of laughter. Tonight will end with our initiation ceremony, which is always a special time. After some awards, new campers, with the help of some staff,  will get to show off some of their skills while doing some silly tricks, many of which resemble things from the show “Minute to win it.”  Our ceremony will end the night, and will see some long-held traditions being used to welcome our new camp members into the spirit of Daggett.