Even though I got released from the Young Women's, I still got invited to Girl's Camp as an assistant camp director! I feel so lucky. We have such a stellar group of girls. And I got to go with Lilia for her first camp which was a lovely bonus! My friend Analisa, was the director and she brought along her dad who is a great dutch oven chef so it was good news all around!
My mom and dad graciously agreed to watch my younger 2 girls so I drove them down on our way to camp. McKinley was so full of questions on the drive! She is a little thinker, that one! Just rapid fired completely unconnected questions the whole drive. Some examples were "Why do men name mountains?" followed quickly by, "Mom why do people go to jail when they run someone over?" Poor Jaedyn was trying to listen to music and had to be so patient while I turned it down multiple times in order to hear the little voice from the backseat. I told her it was good that she was thinking so much and to never stop asking questions because that is how we learn. Besides, I was getting a kick out of all the random connections (were there any?) in her thoughts.
We got a great group site at Smith Trout Haven in Lava Hot Springs. We drove down on Monday, set up camp, jumped in suits, and headed off to float the river.
The girls had so much fun and we were totally spoiled with a shuttle so got several trips down out of our 2 hour rentals. One of our girls was terrified of water and determined not to enter. She sat at the bottom and by the time she saw everyone walk out after their first run she asked if she could join. And she did!
Our first trip down the river our 4 person tube went right over the top of a man floating facedown in the water. I caught him out of the corner of my eye right as he disappeared from view. Scared me to death! I was high alert and ready to jump in. As our tube cleared him I saw him come up with snorkel gear on. Good grief. He was dredging the bottom of the river after all the valuables people lose! Something Chad and I said should be done years ago... after we lost 2 wedding rings on one trip with extended family. People got smart!
We came back that night to jump in to warm clothes and found Doug with homemade dutch oven fries. Such a yummy end to a great first day!
Here is our beautiful camp. That green tent in the back is one I found online that holds 21 people! It was perfect for all 16 of our girls so there were no little cliques in the tent accommodations.
Tuesday morning we packed up lunch and headed to spend the day at the pool. All day. There was swimming, and sliding, and rock climbing, and dare devils jumping off platforms, hot tubbing, and chicken fights... and lots of candy. At one point Emma jumped on my shoulders and we chicken fought another leader/girl combo. But they cheated and kept walking backwards until the water was deeper than my face. Clearly I need some more height. Or I just need to demand a rematch... in the shallow end.
That night while girls were busy smothering their burns with aloe (not my fault, we gave lots of reminders, had a shade tent set up, and provided so so many cans of sunscreen to choose from), we snuck my rechargeable projector into their tent and cooked up some kettle corn on the camp chef to surprise the girls. They were delighted and settled in to watch Tangled.
Wednesday was hike day. A day dreaded by some. By most. LOL We drove out to Green Canyon to visit an old haunt of mind: Goodenough Campground Trail. We hiked 6.5 miles out and back with a 2125 elevation change. It was so hard for those girls. But they did it! There was a debate among the leaders about whether to stay near camp and do a 2 miler that the area had to offer. I was inclined to push for a harder hike. We had played for 2 straight days! And while that is so fun, I think these youth are capable of so much more than they know, and it is good for them to try new things, accomplish hard things, push themselves, and realize their potential. There was a little bit of complaining. But really not much. I was proud of each of them. Several of the girls at the end commented on how they didn't think they could do it and they beamed when they were done.
And look what we found waiting for us at the top! Snow in July! Who else can say they had a snowball fight at girl's camp? We were so spoiled.
My dad came as tour guide. Or maybe emotional support. Or possibly as water boy. He did rescue several of the girls with his extra water after all. It was fun to hike with him again and I'm so glad he came! When the girls approached the end there was a message at the trailhead that one of the leaders had left for them when she had to head out early "I 💙 the YW". Those who ended first waited at the trailhead and cheered as each straggler crossed the finish line. I was in the back with the last ones and they perked up when they heard the cheering with several "We did it!" exclamations. The camaraderie in camp that night was so great. And as a result, One of the counselors treated everyone to a soak in the world famous Lava Hot Springs.
Thursday the boys rushed in to take over camp. We broke down part of camp but left the tents for them and we all headed up to tour Chesterfield together. Some of the kids got to play the old organ in the chapel and the old sacrament cups were so cool. I had to get a picture in one of the homes of what looked like a torture device but was actually an old hair perming machine.
I think this was probably my last girls camp as an assistant director. It may be a while before I get to go again. I love these girls! So glad I got to play and learn alongside them this week.
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