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August 14th - 16th, 2009
Little D and I got invited to join the Daisy Girl Scout troup on a caming trip at Camp Deer Trail in Harrison. We arrived Friday just in time for S'mores at the main fire pit. The camp couselor showed us to our site named Yearling Thicket which included a platform tent unit with three 4-person tents and one 2-person tent in main camp. Cots and mattresses, picnic tables, and fire ring. It was a little difficult setting up camp in the dark but the girls did a fantastic job. Because we arrived late the girls were a tad excited and had a hard time falling alseep right away so they didn't get much sleep the first night.
The camp counselor woke us up at 7:15 am so we could head down to the Salt Lick building for breakfast. French toast, sausage links, yogurt, fruit, and milk was served after blessing and the girl scout promise. I was impressed with the camps organization and consistancy. Each kid was responsible for thier personal eating area along with chores. Basically, one troup was assigned to be the hoppers during the meal. The hoppers job is to set the table and be available during meal time to fetch things. After everyone was done eating the hopper would retrieve the chore assignments which were written on popsicle sticks. Each person at the table had to choose one stick and the chore that was written on your stick was the chore you were assigned. The chores included the scrapper, washer, wet garbage, dry garbage, sweeper, and stacker. The scrapper was usually the adult at the table. The scrapper had to scrap all the food onto one plate and supervise all the jobs. The washer washed all the dishes. The dry garbage took all the napkins and etc. to the trash. The wet garbage person emptied all the glasses into the sink. The sweeper's job was to sweep around the tables. The stacker assisted the washer by stacking the dishes into the dish rack to carry to the kitchen. Then we all marched out for the flag ceremony.
After breakfast we did many fun activites with the camp counselors. First , the girls made sun catchers and picture frames in the Antlers/craft building. Next , we took the paddle boats for a spin on Long Lake and filled our tummies with hamburgers and veggies. After lunch, the counselors took us on a hike to view the beautiful scenery at Camp Deer Trails. Then we were scheduled for shopping in the............... store but the girls could barely walk 20 feet without falling down so we skipped the shopping and took naps instead. We over slepted just a little and missed a portion of swim time. Personally, I am thrilled that swim didn't last too long because the water was overgrown with seaweed/algae and our toes got stuck in the mud. Before, our fantastic dinner of lasange and brownies we enjoyed playing board games such as Jamini with our troup leader Mrs. Heather n the Salt Lick. Last but not least we gathered around the fairwell bonfire while the camp counselors led us in songs and dances. We weren't ready for bed yet so we decided to have our own bonfire back at the site. We popped popcorn, played with lite sticks, and told stories around the fire. It was so cute to hear the stories the kids made up on their own. We started with a story subject of "Tree Friends" and then one person would create a portion of the story and pass it along to the next person . We continued the story until all kids particapted two times around however, little D and I missed the ending because we took a bathroom break. The kids came up with an evil tree friend that got married to Mrs. Heather but then turned out to be a good tree friend that could move thigns. Another late night sleeping under the mosquito netting in a peacefully dark tent and not a noise to be heard except the crickets that little D said she was scared of. We awoke the next morning to eggs and bacon for breakfast and then packed up for home.
If you haven't noticed by now the camp/buildings names had a deer theme. Salt lick was the cafeteria, antelors was the craft building, yearling thickets was our campsite , with many more unexplored buildings and sites with cute names.
On our way home from Harrison the adults enjoyed remeniscing about some of the cute things the girls said during the trip for example: "don't hit the ball at her because she is alleric to peanut butter", "my mom had a brain freeze for the first time at McDee's today so she is afriad she will get head lice for the first time", and " look mom there's a daddy leg spider" vs daddy long leg. The girls developed some good friends during camp so much so that some decided they were sisters. All in all I enjoyed girls scout camp and like the new adventures it brought. Little D and I look forward to doing it again next year. I am thankful to the moms that took the time to schedule such a fun event. I am grateful that I gain more knowledge of what to expect for the next trip. "right moms?" :) You really do need flash lights to get around in a dark campsite and mosquito netting around the cot really isn't that bad.
