by Becca Bland, GRP Counselor
Today was yet another sunny day at GRP. Though it was chilly in the morning, by the time breakfast, the Ort Report, and Word of the Day (feral) were over, it had warmed up nicely. The campers then headed back to their cabins to tidy up and get ready for Mentor Hikes.
I went to the Farm this morning, where we hoed and planted corn. The group of campers weeded, fed bugs to the chickens, and harvested the first crop of the season! These radishes (including an albino one) will be on the salad bar at dinner for anyone to try.
All the groups returned for lunch, a time which some cabins are using to mix brother/sister cabins in order to get to know each other ahead of campout. After the sub sandwiches were devoured, the tables cleared and the Ort Report given (we stayed in Coolsville), mentors began to report back about their hikes.
The group that went to the Spire hid a geocache, and the group that went to Long Rock found a geocache, got a bit turned around, but eventually made their way to the cave. The groups that went to sites with water came back with newly crowned Polar Bears and Frigid Fish. The campers who went to Hemlock Field saw 7 turkeys! Finally, the group that visited Reasonover Creek found some beautiful crystals, a few of which were perfect “like glass or diamond.” Pawel and Bentor, two of our mentors, spent the morning running/walking/driving the circumference of Base Camp, scoping out sites for their GLP (Group Learning Project), the GRP half marathon.
On the way back from lunch, some campers found a 3-foot long black rat snake, which Sandy expertly handled and began to teach about. He told the group of gathered campers how to correctly hold the snake, how to tell that it was not venomous, and why it’s good to have these sort of snakes around. You never know when a teachable moment will pop up at GRP.
Clouds began to gather soon thereafter, and it looks as though we might have some rain in the afternoon. Though hopefully the clouds will be all rained out by the time campout starts tomorrow afternoon!