The Joy of the Preserve

With the new day, came a brand new sun and whole new camp atmosphere. Rays of light passed through the canopy in Cabinville, glimmering upon waking faces as our Campers made their way to the lodge, for breakfast. With such a young group of kids, the energy is insurmountable. After wolfing down buckets of blueberries, strawberries, sausage and eggs, we all took to the back field, ready to venture out onto the massive 3,400 acres of the Preserve.

Mentor Hikes led us all over, from finding edible plants along the River Trail to Polar-Bearing in the Green River, itself. We found our inner adventurers whilst crawling into the total darkness of the cave, led only by the light of our own headlamps. Uncle’s Creek Falls welcomed a slew of Polar-Bearers, most of whom were completely new to the concept–they just went for it, anyway. The events of the first day of regularly scheduled camp programming went by with a sudden smoothness that can only be hoped for on any given day at GRP. Although we’ve all been up for the last 13 hours, going nearly non-stop, everyone’s still got some spunk in their step, almost as though we’ve all been funneling Red Bull. The whole truth is that none of us wants to miss a moment, because when you’re at Green River Preserve, everything is magical.

Story by Brandon S. Marshall with Photos by Samantha J. Keebler & Brandon S. Marshall