Welcome Home, Campers

An avalanche of campers flowed into the Back Field this afternoon, welcoming Session 4 of Summer Camp with open arms and eyes full of wonderment. It’s been quite an incredible summer. We’ve seen sunrises and sunsets and found that life is so much better when we embrace the moment and take the leap. Now’s the time for a new group of young people to come together to form a community, once more. With an early bout of good luck, we were able to get through Swim Review and Cabin Photos with only a few droplets of rain and not even a whisper of thunder. The height of summer is here and we’re ready to make each second count.

We have so much to look forward to! Throughout the next couple of weeks, we’ll spend our mornings on Mentor Hikes, exploring the 3,400+ acres of woods, mountains, creeks, and the always enchanting waters of the Green River. Afternoons are for Activities, and we’ll be all over Base Camp, reaching for the next hold at the Climbing Tower, artfully casting into the trout pond at Fly Fishing and so much more. With a smorgasbord of opportunities to acquire new skills or perfect those we’ve already learned, the afternoons offer neverending experiences for growth and, as per usual, an abundance of fun.

For tonight, we’ll enter the evening at Upper Council Fire, ringing in a time of reverence for this place and all that it stands for. With some songs and a bit of quiet pondering, we’ll find that an integral aspect of life at GRP comes with a dose of respect, before anything else. We’ve already sat in one giant circle that we call the Respect Circle, and made a solemn vow to uphold the highest level of respect for nature, for each other, for property and ourselves. Tonight will be the final touch on the icing of the cake that is the first glorious day of summer camp and I, for one, cannot wait to see what tomorrow might bring.

Story and photos by Brandon S. Marshall