Wall Highway rained out . . .

Josh Harris from Wall Highway had called me early last week to schedule an overnight outing for some of the youth from the church. Everything was set and scheduled. The weather forecast had a chance of showers for Friday and Saturday but it usually does this time of year. I told Josh that I would see them around 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning.

As I was entering the camp on Saturday morning, it was apparent that a storm had come through. Even before entering the gate I had to stop several times and clear some large limbs that were blocking the road. Not long after easing down the road I noticed there were no vehicle tracks of any kind.

Upon topping the hill, besides stopping several more times and sawing some limbs off large branches that had fallen, I could see that two relatively large trees had fallen near the pavilion area. One was actually touching the pavilion on the left side but no damage was done. Also there was no one in the campground or anywhere else for that matter. The lower road was blocked as well so I took care of it on my way out.

I later e-mailed Josh and he told me the story. He said that they had gotten there in the early evening and set up tents. No too long afterwards, the rain began to fall and the wind really picked up. They took refuge under the pavilion, which provided only limited shelter, as the rain was blowing right through it! He said they later went back and took their drenched tent up and headed back out without staying the night. The worse of it must have come later because they could not have driven over the limbs I picked up on my way in. Sorry I missed them. He said they may try and give it another shot later on in the year.

Mayfair Youth Group

The sun had not quite set yet as I passed through the gate at the camp. I was looking forward to meeting Doug Smith who was the group's leader. We had spoken a couple of times on the phone but had never met.

As I topped the hill a couple was making their way back toward the ponds so I pulled over. It was Doug and his wife. We talked for a few minutes, took care of the necessary paperwork and then I parked and we all made our way to the ponds. The whole group, twelve in all, were fishing around the top pond. I walked around meeting folks and taking a few pictures on my own. One of the guys actually was doing the same thing with two different cameras. I asked if anyone had caught any fish and they pointed to a lone guy all the way at the other end of the pond..seems he had some luck.

After a few minutes Doug made his way down to the loner right about the time he caught a small bass. I watched as one of the fish tricked a particular young lady a couple of times by snatching her cricket when she wasn't looking.

Doug and his wife made their way back to this end and we spoke for a few more minutes. It seems that this outing was just a getaway to have a little time to relax and fellowship and nothing was really structured. He had been out to the camp before and really thought it was a great place to come...come to think of it so do I ! They were only staying for one night but you never know with young folks just how long of a night it would be.

Boy Scout Pack 8

It started out to be the biggest group of the year but events during the week changed all that. With so much rain during the afternoons and so many ball games delayed and postponed until the weekend, the attendees were cut roughly by two-thirds.

I met Dow and his son at the gate at around 4:30 on Friday. He had the Boy Scout trailer with him and they were prepared for a great weekend. We made brief introductions and I headed out only to return later in the evening for some fellowship and a few pictures. Dow and company have been coming up to the Camp for years and they had everything set up an going strong by the time I returned. Supper was over but the smell of burgers and dogs still lingered in the air and smelled quite good. There was plenty and they were quite hospitable as I was invited to grab a plate. I met a couple of the other guys who were present and involved.

As Dow was dragging out the stuff for an after-dinner craft, a container slipped out of his hand and poured a couple thousand beads out on the picnic table. Like a waterfall, they ran all over the concrete floor. Only one of the boys was even close to the area when this took place. You could tell these leaders were pros at this as (John) without ever missing a beat yelled out "contest" to all the boys and they began running. He whipped out a dollar from his pocket, grabbed some Dixie cups and announced, "The one who collects the most beads gets a dollar!" You've never seen the likes of boys scurrying over that floor picking up beads. In five minutes they had them all up then carefully were pouring them out in their plates to count them to see who had won the contest. A winner was announced and the boy eagerly went away carrying the prize waving it to and fro. I made the comment that really Dow was the winner here! All the adults agreed.

Now you can tell those who have been doing this awhile. I took this picture of Dow's tent right before darkness set in.

When I arrived at the pavilion on Saturday morning they were having a beanbag toss contest. It seems that when they had chosen teams the first go round, one of the boys did not chose Dow for his team mate. I heard the boy say at the start of the next round he *wanted* Dow on his team....of course this came as his team got smoked in the first round.

There was plenty of exploring that took place along with a few organized activities as well. A long hike down to the main creek was made though I'm not sure if anyone ever made it in the water. Oh I almost forgot something. It seems after a recount two boys ended up tying on the beads and when John handed the second boy a dollar it looked to me like the very same dollar the first boy was given....hmmm !