Bevil's Chapel - Church Picnic

A nice group from Bevil's Chapel made it up to the camp for an afternoon of fishing, fun and food!  The weather was gorgeous -- hard to believe it was the middle of July!

Their first order of business was definitely to head down to the ponds and see what they could get to bite. I don't think the fish were nibbling that afternoon ... a lot of good effort, though!

The young folks that came with them were excited to have some roaming space and were particularly intrigued by Crawdad Creek! After a good bit of exploration, though, hunger set in and they made their way back to the pavilion for some burgers and dogs.

After the meal, one of their members shared a terrific time of devotion. 

Interestingly enough, he'd just been up to the camp in the week prior -- checking the meters!  Small world, isn't it?

Girl Scouts of Madison County - Day Camp

This was the second summer that we've had the privilege of being the host site for the day camp and awards ceremony for the Girl Scouts of Madison County.  They couldn't have asked for a nicer day -- especially in the middle of July!  The skies were mostly clear, the temperature was in the upper 70's, the humidity was down and there was a light breeze.  The perfect weather for a day outside!

And it's such a delight to have the camp filled with girls and women from age 5 to . . . well, let's just say significantly older than 5!

The day was filled with Daisies, Brownies, Juniors, Cadettes, and Seniors, each group at different stations or, in the case of the older girls, helping with the younger groups.

This year one of the stations was "what to do if you're lost."  A K-9 search and rescue unit came out and helped instruct the girls on what they should and *shouldn't* do in the event that they get lost, and demonstrated how the dogs work with their handlers to find lost hikers. 

 

After all the demonstrating, the girls took off on a hike to 'get lost' so they could see the rescuers and dogs in action!

It was definitely a day of "making new friends and greeting the old friends"! 

At about three-thirty, parents started arriving for the awards ceremony and dinner.  All in all, we had about 130 girls and adults and they seemed to enjoy themselves immensely.  We hope they choose to come back again next year!

Out and About

As we returned from church last night, there was quite a light show that greeted us.  It was almost like a strobe light going off as the lighting was everywhere.  It must not have been that close as we heard no thunder.  Round two was very different however as the thunder boomed throughout the night and the rain came hard.  The rain gage here at the camp showed 2.5 inches when I got up a little after daylight!

After coffee, part of my daily routine is to walk all the trails every morning except on Sunday.  According to my pedometer, that equates to 2 1/2 miles and usually takes me from 45 minutes to an hour depending on what I encounter on the trails.  This is a very good way to get my exercise in for the day and to get an idea of what is going on throughout the camp. 

No two mornings are exactly the same which makes for an interesting walk.  Yesterday I encountered two does, a skunk and a box turtle.  This morning there was less animal activity along the trails but the Secret Creek was wild and close to jumping it's banks !

 

 

 

We have a Girl Scout Group scheduled to spend the day up here tomorrow and Bevill's Chapel coming in on Saturday.  Camp MACOBA is such a beautiful place and both Denise and I love to have people up here.

 

Chris Wilson, Sam Kelly and some others are almost done on the "new swing project'.  They are doing such a fine job.  Because of the unusual spring, there were many projects which normally get done that were missed.  Even though I am retired now, (and loving it by the way), some of these are a little much for one person so we could sure use some help.

 

I am excited about the recently completed obstacle course and we have completed the evaluation stage and seeking to make a few improvements.  There are many ideas and plans for the future and I look forward to what God has in store for the camp !