Huntsville Park JAM!

Typically, August is not the month you want to camp ... it's hot, humid, and the bugs are, well, buggy!  But this summer has been anything but typical and the weather (after a stormy start) was quite lovely for an over-nighter when the group from Huntsville Park arrived Friday afternoon.

This was their annual JAM (Jesus and Me) camp for their children's department and they had a great crowd. About thirty children plus another ten youth workers and assorted adults.

The first order of business, while the cook got dinner on the grill, was for the kids--under youth supervision (or maybe it was the other way around)--to get the tents set up!

Once that was taken care of, they settled down to the business of having a good time, eating dinner and settling in for the night!

The next morning came in bright and clear and the group had breakfast and then settled in for morning devotions.

When their devotional time was finished, they moved onto game time!

One of their games involved a bowl, goggles, an M&M and whipped cream.  Definitely not a game for the feint of heart!

All in all, the group had a great time and we were happy to have them here ... and hope to have them back again soon!

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 !

Pastor's Fish Fry - 2013

We had a nice day for this year's MBA Pastor's Fish Fry and pretty good group of folks up here for it.

A nice crowd of pastors and wives -- and the food was terrific, as always!

Obstacle Course Workout

We were very grateful to have a group from UAH come out and give the obstacle course a good working over.  There were about nine guys and one gal ... and all of them went successfully went through the course.  One of the guys, Josh, had a point-of-view camera that he *wore* through the course . . .

Josh went back through the course and made the best time -- twenty-nine seconds is the new time to beat!

Swingset Crew

We had a good work crew up at the camp this past weekend. The frame of the old swing set was fading fast and the camp's committee decided it was time to replace it with two sturdier frames.

 Looking good, guys!  The posts for both sets of swings are now set and looking great!  They need about two weeks and then the swings will be reattached. 

Farley Men's Group

This past weekend we had a great group come in from Farley Baptist Church for a men's camp out. We were glad the rain had come and gone and the forecast for the rest of the weekend was dry. The guys came in ready for some real primitive camping. 

 They didn't just pitch tents, they hauled their gear down to the Hidden Creek and really roughed it!

Originally they had planned to leave early Saturday morning for a canoe trip -- but due to flooding, they had to cancel.  So instead, they spent the day down at the creek, splashing and having a great time!  I've no doubt they'll be back in the near future.

Bethlehem Baptist RAs -- Lacey's Spring

Early in the day on Friday there was rain all over the radar and moving this way. We did get a sprinkle or two at the camp before lunch, but most of the rain went north and south. When Richard Hogan and the Bethlehem crew arrived it was a very pleasant 76 degrees.

The group wasted no time and got to work pitching tents.  Then the cook got to work as the rest went out to do some exploring.

Come Saturday morning they were all ready to jump on the service project before heading on over to the ponds to do some fishing. They made quick work of cleaning up the obstacle course area and then proceeded to try their hand at the obstacle course. It took some time to figure out the best way over the wall but with a little help most all made it. Hey even one of the adults did it! They had some fun and a few needed a break before making the hike to the ponds.

Everyone went back to the pavilion for something to drink and a time of devotion led by one of the men in the group. About an hour later most of the group made their way to the ponds where they spent the rest of the morning until about lunch time.

I managed to get a picture of the group minus one as one of the dads had to leave early. I heard rumor that one of the dads stayed up telling some stories late into the night, I bet that was interesting. No one in this group had ever been to the camp before. Everyone seemed to enjoy their stay and we look forward to seeing them again down the road.

Group Family Camping

Ottis came up here a few weeks ago with another group (a Father-Son camp out) and enjoyed it so much, he decided he wanted to come back with the whole family. As a matter of fact he put together the outing and it became a church event for the Madison campus of Willowbrook. 

I would say it was an unusual weekend for April but what is normal for weather around here anymore? It came quite a downpour the night before their event and then came a 30 degree temperature drop. The high on Thursday was around 83 and Friday it was 53 with a frost warning for Saturday morning! 

Ottis brought his RV so I am sure they were quite comfy and a few other families braved it out as well. 

There looked to be about 20 in all at the peak of things, though not everyone stayed overnight. They had a night scavenger hunt which I am sure was a hoot and then a game of kickball the next day.

This was a great group of folks that really seemed to enjoy themselves. Before leaving, Ottis donated three items to our game collection which we appreciate so much. I asked if he had noticed a group of raccoons that tend to wander through the campground on a regular basis and he said no, but indicated that there was a huge rat that made a dash across the pavilion. They mentioned something about another trip in the Fall...personally I think that would be a great idea ! :)