New Hope Baptist Fellowship

We were excited to have the group from New Hope Baptist up to the camp for a fish fry.  They brought a pretty big group up with them . . . almost fifty folks!

One of their members had a tremendous grill contraption -- one that just made it's way onto the camp's wish list!

Three burners fitted with a three-tank aluminum fry well . . . one for fish, one for fries, and one for hush puppies!  

They also tried (and some of them found) their luck down at the ponds!

They had a great time and we'll look for them to visit again soon.

Owens Cross Roads Youth

Friday was cool and overcast and anything but your typical August day ... which made it the perfect day for a group of youth from Owens Cross Roads Baptist Church to enjoy a fishing expedition -- a final carefree day before the grind of school started!

Under supervision of their youth pastor (Brother Rusty) and their pastor (Brother Charles Miller -- a good friend of the camp and regular fisher of the ponds) they came in around 10 or so and headed straight to the ponds.  Both Rusty and Brother Charles fished two rather good-sized bass out of the pond.  Most of the youth managed to snag a bream or sunfish, as well.

They had a good time fishing and enjoying the day before packing it in and heading out to share a meal together.  We look forward to having them come back and visit again, soon!

Survival in the Wilderness

The weather could not have been any more perfect for a weekend of survival training. Boy Scout Troop 633, led by David Smith, made their first visit up to the camp to do just that -- survival training in the wilderness. 

The boys were split into three groups of four, each with an Eagle Scout 'counselor'. The groups were each put in three separate spots in the camp and, with minimal supplies, had to use their training to set up camp.  The first night's objective was to set up shelter and make a fire.

The group at the bottom of the hill made short work of putting up a shelter and thought that the long grass up in the meadow might make a good thatched roof.

The second group down near the Hidden Path trail fared well, though they were down in the swampy low-grounds. Their evergreen thatching was smart looking!

The last group went down off the hillside past the obstacle course. They used an uprooted tree to help provide shelter (and it made a great windbreak, too).  They were a little tougher to get to, so there aren't any closeups of that group!

Let's make one thing clear ... this was NOT training for the adult leaders of the group!  They made their base camp around the pavilion camp fire ring and had a mighty fine little setup . . .

They had mighty fine food, too . . . the smell of which I'm sure was quite tantalizing to those in training.  The first night, while the groups got their shelter and fire situations figured out, the leaders sat around a great fire and swapped stories.  Darin Lightfoot (who had been up here before with his youth, from Morningside Baptist) happened to be up there for the first night, so he pulled out his guitar and strummed for a bit.  It made for a most pleasant way to spend a Friday evening!

On Saturday morning the small groups had to pass some training in order to 'find' some eggs to cook and eat.  At lunch time, provided they'd passed off on their fishing skills, they got some trout to prep and eat.  

I came up on a group of guys on the dock and they showed me their lunch . . .

Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime, right?!

The group at the bottom of the hill decided at some point that their thatched room wasn't quite going to cut it, so they switched it out.

The smart thing about their setup was that it was so close to water ...

Which definitely made the water-fetching a LOT easier.

The afternoon was fairly quiet.  I'm not sure what skills they were working on, but I do know that all the guys earned their supper ... a skinned rabbit and a couple of cans of vegetables!

Rabbit stew was what each of the groups decided to cook and serve.  All of them told me their dinner was quite tasty!

Saturday night was a little warmer than Friday night -- a fact I'm sure the boys all appreciated.  Troop leader David did relay a great story about their group camp fire time from that night.  Evidently at some point in the evening they had a little UFO encounter.  As they sat in the dark, they watched about 15 glowing globes of light flying up over the hill.  At first, because the globes of light were in a loose formation, the guys thought perhaps it was helicopters, but there was absolutely no noise.  Then, as they watched them climb higher and higher, they globes simply disappeared!

David said the guys were all a little stunned and very curious about the lights ... until one of the other adults remembered seeing something on YouTube about Japanese Floating Lanterns . . .

And they decided that was what they'd seen.  The guys had heard voices and music in the distance and had figured there was some type of party going on.

It just so happens that friends of ours own some of the property that backs up to the camp -- and they had hosted a wedding and reception that night ... where Japanese lanterns were let aloft.  UFOs, indeed!

The guys of Troop 633 made terrific guests and we hope this was just the first of many visits for them.

Cub Scout Pack 3350 - Den 5

They came with poles and bait and all kinds of other equipment ready to take on the fish up here at the camp.  We love to have the scout groups up and this was a first visit for Pack 3350, Den 5.  

They did catch a few fish, but it didn't take long before the boys were off to do some exploring up and down the trails.  

They made an afternoon of it and seemed to have a great time.  

We look forward to having them back out in the future!

Lighthouse Families Return for a Fishing Day

Lighthouse Baptist is one of our favorite groups to have up at the camp.  We have a long history with them and consider the pastor, Brother Randy, and his wife, Miranda, our close and dear friends.  

On Saturday morning, Brian and Dena came on up early to get everything set-up for the group.  This turned out to be a perfect autumn day; cool in the morning and low 70's at mid-day.  Everyone ate lunch before getting started and Brian was the grillmaster for the day.  

Steve helped everyone with bait and fishing tackle.  Then, once lunch was over, everyone headed on down to the pond.  Not sure how many fish were actually caught but the scenery sure was beautiful.  After awhile folks made their way back to the pavilion for a scavenger hunt to end the days festivities.  We look forward to their return in the future!

Girl Scout Family Fun Day

Saturday we were very happy to host the Family Fun Day for Girl Scout Service Unit 30.  The weather was terrific ... clear, sunny skies -- warm -- but with a nice breeze.  The group got started up here around 2:30 that afternoon and had close to 40 families participate!  We had to head out, so we made sure they knew all the ground rules and had everything they needed, and promised to see them before they headed out.

When we got back to the camp, there were all sorts of fishing tales being told!  One fish was so big it didn't just break the line ... it broke the pole!  

One woman pulled a crappie out of the water and when she unhooked and tossed it back, a large mouth bass swooped by just as it hit the water, and swallowed it whole!  They were all laughing about that one.

The coordinator brought bait and bobbins for all and mostly they used worms and crickets.  

I think they realized too late in the day that our fish mostly prefer minnows ... and definitely not artificial bait. 

The girls didn't seem too terribly upset over it!

One patient young man, however, did catch a fish.  

He'd been patiently throwing in his line all day, and it was near 7 pm when his persistence finally paid off!

In addition to the fishing, the girls went through several presentations ... 

Each girl that participated earned both a recycling badge and a "green" patch. 

The coordinator, Jeanine Woods, was incredibly easy to work with and also very generous.  She'd been yard-sale hopping the day before and had found a terrific badminton set, which she donated to the camp!

How fun it will be to have use of this up here for all our groups!

We love having Girl Scout groups up here.  They always do a marvelous job of leaving the camp "as good or better than they found it!" 

And we're happy to be a part of Girl Scouts celebrating 100 years!!!

Pastor's Fish Fry

We just wrapped up the annual MBA Pastor's Fish Fry up at the Camp -- and what a perfect day it was for such an event.  The skies were cloudy but clearing, so the temperatures were cool with a light breeze.  The breeze helped keep the insects at bay and it also let us know when it was time to head over and eat -- because it sure smelled terrific!

When we arrived, there was already a good sized crowd under the pavilion.   There were also a good handful of folks down at the ponds, trying their luck with the fishing.  Oh there were lots of fish stories shared when they got back ... "ministerially speaking" was a phrase tossed about quite a bit, referring to the size of the fish caught!

 The cooks were all on the perimeter.  There was a lot of "taste testing" going on, too. 

The oven was a big help this year -- they were able to keep food warm while they cooked in batches.  

Mrs. Marvoline was in charge of the hush puppies ... and they were the best hush puppies ever.  Better than any restaurant's recipe, for sure!

Our wonderful cooks for this year's fish fry:

The menu consisted of fried fish, crawfish, shrimp, french fries, hush puppies and fried squash:  a veritable feast, for sure.

After the blessing was said, it didn't take long for folks to get in line ... there sure was a pile of food.  Plenty for seconds ... and quite possibly a few went back for thirds.

Brother John, on the other hand, stopped at seconds, so he had room for a small bowl of ice cream.

Pretty sure he topped off that bowl of homemade vanilla ice cream with a thick slice of pound cake.  And he ate every bit of it, too!

A nice group shot to wrap up the event.  With all hands pitching in, clean up went pretty fast.  It was a great afternoon and there were quite a few folks who'd not been up here before.  We hope this was their first visit of many!

Cornerstone Baptist Church Picnic

Sunday afternoon provided the perfect backdrop for a church picnic.  The skies were clear, the air was warm, and there was a delightful breeze.  We had the fellowship of Cornerstone Baptist Church, Fayetteville, TN, up here for an afternoon of food and fun.

This was the first time many of the group had been up here and they enjoyed themselves immensely, especially the youth!  They were quite taken with the trails and creeks to wander and explore; and of course, wherever there's water, there's wet teens!  The playground was (as usual) a big hit, too.

First we had lunch -- Todd manned the grill (and don't think there weren't a few comments made about his grilling attire) and cooked up some hamburgers and hotdogs.  

Everyone brought sides and desserts and there was a true picnic feast set out on the serving tables.  

After lunch had settled, a group of folks headed down to Serenity and Silty Bottom ponds to do a little fishing.  

It seems that everyone caught a fish except Pastor Danny, who caught a mud turtle.  Maybe he should stick to being a fisher of men?!