We began our week with a high-energy Monday–the older campers headed out directly after breakfast for rafting, while the younger campers headed down to the ropes course to participate in some teambuilding challenges. The younger campers enjoyed “beating” the jaws mobile, the mohawk walk, and even the nitro pit! Meanwhile, the older campers headed to RMOC to get PFDs and helmets in preparation for their rafting trips. Then, we headed to the Arkansas River! We had a great time learning about the river wildlife, how to work as a team to move the rafts, and also enjoyed taking turns sitting on the very front of the raft. We went through a Class 2 rapid just outside the town of Salida–the campers had a great time waving to townspeople as we rafted the rapids!
After we finished our awesome rafting trips, we headed back to camp to meet up with the younger campers and have lunch. During lunch, campers traded stories about their respective mornings–it was amazing to hear how those rapids kept getting bigger and bigger! After lunch, everyone headed back to their cabins for rest hour–campers had a chance to relax, read, and write letters home.
At 2:15, we met Program Director Jen on the Commons for an all-camp challenge. As it turned out, the camp had come into possession of some “highly dangerous, radioactive” objects, a.k.a. raw eggs. The challenge for each group was to create a secure carrying case for this object, a carrying case sturdy enough to protect the object should it be dropped from a great height. Groups got a grab-bag of materials to work with, including paper plates, newspapers, rubber bands, plastic gloves, and more! Some of the creations were really quite fantastic–check out our Photos page to see! After each drop, groups got a chance to refine and fix their carrying cases. It was exciting to see campers debating whether to stick with a tried-and-true design, or whether they should try something new. The drops got higher and higher, culminating in a final drop of about 20 feet. Two out of the four groups successfully protected their egg from this epic drop!
After cleaning up from our epic egg drop challenge, campers headed to the camp gym and game room for some organized free play. Campers had lots of fun playing with our camp costumes–see the camp Photos for pictures!–and also enjoyed playing pool, air hockey, and ping-pong. We ate a wonderful snack of GORP, and hung out with friends until dinner. We had a delightful dinner at Grizzly Jack (the camp dining hall), and then headed back to our cabins to change into our swimsuits for a fun night swim!
We had a great time swimming in the pool tonight–campers enjoyed watching the stars come out and the moon come up, and also had fun submerging themselves to drown the few errant mosquitoes that decided to go swimming too! We finished up our evening with a quiet rendition of “Taps” in the pool, and then headed back to our cabins to shower and sleep. Campers are excited to go rock climbing tomorrow!