Blythe's Report of Camp Big Springs

Our Blythe returned from Camp Big Springs today, and we were happy to have her back!  She didn't smell great and she was DIRTY, but she was happy and bubbly and excited to tell us all about her week.  She's eleven now, too, and she looked far more mature than when she left.  Here are some of the highlights that she reported, and some pictures that Mrs. Duncan, her favorite teacher and "tent mom" was kind enough to send to me.  Here are some of the things Blythe reported.

On the way to Big Springs, they made a stop at the fish hatchery.  This did not make much of an impression on Blythe, because she didn't say anything about it upon her arrival home.  I only know it happened because Mrs. Duncan sent me this picture.  While I don't think it was a miserable stop by any means, it clearly wasn't the highlight of the week. 
Blythe: It was boring.  We saw fish eggs and fish.  The fun part was when the workers came to feed the fish.  They all swarmed up to the food, then darted away when we leaned over to watch.  

Blythe: Everyone had to hike into camp, a hike of about a mile and a half.  It was very muddy.  (I, Katherine, was thrilled to see two pictures of Blythe on the hike in that were posted to Facebook!).  I got to hike with Mrs. Duncan, and I got to be in her tent.  She asked for all the Rock Canyon girls, so I knew everyone in my tent.  No one slept the first night.  We were up until 3am because girls from the other tents were talking and talking, and even though we told them to be quiet, they weren't.  After the first night, everyone slept because they go in trouble.  They were disqualified from the "Cleanest Tent" contest that allowed you to be first in line for food.

She's clearly having a great time, and they've only just begun!
Blythe, Katie, and Michelle

Everybody's gear.

What a lot to sort through!

Blythe is in the far back of the tent.

This picture is not exactly in focus, but it's all I've got.

I asked if she was cold at night and if she had enough bedding.
Blythe: It was freezing while sleeping, but cold in the mornings.  It was hot during the day.  It rained two nights and the rain dripped onto my head, so I pushed it onto tent one.

I asked what they had eaten and if she found enough things to eat that she liked.
Blythe: The food was okay, but the hot dogs were horrible!  They were both burnt and raw at the same time.  How can that even happen?!  But there were cookies, cake, ice cream (not really), tacos and Hawaiian haystacks, so I had enough to eat.  I got two pieces of cake because it was my birthday that day.  I was in line with Mrs. Duncan and she asked, "So Blythe, anything interesting happening today?"  When Blythe said, "It's my birthday today," Mrs. Duncan looked at the others in the food line, then they all burst out singing "Happy Birthday!"  Everybody turned and stared at me, but I got a giant package of candy, so that's the good part.

I asked about activities during the week.  There were lots of STEM focused classes she attended, but everyone didn't get to do one class.  She missed out on the edible plant class, the one she really wanted to do.  Brandt is still talking about wild plants you can eat if you are in the wilderness, so she was disappointed.  Also, for some reason, they didn't have the telescope up at camp, so she didn't get to look at the stars.  But maybe they did have it up there, but it was cloudy all week, so there were no visible stars to look at.  They also didn't get to do the monkey bridge because it broke, part fell on Avery's head, and she had to get stitches.  In an effort to insure that no one else got hurt, they didn't get to do it.
Blythe:  One class we hiked up to see the camp below.  We saw a hawk on the hike.  In the class pictured below, we had to make an experiment or invention.  We got to learn about plant life with Mrs. Duncan, capture little bugs in another one with nets.  Some of us were predators and some of us were prey, and then we played tag.  If we found a cone while we were prey and a predator tagged us, we could give the cone to the teacher and keep playing.  We also learned about planets, but I didn't really focus on that one because I was tired.

There was a tug of war.
Blythe:  The boys won the tug of war, but that's only because they had four of the staff members come help them just before they were going to die.  They pulled us all over and because I was in the front, I was drenched.  The second time, Mrs. Duncan, Mrs. Wrigley, and the nurse came to help us, so we won.

On far right, Lilly Bradford, then Blythe.
Sadly, out of focus.

Blythe: There was a giant pond and girls and boys.  Five girls and five boys would go into the water do dunk all the way under, and whoever had the most do it won.  The girls won.  It was super cold, but then I got out and it felt good.  Addie was freezing.  I was the first one in.  It was colder than I expected, but I did it.

Blythe: We hiked to a point where there was snow.  We ate lunch and then got snowcones.  It was really fun on the way down and on the way up, because I was behind the leader, and we talked and she taught me some of the Camp Big Springs songs, and we got to slide down on our jackets.  One of the leaders had gone down a ravine and when Lilly came by, he reached out and grabbed her ankle.  She screamed and the camp leader just laughed super hard.  It was really funny.  

I sent up a birthday candy poster and bubble machine.
Blythe: My birthday was awesome.  Everyone kept asking me what the poster said, so I let them read it.  I ate candy which there was a lot of , so I saved most of it until the last day.  Everybody was asking me for stuff, so I shared a lot.  The bubble machine I used.  Half of the tent loved it and half of the tent hated it.  It got bubbles all over the floor, so we did it outside.  Lots of people joined us to pop bubbles.  Then we used it to clean the tent floor.  That was the time we won the cleanest tent, because of the floor.

Mr. Sprunger was mentioned several times.  He plays the guitar and sings, he led skits and evening campfire activities, and even shared a song from his band.  Blythe liked him.

Blythe participated in a skit.
Blythe: We were in a canoe, talking about holding hands with a boy, and kissing him, and then we sank.  When we got to the kissing part, some of the boys fell over off their logs.  One of the girls knew how to swim, but all the others drowned.  She hadn't kissed a boy and was "missing out on life," but when we all sank and she didn't, she said, "Wow, you're really missing out on life."

They sang lots of song, many of which Blythe has sung since getting home.  The most popular? Vista, but the Pizza version.  I'd never heard the pizza version, even from Brandt.  It must be a relatively new thing, but I can certainly appreciate lines like, "Oh yes, yes! Yes, yes the pizza!" because that's pretty much how I feel about pizza.  

I loved pulling up Facebook and seeing this picture too!

Those are Blythe's long legs and feet right behind Lilly.

It's hard to tell, but that's Blythe, second in on the front row.

The boy next to Blythe was one of the camp leader's nephews.  

Blythe and Lilly hung out with him.

He really liked them.

In line to play a game.

Friday morning, Blythe got to cook her own breakfast.

Blythe:  It was really, really fun.  We made a buddy burner which is basically two cans.  One has cardboard and wax.  Someone came around with a flamethrower and lit the can on fire, and then you put the bigger can over it.  The funniest part was when Lilly's eggs fell on the ground.  She got other eggs, so it was fine.  We made cowboy toast, which was the most delicious thing I've ever eaten.  (As a side note, everything takes better when eaten in the mountains.).   

With eager anticipation, Brandt and I drove down to pick up Blythe.  It is wonderful to have her energy and vigor back home.  The house has been so quiet in her absence, but we need her happy, cheerful, smiling face with us.  Hooray! for marvelous experiences away from home, and Hooray! for the return.

She was happy to be home, too!

When Brandt came home from Big Springs, Blythe wanted to make him a poster and have a little treat to welcome him back.  She suggested sugar cookies and lemonade.  In an effort to make Blythe feel how happy we were to have her back, we did the same.  We made a large Welcome Home! sign, cookies, and had lemonade.  It is also National Donut Day, so we saved her a donut and included that in the welcome package.  So much goodness for our so good girl.

Look at those rosy (and slightly dirty) cheeks!

Blythe ate her donut before hitting the shower.

This evening, I went to throw Blythe's clothing into the wash.  I opened her suitcase and found almost no clothing at all.  Where was the week's worth of dirty laundry that I knew stank, was filthy, and needed almost immediate attention?  In a large plastic garbage bag that was left at Sunset View Elementary where we picked her up.  Blythe failed to mention that all of her dirty clothes were NOT in the suitcase, but in an extra bag.  Oh groan!  We'll have to go collect them on Monday, and they are likely to be horrifically stinky and possibly growing mold.