- Details
- Written by Janet and Isabella
Family Camp 2010
Bright and early Friday morning we arrived at Gracefield camp. We quickly set up our tents in the main tent field near most of the other facilities. It was a beautiful sunny day. We took a brief tour of the main camp so we'd be familiar with where things were. By popular vote, the first activity on the agenda was archery. Karen taught us all the basics and it was fun. Those who hit the "bull's eye" got prizes. We had lunch and got out in the canoes. We met our camp mascot, Paddington Bear.
He wore a Stohlquist life-jacket and a big hat. He had a little paddle with him in the canoe. We started learning to do a draw, a pry, forward, backward and J strokes. We did lots of pivots and circles. Straight lines were slower in coming but everyone managed one by the end of the day. We were partnered in the canoes but every so often we would switch places to give each person a chance to try bow and stern positions. We practiced dumping our canoes and rescuing each other. We did our swimming test at the sandy beach. We had supper and went out in the canoes again in the evening. This time we were able to canoe half way around the bay. After a roaring campfire and marshmallows everyone was ready for bed.
Saturday morning we slept in before having breakfast. The first order of business was, as usual, archery. We were not so fortunate with the weather as we had been on Friday but no one seemed to mind occasional showers. We got out our raincoats. In our picnic shelter we covered some safety precautions. We took apart an emergency kit and made a list of what we should put in our emergency kit. After lunch we headed out in the canoes. Two teens practiced paddling solo while the rest of us reviewed what we had done the previous day. Landings and backwards straight lines were new manoeuvers. We all practiced putting a canoe on a vehicle and securing it safely. In warm and dry White Pine Lodge we coloured pictures of our favourite things at camp. Some pictures showed canoeing, some archery and others marshmallows! We held a vote on what to do in the evening and it fell to more archery. We decorated a paddle as a gift to Gracefield camp and we gave it to the new camp director. Due to the rain, we did not have a campfire but we went to bed early.
Sunday morning was free time until 11. Some families tried the outdoor chess game, frisbee, the play structures, hiking and the labyrinth. Afterwards, we all went on a canoe tour. At Turtle Rock we ate a good snack. We paddled around the lake as far as Second Beach. Everyone passed the course and got a certification card. Some of us canoed around the bay on our own before we packed up our things to head home in the afternoon. Family camp was lots of fun.
Thanks to the YCCC!
Written by Janet (age 14)
Drawing by Isabela (age 10)
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