So, in the last few weeks I have been camping twice, and then this Sunday I am flying off to Ohio for my journalism thingy. So let's talk about things one at a time:
1. Family Reunion
My grandmother's family on my dad's side is large. She is one of ten kids, and all of those kids had kids, and... it goes on. Their name is Butikofer, and if ever you're in eastern Idaho and you meet a Butikofer, I can almost guarantee they're related to me. Anyhow, they planned a camping trip at campground near Idaho Falls.
It's strange, but the weather has flip flopped for Oregon and Idaho this year. I have never seen the Snake River so high before (below). The water was just so incredibly high.
Anyhow, we drove around, stopped at various sites, and I even saw Oregon Trail ruts, and learned I am highly allergic to fresh sage. About that last one: I was standing at a viewpoint, and I touched a sagebrush and said, "I love how sage smells!" I then sniffed the tips of my fingers that had touched the sage. Within 90 seconds or so, the skin on my nose and cheeks began to itch, my nose began to run, and my nose itself began to swell. Yeah, it was super attractive.
Oregon Trail:
Dastardly Sagebrush:
At the reunion, I met all sorts of fun people, including my Dad's cousin's son (I think that makes him my second cousin?) who brought a bunch of his horses and took us on trail rides. Y'all, I totally reverted to my fifth-grade horse-girl obsession, and yes, I went to visit the horses, I rode a horse, and I was generally a dork. To prove it, here I am:
That's Jason, the dude with the horses. I think he was telling me something about... something. My memory is awesome. There are other pictures, but I look even dorkier in them, so that is all you get.
And then there was Girls' Camp, which was fun. At first I wasn't sure I wanted to go. Things seemed disorganized, I didn't know what, exactly, I was supposed to be doing, and I was still tired from the 800 mile drive from Idaho (I had 24 hours between trips).
The first day was rough. Really rough. But it got better, and my girls were really good. I was in charge of the YCLs (Youth Camp Leaders), or the girls aged 16-18, and they are in charge of making sure everything happens--they run the meals (who eats when), they run the flag ceremonies, they run campfire and firesides, they run first aid and certification--basically, they do it all. It was stressful, but good.
We had one crisis when one girl lost a temporary crown eating a Starburst. At first I was super-unsympathetic, but I had to change my approach when she started crying. At first she said she wanted to go home, but I was able to talk her through it and she stayed. Yay for my persuasive powers!
Even better than my persuasive powers was the conversation I had with one girl. Let me give you a little context: Last year the church Girls' Camp was at what I call "Camp Hollywood." There were cabins with mattresses on the bunks, the cabin windows had screens, the cabins had electricity and heating. There were very nice showers and bathrooms. It was not camping, but "camping."
This year, we were camping. We switched to a church-owned (read: cheaper) camp where the only indoor facilities were the dining hall and the crafts shelter, which only had three walls. We tented. We cooked dinners in dutch ovens and over fires. It was hard work.
But I had a conversation with one of the girls that went like this:
Me: Are you enjoying camp this year?
Girl: Yup! It's a lot of fun! I actually like it better this year.
Me: (surprised look) Really? Why is that?
Girl: Well, actually, it's more spiritual this year than it was last year.
I was very pleased that the efforts of the leaders were working--last year felt very self-oriented, not Spirit-oriented. This year we had new leaders and they focused a lot on making sure that the focus of this camp was on the spiritual. And the girls felt that. It was very neat, and I'm glad I was a part of that after all.
Okay, now that I've babbled on and on, I'd better go. There's a cherry pie to be made for the 4th. It has Dad's homegrown cherries in it. Yum!