Eleanor and I went to Girl Scout Camp this week. Here’s something you may not know about me: I love Girl Scouting. Here’s something else you may not know: you don’t have to be a Girl Scout to go to camp. One more thing: many councils will host parent-child camp sessions, and they are very reasonably priced.
When I heard that there would be a three-day mother-daughter camp in June, I signed me and Eleanor right up. And we had a blast! We slept in a platform tent!
We had our trail mix stolen by a chipmunk! We saw a deer! I forgot to bring clean socks for myself and had to wear the same pair three days in a row!
My fingernails turned black with dirt and I could not ever scrub them clean. There was fire building (with pretend fire) and knife safety (with pretend knives) and knot tying (with real rope). We ate in the mess hall and hiked together and sang silly songs in the amphitheater (Eleanor and I even sang The Spam Chant for Skit Night) . . .
. . . and some girls in our camping area formed a secret society that met in Tent #3. They called it a “Three Meeting” and involved lots of giggling and the consumption of Twinkies.
BUT . . . the best thing of all? HORSES.
I would say that 90% of the girls at camp were there for the horses and horses only. All that time playing games and balancing on the ropes course? Mere obstacles to getting into the saddle.
It’s a tough 1/2-mile hike up the mountain to get to the stables. Since the camp is at the top of the South Fork of Provo Canyon, Eleanor and I were breathless, and she complained all the way up.
But then she got to meet Pep.
And it wasn’t a pony ride we did, either. Eleanor got to give Pep simple commands to go forward, stop, and turn from side to side. Pep liked to stop and eat grass on the side of the road, and Eleanor was able to get him back on the road all by herself.
Pep is now Eleanor’s favorite animal, ever. She talked about Pep alllll the way back down the mountain.
I rode a very old horse named Duke. He’s a tri-colored beauty.
Here’s the view on the trail. I’m really going to miss the Wasatch mountains.
The next day we played games with this gigantic parachute . . .
. . . and we had a carnival. There were balloon animals, cotton candy, and games, but the most intriguing activity was “horse painting.”
Hilarious, no? I can’t wait to do this again with Eleanor next year in Seattle.
Casa Camisas 