It is nearing the end of summer and camp was nothing short of memorable. We have had an amazing time this year and shared so many great memories with kids from all over the state of Michigan. Our overnight camps were packed full, and our day camps were nothing short of a thrill. It has been a wild ride of late nights, early mornings and long days of adventures. Even so, staff and campers enjoyed every minute of it.

This year’s biggest challenge was keeping everyone at camp hydrated to combat the warm temperatures and poor air quality. Water is our friend, and staying hydrated is one of the most important aspects of life at camp. Tying in many water games and extra swimming time helped us with that. The beach was a favorite spot for many of the campers for a variety of reasons. Whether it be swimming, catching minnows and other fish, kayaking or simply bathing in the sun. Hot days bring other fun with water, such as our camper-favorite slip-n-slide, hose limbo, and drip-drip-drop.

One of our highlights from the summer was that staff built a new climbing wall on our low ropes course, which all the kids enjoyed during their time at camp. The low ropes course has never looked better, especially with the updates we made to other obstacles.

Besides staff and campers, we had tons of creatures pop up at camp this summer. We saw our resident Great Blue Heron, five species of turtles, water snakes, plenty of birds, frogs, and fish as well as a deceptive orange cat. As we wrapped up this year’s camp season, reflecting on all the memories made has brought some teary eyes and lots of smiles to the faces of all the staff members. This has been a year to remember, with highs and lows all over the board.

The biggest takeaway from this year’s camp is definitely that the more work the staff puts into camp, programming, activities, etc., the more fun the campers have. Although it is a heavy 9 months away, much of the staff is already looking forward to next summer’s camp. We hope to see new campers take an adventure with us, and we would love to have returning campers join in on all the fun once again. For those interested, registration will open in early March. Another point of interest – WE HAVE MERCH NOW! You can check it out on our website or click the link here: https://muccstore.com/collections/summer-camp.  A final statement in alignment with our “Leave No Trace” curriculum: Remember to take only pictures and leave only footprints.

  Author: Roy Bowman, 2023 Waterfront Director