Northern Lights, Camp Skies

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Picnic, check. Beach blanket, check. Forecast for clear skies and northern lights, check, check! Having read about the fickleness of clear skies and northern lights even when they are predicted, we headed to the beach early to enjoy the rippled sand and sunset. Any northern lights sighting would be considered a bonus.

The textures of the dune grass, sand flats and mottled western sky all beckoned to me and my camera saying, “hey, no need to wait for some elusive northern lights, look at our show.” 

What a show indeed. The deep oranges of the setting sun reflected off every surface and reminded me of one of the pleasures of summer camp— lake sunsets that never grow old.

Every evening campers and counselors drift to the water’s edge in ones or twos or threes to watch the sun’s departing show. While artificial lights creep across our cities and suburbs,

camp life celebrates natural darkness where only the occasional flashlight interrupts the moonlight dancing across the lake.  Looking up into a star-studded sky and seeing a satellite slowing arcing past or spotting a shooting star or recognizing a constellation by name are gifts campers receive each summer.

These were the memories that flitted through my mind as I sat on the beach gazing north over the dark ocean, waiting expectantly for the northern lights.  Was there a green glow above the horizon?  Possibly.  Was it the aurora borealis?  Possibly, or possibly my imagination.

We looked up at the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia, enjoying the darkness and quiet.  We may or may not have seen an the northern lights, but like a summer night at camp, we thoroughly enjoyed the delights of the night sky.

Photo Journal of a Summer Camp Lake

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You think YOU miss camp?  What about me— a summer-camp lake?  We summer-camp lakes yearn for the long days of summer with campers splashing and diving, kayaks and canoes gliding and sailboats heeling and even capsizing into our clear waters.  Here, let me show you… 

Before reveille the fog gently lifts.

Quietly campers gather along the beach to dip into my cool waters and rinse the sleep out of their eyes.

Soon it’s all hustle and bustle— canoes, rowboats, kayaks, water-skiers and torrents of swimmers.

The scene quiets down for a bit in the middle of the day and occasionally a passing rainstorm ripples my surface.

In the afternoon, screams of delight cascade over my waves as campers cool off by plunging down a slide or slipping on a water mat.

As the sun sinks lower, rowboats quietly glide across my still waters.

Then, with the setting sun, comes a few hours of tranquility before the campers once again dive in.

See what I mean?  It’s not easy begin a summer camp lake as autumn approaches.

Gift Ideas for Summer Campers

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Looking for a few gift ideas for the summer campers in your life?
Well, look no further. Whether you are finding gifts for your own children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews, you can create a gift and presentation sure to please.

First, consider the activities your child loves most at camp. Is he a sailor? A hiker? A woodworker? A nature enthusiast? Tailor your gift selection to the particular interests of your camper. Here are a few examples.

Hiker:

• New backpack
• Head lamp
• Day pack
• Hiking Guide to the White Mountains, Green Mountains, Appalachian Trail or wherever your camper hikes
• Compass
• Water bottle with camp logo
• Wool socks—not exciting, but necessary

Sailor:

• Sailing gloves—look for fingerless kayaking gloves for a less expensive and equally effective option.
• PFD
• Water-resistant watch with a timer
• Sailing rules book such as Dave Perry’s Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing

Wood shop enthusiast:

• Swiss Army Knife
• Reference books for carving

Nature Enthusiast:

• Compass
• Pocket Naturalist Guides (animal tracks, night sky, wilderness survival and many more)
• National Geographic Backyard Guide to the Night Sky
• Nature Journal
• Sketch pad and pencils
• Day pack

Kayaker:

• Kayaking gloves
• Spray skirt
• PFD
• Dry bag

Second, encapsulate a camp memory as a gift. For instance, frame a summer photo from camp. Many camps have photos available for download or sale on their websites. Or ask your camper’s friend for a high resolution copy of a fun friends photo from the summer. Make a high quality print and frame it in a friends themed frame from Target, Amazon or your local photo shop.

You can also capture memories in a playlist tailored to camp. If your child’s camp has recorded songs you can start with those, add in traditional camp songs like ‘Titanic’ or ‘Little Green Frog’. Or take a theme like friendship and create a playlist around songs about friends.

Capture a year’s worth of memories in a calendar full of camp photos. Include special dates like opening and closing days for camp, and birthdays of camp friends.

Third, remember to visit your child’s camp website. Many camps sell items with camp logos such as caps, water bottles, journals, and stickers.

Lastly, don’t overlook the gift of a summer at camp. If you send a child to camp you can make a presentation of the ultimate camp gift—you are giving a child the time to be immersed in a new environment, bond with friends, build self-confidence, learn new skills and live life lessons. Create a personalized card to give your child as a reminder of the gift of summer camp, wrap it up and present it with intention.

In the middle of the winter, a reminder of long summer days at camp is an ideal gift for your summer camper. What are your best ideas for gift giving to campers? What would you like to receive as a camper?

Preserving Camp Memories

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As the days shorten, think about encouraging your camper to collect photos and mementos from camp to put together in a scrapbook. The first step is uploading the photos from the camera to the computer! The longer the photos stay on the camera, the greater the risk they will be lost.

Once the photos are available there are a myriad of options to choose from both on-line and in multi-format scrapbooks.

1. Online service providers including MobileMe (for Mac users), Picasa Web Albums, Shutterfly.com and many others that provide free formats for online photo albums that can be shared.
2. Online retailers including MobileMe, Shutterfly.com, myphotoalbum.com that produce soft and hard bound books in addition to online photo albums.
3. A scrapbook into which photos and other mementos can be affixed
4. Photos sleeves put into a 3 ring binder and filled with photos

The quickest to produce and share with friends are free, on-line web albums. The privacy of the online album can be set so you can select who can view it and even supply a password for viewing.

If you want an album in your bookshelf or sitting out to page through, then most of the online albums can easily be transformed into a hardbound album. The cost for these albums range depending on the number of pages and whether the book is soft or hard bound. A typical hard bound book generally starts at $30, but there are often promotions be run be different sites so it is worth waiting for a discount before ordering.

Hard bound photo albums take more time to create which can be a fun project for a cold, rainy weekend. Make sure you purchase acid free supplies (album, paper, glue, stickers) to ensure the photos won’t deteriorate excessively. Hard bound albums also can more easily accommodate non-digital mementos such as a ribbon won or a cabin list.

And for the traditionalist, there are always photo sleeves. Photo sleeves are 3 hole punched format plastic sleeves that can hold 4 or 6 4x6 photos. These can be purchased at stores like Walmart, Target and Staples. Slip them into a 3 ring binder and you have a very quick and easy hardbound photo book.

Regardless of the format chosen, have your camper write down names of cabinmates, counselors, places, and other names to accompany the photos. If he or she is really inspired, your camper may want to write a few short memories of specific camp events— the final baseball game, the 4 day camping trip, cooking s’mores for the first time.

What suggestions do you have for preserving camp memories?