camping

Today in the paper there was a list of camps available for the summer. Sleep-over camps, sports camps, science camps, any kind of camp you could want were there. My camping memories are many and varied. For this post, I will concentrate on my first Girl Scout camp. I went to camp four summers in a row and loved every minute of it. Part of the fun was going a long way from home - north of Conroe on I-75! Since we lived in southwest Houston, it was a complete day trip for the family to take me there. I went to Camp Martha Madeley once, Peach Creek Camp once, and Camp Arnold twice. There weren't many places to eat on the way, so we had breakfast at home and then lunch at the hotel in Conroe on the square before they dropped me off. Notice that it took all morning to drive 50 miles! Now it would take less than an hour! No interstates at that point in time and we had to drive on Main Street through Houston and then north.

The important part of going to camp was making sure all your supplies had your name on them. We ordered cloth name tags and my mother sewed them in all my clothes and onto my towels, washcloths, sheets, and anything else I was carrying.  The first year I had one of each thing recommended including the cup that collapsed and a huge laundry bag that would have held much more than what I brought. I also had a mosquito net to put around my bed to keep the little rascals out. Everything had the Brownie logo on it, too!

All went well the first day until bedtime and I had an enormous attack of homesickness. My tentmates took me to the counselor's tent with me holding my flashlight and boo-hooing. You were not allowed to go to the tent, but had to stop at a checkpoint what seemed to be a mile from the tent, but was probably only 10 yards or so. We yelled for the counselors to come rescue me which they finally did. Don't you know they loved me! Anyway, they put me back to bed and I must have gone to sleep! 

Chiggers were as big a problem as the mosquitoes and I ended up with chigger bites everywhere you can imagine. The counselors notice my scratching and took me to the infirmary for a liberal application of  bright yellow sulphur powder. By now you can imagine how lucky it was that I did not need friends and was happy to be alone.

I remember how blue the sky was and how beautiful the trees were against the sky. The colors were amazing and I spent a roll of film taking pictures with my little Brownie camera - all in black and white! The entire experience was amazing and I cried when I had to leave. The next weeks at home were spent pretending I was still at camp singing songs and telling stories. A perfect experience for an 8 year old! Hooray for Girl Scouts!