Hey, Camp Fans!
We were glad to receive such a great response to our ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest we put on here at Everything Summer Camp! Of course, we’re eager, now, to share each entry right here on the Blog! After ten lucky winners of the bigger prizes, all other submissions got a $15 gift certificate to our online store! Today’s post is from Jan U., who wrote in to tell us about her summer stay at Camp Jones Gulch.
“My camp adventure happened when I was in 5th grade and went to camp at Camp Jones Gulch in La Honda, CA. I had never been away from home and was so nervous. The trip to camp was over 3 hours from my home but felt like much further. I was so excited and nervous all at the same time. After arriving at the camp and getting checked in, I was put into a group and assigned to a camp counselor. She walked our group to our cabin. It was full of girls I had never met before, but I quickly made friends, so much giggling. The smell of the redwoods was amazing, the trees were huge! I had no idea I was hiking through ‘the valley of the giants’ some of the largest and oldest redwoods. Each morning we got up and hiked to the dining hall. The food was really good, scrambled eggs, pancakes, bacon and sausages, yum! We went on day hikes through the redwood forest and learned so much about all the beautiful vegetation, I loved all the ferns! We also did beach trips where I saw my first hermit crab and starfish. Then I met the strangest thing I had ever seen before, a huge yellow about banana slug. They put it on my arm and it slowly crawled along. They brought out more of them. They were huge, slow and kind of sticky. Our camp counselors and the conservationists taught us the "Banana Slug" song, "juicy, delicious banana slugs". I still remember the song and it's been a while. So many sea creatures like seals and otters, and all the ocean vegetation to see and learn about. The seagulls and pelicans were amazing to see too. Our night hikes were kind of scary, you could hear coyotes and things running through the forest. Each evening we hiked to the showers, got into our pajamas and went to the outdoor ampitheater where we got to participate in skits and listen to stories our camp counselors told. There is nothing like a summer camp experience! A week of time, a lifetime of memories.”
Jan, you lucky duck! Your camp stay sounds absolutely incredible! You got to hike ‘the valley of the giants’?! That must have been a truly enchanting experience. I’m glad you had such an easy time making friends—summer camp has a way of breaking the ice and giving into the giggles! Your hikes sound great—even the nightly ones! And all the nature must have been so cool to get an up-close look at (maybe a bit too up-close with the Banana Slug!).
Be sure that you check out Camp Jones Gulch for yourself sometime and, as always, thanks for reading!
- John