Hey, Camp Fans!

Today is an interesting day that’s been dedicated to the idea of being deserted or stuck somewhere without the aid of a compass. It’s called Marooned without a Compass Day. Whether you interpret that as a challenge to find your way back from an unfamiliar area or an invite to immerse yourself in the wilderness—‘unplugged’, it’s smart to understand how that small, magnetic, analog GPS works.

Early explorers used them to navigate the open ocean—guys like Ferdinand Magellan, Hernan Cortes, Hernando de Soto, and others. But did you know that the magnetic compass was originally invented for a purpose besides navigation? Check out some things you may not have known about the compass:

In a time before the compass was invented, seafarers used the stars for their navigation on the water. Navigation by the position of the stars was so built into our understanding of the way around the world that even when the compass came onto the navigation scene, people still used it to situate themselves under the stars more so than where they stood on earth.

The compass was, rather surprisingly, not invented for a means of navigation but more for a means of fortune-telling. More than 2000 years ago, this Chinese invention was a device to be read depending on its indicated direction underneath the stars. This was a sort of astrology of the day. 

The compass didn’t make its way to the Americas until the 12^th Century. Why the holdup? Well, use of the compass remained exclusively for the purpose of reading fortunes for about 1300 years until roughly 1100 AD. Once its navigational use was realized, explorers brought them far and wide. It was soon after that European explorers sailed the Atlantic and introduced the compass to civilizations of the Americas.

Celebrate today by spending some time outdoors—maybe go for a hike! Find your way without a compass if you’re up for the challenge (but don’t get lost now!). Or maybe instead, you can simply brainstorm things you would bring along to a deserted island. If you could bring three things from your bedroom with you, what would they be? Let us know in a comment and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hello, Outdoor Eaters!

Tomorrow gets two birds with one Blog post since it's both National Trail Mix Day AND National Eat Outside Day. And, because trail mix goes hand-in-hand with eating outside, it shouldn’t be too difficult to incorporate both! Find a delicious blend of trail mix for your taste buds and hit the trail with the most convenient snack you can pack along for the trip!

Spending time in the Great Outdoors is always such a refreshing experience. The deeper you head into it, the more refreshing it is. And the further you explore, the more energy you expend. But whether you’re out to see how many miles you can cover in one day or simply enjoying the wilderness in some gorgeous weather, it can take some serious energy to keep yourself going out there! 

That’s when you’re happy with yourself for having packed along a delicious snack that’s made to replenish the energy you’ve been using. It’s certainly an enjoyable time to have a sit-down on a sturdy log or a large, available rock and appreciate the food you’ve packed along. But trail mix offers you the ability to keep moving while you eat!

That’s why versions of trail mix have been around since basically forever. Ideal for any outing, trail mix is lightweight, long-lasting, easy-to-store, protein-packed, nutritious, tasty, and filling food! It’s been a popular favorite among nomadic tribes for thousands of years. It wasn’t called Trail Mix back then (it went by many names which you can read about by clicking here), but it was pretty much the same.

From explorers to soldiers, and cowboys, and hunters, people have always put their own spin on this ancient high-energy Travel Snack. Let us know what’s in your favorite Trail Mix blend and have a delicious and delightful adventure tomorrow. As always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

- John

Bzzzzz Bzz—zzzz—Bzz!

That’s Honeybee for “Happy Honeybee Awareness Day!” Today we celebrate honeybees for all they do and the delicious honey they provide! started by beekeepers, Honeybee Awareness Day was started to develop awareness of the community about the facts and the benefits of honey. I covered it all pretty well last year. You can check out more details about the day itself by clicking here.

For this year, I thought we could discover some interesting facts about honeybees themselves. Let’s learn about these lovely insects!

Most creatures on the Earth have symmetrical faces with two ears, two nostrils, and two eyes. But bugs are very different creatures. Bees in particular don’t just have two eyes—not just three eyes and not just four eyes—but they have FIVE eyes!!! Interestingly, they’re able to see many shades of colors beyond our perception further down the spectrum than blue and indigo. They’re ability to pick up on shades of red, however, fails them.

Not quite the fastest flighted insect out there—that title belongs to dragonflies who can go zooming by at a whopping 35 miles per hour—bees can do a stunning 20 miles per hour! That’s nothing to sneeze at when considering that your body can’t transport itself much faster than five miles per hour without tuckering out before long.

If you think the city is overcrowded, then it’s a good thing you don’t live in a beehive! These structured nests made of secreted and chewed up beeswax house around 50,000 bees, on average. That’s a lot of bees. And the inside is filled with honeycomb cells which are used to store honey, pollen, and...BEE EGGS to hatch MORE BEES! When a hive is growing too big to support the colony’s numbers, a sizable chunk of the bees will literally break away in a swarm and travel elsewhere to start a new colony.

Bees are absolutely fascinating creatures. Their means of defense is a death sentence as they don’t live long after losing their stingers. And their pollinating routine is responsible for an entire third of the produce we enjoy in our grocery stores. To bees everywhere, we salute you. And, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans! Buzz on!

- John

Hey, Busy Boys and Girls!

As the summer heat begins to retreat, our minds start to shift from the hustle bustle of summer and we slowly focus more on the relaxing side of life. Summer certainly is a demanding season. Take today for a great break from the constant hecticness of always being on the go, always being engaged, and always occupying your mind. Today’s Relaxation Day. Take a note and do some non-doing! 

Wakeful relaxation is just as important as relaxing in your sleep! Some people call it meditation. Others say non-doing. It sounds counterproductive—sitting there doing nothing—but it actually increases your efficiency through everyday life with shocking effectiveness.

Check out the Benefits of Focusing on Doing Nothing:

Don’t think of it so much as ‘doing nothing’ but more like building your ability to go with the flow. By letting go of built-up tension from daily stresses, we strengthen our connectedness to living in the moment. We pay better attention to what we are doing, and our actions come with less effort.

Whether you were drawing a picture or making contact between the ball and your bat, have you ever felt so focused on something that you knew you would succeed? When you’re that tapped into the moment, time seems to slow down and we feel melded with whatever we are doing.

A bad attitude affects everyone it encounters, but for your own sake if for no one else’s, ditching a crummy mood feels amazing! Often times, we choose to simply stay in the mode we’ve been in—a sort of emotional inertia—but taking the time to focus on nothing but deep breathing is more often than not just what you need to switch gears for a more positive demeanor.

Give yourself a break today. Take a relaxing bath, sit in a comfy chair, go lie in the grass—just try not to let your mind wander too much. Focus on enjoying the moment without any demands or problems to distract you. It’s not always so easy, but it’s incredibly refreshing when you make it happen. So, go ahead! Do yourself a favor, and find some time to really relax today! And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Happy Lighthouse Day!

Those tall coastal towers that cast their lights out to sea for nautical navigation of sailors at night have been fulfilling their purpose since roughly 300 BC. The very first lighthouse was built 450 feet high in ancient Egypt with a gigantic bonfire that was lit each night to light more than 30 miles out. That’s TEN miles more than the average visibility range for today’s lighthouses!

This original lighthouse was included as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World for its size. It lasted well over a thousand years until an earthquake toppled it. It didn’t resemble much the iconic image of today’s lighthouses, but even today you can find these symbols of hope in all different shapes and sizes. Here are several unique lighthouses.

This spiraling lighthouse is an interesting design that almost seems impossible with a papery or ribbon-like effect and creating the illusion of magically suspended lantern high up off the ground.

Lighthouse Landing Pad

Accessible only by air or sea, this lighthouse eventually received a landing pad on the very top of the tower for helicopter—the safest means of reaching this lighthouse because of all the rocks in the water scattered around the tower's base. 

Not too many people realize that the Statue of Liberty used to be a lighthouse. It hasn’t been used as one since 1902, but we used to use an electric light in Lady Liberty’s torch that shone for 24 miles. 

Those are my top three, but there are many other unique lighthouses out there. I came across a lighthouse designed as a giant ice cream cone and another one that looked like a big water bottle. You can get a more detailed idea of the history around these amazing architectural beauties from a past Blog post when you click here. Enjoy learning more about lighthouses and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John