Hey, Camp Aficionados!

Last month, I shined our spotlight on Camp Eagle Ridge—a camp in our virtual backyard, not too far from our headquarters, here at Everything Summer Camp. Today, I want to take a trip to the opposite end of the state, from the bottom to the top, to sing the praises of Red Arrow Camp in Woodruff along the shores of Trout Lake in Wisconsin’s beautiful Northwoods.

This is a camp that appreciates its history and sticks to its traditions. How could you not when your cabins and other facilities are nearly 100 years old and built with full log construction?! The Dining Hall and Rec Hall are both from the mid-1800’s when Red Arrow was a lumberjack logging camp.Another tradition that Red Arrow has always implemented is the seven-week-stay—that’s almost TWO MONTHS at summer camp. It’s definitely for campers who know they’re in it for the long haul. While lots of other camps go for the route of multiple, shorter sessions, Red Arrow Camp strongly believes in the importance of a prolonged, uninterrupted camp stay.

Showing kids an honestly life-trans-formative summer since 1920, they certainly know what boys find fun! They offer a classic collection of camp activities like Archery, Football, Soccer, Basketball, Softball, Tennis, Lacrosse, Track & Field, Wrestling, Trapshooting, Nature/Ecology, Weights & Fitness, English Riding, Woodworking, Drama, Rifle, Swimming, Waterskiing, Canoeing, Sailing, Boardsailing, SCUBA, and more!

Year after year, Red Arrow is excited to give kids a summer that they’ll never forget. They impart experiences that only such an extended stay can deliver and, every year, they see the positive impact all of those experiences have on their happy campers. If you and your kid are interested in Red Arrow Camp for yourself, check it out for yourself sometime. And, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Trick-or-Treaters!

It’s October 30! And you know what that means! Sometime between tonight and tomorrow night, it’s time to don your creepy, crazy costumes and weave about the neighborhoods, going door-to-door with a demanding request for sugary treats. Halloween is the one time of the year when scary things are celebrated and people WANT to be frightened.

But all in good fun! It isn’t any fun to really be scared. And even though Trick-or-Treating is all in good fun, it can actually be a dangerous activity on account of the poor visibility you might have while you’re out there. To help, I’ve jotted down a few tips to help you stay safe when heading out for Trick-or-Treat.

Trick-or-Treating popularly takes place from 5:30pm to 9:30pm. It starts when it’s getting dark and ends when it’s pitch black. That’s why my first tip is to:

Be Mindful of Costume Visibility
Black is a popular color for Halloween costumes, but it can’t be seen very well at dusk. It’s smart to use Trick-or-Treat bags with reflective tape and stickers to increase your visibility. Incorporate reflective materials or even glowing elements (with glow sticks or flashlights) into your costume if at all possible to help drivers to see you.

Also, masks can often times reduce the visibility of the people inside them. Try non-toxic face paint if you can instead; otherwise, be mindful of your restricted vision and try removing the mask before crossing streets.

Reduce Risk of Tripping
When putting together your costume, make sure it’s the right size. Make sure it doesn’t hang too low—how embarrassing (and potentially painful) for a mummy to trip on his own wraps or a princess to stumble over her own dress! Avoid nasty spills with a cautious costume.

Arrange Adult Supervision
Kids should always have adult supervision when out Trick-or-Treating unless their parents feel their kids are mature enough to go without. Many parents feel like 12 is old enough, but some kids mature faster than others. If your kid is old enough to Trick-or-Treat without you, remind them to only visit familiar, well-lit areas and that it’s safest to stay in groups.

These tips ought to keep you safe so you can have a spooky, but fun time Trick-or-Treating this year! Happy Halloween and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, you Monster Lovers! Happy Frankenstein Day!

What is Frankenstein Day?

Frankenstein Day is a day created to celebrate this iconic horror staple among spooky movies and scary stories shared around the campfire at summer camp.

Everybody knows about Frankenstein—or, at least, thinks they do. But this incredibly popular and iconic, ‘Halloween’ creature has been so warped by re-tellings and modern Halloween culture that everybody mislabels this monster.

The True Story Behind Frankenstein's Monster

‘Frankenstein’ is actually the name of the scientist who created the creature. The monster itself doesn’t technically have a name at all.

According to the original, classic tale, written by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein, an advanced scientist, is mourning the death of his mother so much so that he studies how to overcome death itself. In an attempt to create a perfect being, the scientist creates a terrible monster that struggles with its cursed existence, haunting Victor to try and make his life right.

But this post isn’t about the story of Frankenstein. It’s about the story of the story of Frankenstein which began in the summer of 1816.

How the Story of Frankenstein Was Created

Mary, her fiancée, her step-sister, and a friend went to visit a mutual friend they all had in Switzerland, Lord Byron—a famous writer. With drab weather throughout their visit, the group was forced to stay indoors and they passed the time by reading German ghost stories.

After an evening of ghost stories, their host, Lord Byron suggested a writing contest in which everyone wrote their own scary story to see who could come up with the best one. Everyone jotted down a few ideas and went to bed to sleep on it. When Mary went to bed that night, she dreamed of a corpse that was brought back to life. And from that dream, she crafted the classic monster story ‘Frankenstein’.

Celebrate Frankenstein Day with Spooky Trunks!

Need a festive trunk for Frankenstein Day, Halloween, or any other spooky event? Look no further, at Everything Summer Camp we have multiple spooky trunk designs perfect for your storage scares!

The Monster Mash

Our tribute to Frankenstein, the Monster Mash trunk is a bit more cartoony than spooky, but still captures some of the monster's iconic features like scars, neck bolts, and green skin. Like Frankenstein himself, these trunks are practically indestructible!

The Creepshow Camp Trunk

One of our favorites, the creepshow camp trunk is guaranteed to catch you looking! With two ghoulish purple eyes on the front that seem to follow you wherever you go, this trunk design is packed full of scares.

The Zombie Graveyard Camp Trunk

When the graveyard comes alive it’s time to run and hide! Our graveyard camp trunk depicts the nightmare scenes of the dead coming back to life.

The trunk lid features a haunting full moon complete with bats and spiderwebs perfect for storing Halloween decorations and costumes year in and year out.

Zombie Attack Trunk

The zombie apocalypse will require storage, and what better trunk to prepare for it than our zombie attack camp trunk. This trunk helps you to practice steeling your nerves when a zombie is coming right at you, featuring a ghoulish undead figure on the trunk crawling out of graveyard.

Keep Your Frankenstein Day Spooky!

Happy Frankenstein Day campers, and happy haunting! Have a great day celebrating the power of a good old-fashioned spooky story.

And as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Lovers!

Continuing our Camp Story Submissions, today I have an entry from Ms. Cheyenne R.! Cheyenne tells us all about her awesome summer stay at Prude Ranch where she met lots of friends, had great times, ate delicious food, and bonded with beautiful horses. Here’s what she had to say about it:

“Hi, there. My name is Cheyenne Rondeaux and I went to the fourth session of Prude Ranch summer camp 2015 as a city slicker (which are the older kids). I’ll go day-by-day explaining, in detail, what happened each day. First day was Sunday, getting settled into our new cabins. My cabinet was a Harmony one. I didn’t know anyone there except for my friend Macy and Becca and I couldn’t wait to meet lots of new friends. I got unpacked and settled in finally, got to know everyone in my cabin—it was very exciting! I was really looking forward to seeing what horse I had for the rodeo and going for the two weeks! The next day (Monday) we kinda got more organized. We got our schedules for the first week of our daily activities and our rest period. My activities were swimming, funny Farm, Soccer, and, finally, archery. Later Monday night, it was Branding night. This is where all the first years come for the first time at Prude Ranch to get their butts burned by the fire! It sure was exciting because, since I was older, I was a city slicker so we have more damages and we tried to catch the little kids so they can get their booties burned! (it doesn’t hurt as bad as it sounds)! Anyways, it was Tuesday early that morning we got up for activities at 7:15. We went hitching post and prayed. At 7:45 we went and ate breakfast. After breakfast, our daily routine was to go to cabin clean-up and get ready for the first activity—Hold on!—let me just pause my story—I’m going to skip ahead advance to the next Sunday because it’s partly the same routine every day plus we have riding at three and we are separated into three writing groups which we switch off what time should we ride. Sunday was pretty exciting. We got to go and horseback ride at the Deep pond. It was pretty dang fun! After a couple hours that we continue with a regular day after going to lunch we went and slept for a few hours. We practice barrels and another form of pole bending! I ride at home so I know the whole routine of rodeo! On Wednesday we went to Balmoray pool and that was pretty exciting and we spent the night there and swam all the day while the wranglers cooked this amazing dinner and lunch and breakfast! I was very grateful for the amazing cooking! On Thursday, it’s called Dr. Pepper day and that’s when we ride into town on horses (it’s 6 miles in town). Then right through the town grab a Dr. Pepper and head back. It sounds more fun than I’m saying it but it’s still great time the Dr. Peppers’ all nice and cold for your throat because it’s all dry from the summer hot sun. Then the final full day of camp Friday. This day is the rodeo and all of us were super excited but also sad because it meant the end of camp was near. My horse’s name is Streak and he was super-fast! He won me a Prude Ranch buckle. I’m so proud of him, I love him—not just because he won me the buckle, but because of his personality. He is 16 years old but has a little kid personality. I loved it! Then finally Saturday is when we checked out, go over stuff, and packed up. It’s very sad to have to say goodbye to all my good friends I met, but I can email them or text them! We have a skit prepared to entertain our parents. Our skit was about the horses of Prude Ranch. It was super funny! We won the Beske award then we won a little carved wood with our awards on it. It’s super creative and fun! It was a sad day to say goodbye to everyone but I was glad to be home with all my animals and family and I hope to see all my friends next year and counselors!”

Thanks again for your submission, Cheyenne! It’s great to hear that your summer camp stay was so much fun! To anyone else who may be interested in Prude Ranch, check it out for yourself some time. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Folks!

The Everything Summer Camp ‘Share Your Camp Story’ drawing saw an excellent response with nearly 30 entries! That’s why we’re publishing each and every one right here on the Blog! Today I’ve got two submissions from brother and sister Noah and Ella T.! Read about the great time they had at: I just wrote a Camp Spotlight post about Eagle Ridge on Monday. Here’s what Ella had to say:

“On my last two weeks of camp it was hard to get around because I was on crutches with a broken ankle. I couldn’t do anything athletic and I couldn’t do water sports. I still had a wonderful time at camp. I could do things like arts and crafts, archery (if I was sitting), improv, and cooking.

For theme night instead of being in a group I got to help the counselors and C.I.T’s for capture the flag, I got to ring the bell. On Wednesday, I went on the overnight. My cabin and I pranked Wisdom on Thursday. The dance was AWESOME even though I could not dance. Saturday and Sunday were trip days. The trips I went on were Cook’s Adventure and Bowling. In cook’s adventure we threw warm fuzzies all over Serenity.

Like I said before, I still had a WONDERFUL time at camp. I wish I could go to camp longer next year. This year a lot of my school friends got to share the experience with me. Maybe my school friends will go for two weeks next year.”

And here’s the entry from Noah T.:

“I went to Camp Eagle Ridge. It was fun. I like swimming because we swam out to the swim area in a group and it was fun swimming with my friends. I like going to the rocket in the lake. I didn’t take the swim test so I had to wear a life best but I will probably take the swim test next year. I got my Discovery Patch. I tried three activities I never did before. I did Ultimate Frisbee, kayaking, and Gaga. I also went on the overnight tent trip and it rained. Next year I want to go to camp for two weeks. If I go to camp for two weeks next year I get to go on a weekend trip. I want to go tubing and berry-picking for my trips. I made new friends when I was at camp. I am excited to see them again next year.”

Thanks for these submissions, guys! It’s really great to hear that you two had such great summer camp experiences at Eage Ridge (even despite a broken ankle!). To anyone else who may be interested in Camp Eagle Ridge, check it out sometime! And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John