Hey, Camp Aficionados!

Your camp stories for this year’s annual ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest at Everything summer Camp have been fantastic! I’m eager to share them with our online community and post each submission right here on the Blog!

Last week concluded the announcements of our ten lucky winners who took larger prizes. And now today, I’ll begin sharing the rest of our submissions. All other entrants receive a $20 gift certificate to our online store simply for participating, making everyone a winner.

The following post is from Waverly B. who wrote in to tell us about her time away at Wyonegonic Camps this summer. Here’s her submission:

Thanks for this submission, Waverly. Your story is really too bad for everyone, especially the girls Izi and Emi. It’s pretty cool that Wyonegonic still made the best of the situation, though. Despite isolation among cabins, it’s great to hear that you still had a fun time. I’m glad no one else tested positive and you got to experience your camp stay under normal circumstances after the quarantine ended. Keep enjoying your adventures outside of the camp season, Waverly! Autumn's just as good a time for summer adventures!

If you’re interested in checking out Wyonegonic  Camps, give them a closer look by clicking right here. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Kids!

Here at Everything Summer Camp we’re pretty serious about making sure that you have fun during your camp stay. That’s why our online shop has everything from trunks to duffels to sleeping bags and water bottles. But sometimes our selection of camp gear and other camping supplies gets pretty goofy. Like our AvoCampo Designer Trunk, for instance—or our collection of ridiculous sleeping bags from iScream.

Outset Media, however, takes the cake in the goofiness department. Just have a look at a few of the games of theirs you can find on our site:

Fart
Fart is the eruptive card game that calls for the players to release a flatulent noise from their mouths (…or other means..) as they lay their cards down. The game ends when somebody hits 200 points; the player with the lowest score wins. Get your flatulent friends together at summer camp and get ready for some hysterical fun!

Silent But Deadly
Pay attention—there's lots to cover. After all, farts come in all different shapes and odors. And they make a broad range of noises on their way out. Some whimper out little squeaks as they make their stealthy escape while others come barging out like notes on a tuba. Of course, as the title of this game notes, there are those that make no sound at all, and it's those that are often the deadliest! Sit down with your flatulent friends for a game of Silent But Deadly. It's a toot and a holler!

My Word! Card Game
With this deck of letter cards, The Dealer starts setting out cards letter-side up. The players compete against each other after the first three cards have been dealt. The dealer continues laying down letters until a player shouts sees a word that can be spelled with the letters laid down. Those cards go to the player who called out the word. Make as many words as you can. Make more words than any other player and you win! Awesome for creating some laughs as well as friends at summer camp!

There’s plenty more you can check out from Outset Media that we offer here at Everything Summer Camp. Check out other fun games like Kids Charades, Mindtrap Brain Cramp, Professor Noggin Card Games, and more! Take a look when you click here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Folks!

The classic summertime footwear—nowadays, sandals may be made from rubber, leather, wood, tatami, or rope. You can find them in cool colors and sweet styles, available on our online store and displayed for you when you click right here for everyday, casual wear and then when you click here as well for our selection of sport sandals.

But it wasn’t always like this with options and fashion and availability. Sandals have been around for a long time, yet there was a time when they hadn’t been invented yet. The oldest pair of sandals ever discovered were found in the state of Oregon in Fort Rock Cave. They were carbon dated to be at least 10,000 years old.

Crude footwear for sure, the original sandals were made of natural elements which were handy to folks of particular regions. Tree and other plant leaves, twigs, fibers, dried grass, and non-processed leather were all used in constructing the world’s first sandals—literally whatever was lying around. Take a look at how people got around in ancient times. 

Walk like an Egyptian…sandal
Ancient Egyptian sandals were made out of the leaves of palm trees and their trademark paper-like invention, papyrus.

You can spot their old sandals depicted on the feet of Egyptian statues and reliefs.  

It’s all Greek Feet to Me
Greek sandals were made up of multiple layers of cattle skin for the sole which proved to be much better quality. After that, they were a mess of straps that wound around the ankle for a secure. The top of the sandals were usually made of colored leather.

Ancient Levant sandals—also known as Biblical Sandals as these are the style worn by folks of the times and regions covered in The Bible. These were typically made of leather and dry grass and given strings or ropes made of simple, cheap materials. Some sandals for royalty, however, were ornamented with gold or silver beads and gems to add decoration.

Today’s sandals are much more focused on comfort, functionality, and fashion than sandals from the days of old. Material availability and construction methods of our current day create high-quality, convenient, comfortable, and cool-looking sandals. Thank goodness improvements kept coming along the way. Enjoy wearing your sandals today and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Folks!

Similar to Archery, Trapshooting requires focus, patience, and a keen eye. Shooting a shotgun at a clay targets that are launched from a machine away from the shooter is sort of an accidental sport as it got its start as a method of practice for bird hunters. Live pigeons were replaced with targets (which is why they are now referred to as clay pigeons).  

This sport’s been around since the late 18th century—back when real birds were used. It’s recorded that by the year 1793, Trapshooting was "well established" in England. The passenger pigeon was abundant and the typical bird used before the transition to artificial targets was made. Glass balls were the original step away from live birds which would sometimes be filled with colored powder to add a visual effect that would easily indicate a hit.

Famous Trapshooters of the day such as Captain Bogardus, the wing shot champion of the world and Doc Carver who outmatched the trapshooter he idolized: Captain Bogardus. But by 1880, clay targets were introduced by a man named Fred Kimble though another man named George Ligowsky took credit for the invention. The new targets were dubbed Ligowsky targets and were welcomed as a replacement for the glass balls.

Trapshooters must develop their skills in patience, watchfulness, readiness, focus, leading accuracy, and more in order to advance their abilities. One way to differentiate skill levels is whether a shooter is capable of double target presentations or just single—in other words, are their two targets launched at once or just one.

Along with Riflery, Trapshooting can be found as an available program at many summer camps across the country. Look into the activities your camp offers or get out to a Trapshooting facility near you and test out your skills to see how much you enjoy it. Have fun out there and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

Throughout September so far, I’ve been announcing the winners to our annual ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest. And, today, the time has come to reveal our grand prize winner for this year’s edition. Find out right here and right now—the winner of our $300 gift certificate is….

Emily G.!

Yaaaayyy, Emily!!! Congratulations. You’re our grand prize winner!!! Emily wrote in to tell us about year #3 at summer camp, Camp Arbutus Hayo-Went-Ha. Read her account of her fun camp stay right here on today’s Blog post:

This past summer was my third year at camp. After being defeated in summer 2020 by camp being canceled I was extra eager to attend this year. My camp experience started out strong, I loved my counselors, my cabin was amazing, and I made amazing friends with a lot of people. I was especially excited to go on my cabins trip this year. This year our trip was a four day backpacking trip around North Manitou Island. I had never been backpacking and was super excited to try it. The day we left for our trip my cabin was in high spirits and we were all excited about this new adventure. Throughout the four days we all bonded whether it was at one of our campsites or while on the trail. It was also so amazing to just look around and see what I was hiking through. The scenery was straight out of a fantasy book and it felt so surreal. The trip went by so fast and I was having a hard time realizing what I had accomplished. I don’t have a lot of time throughout the year to go on hikes and be in the woods, so every year at camp I love to take it all in. Camp will forever be a part of me and I will forever be thankful for the experiences & friendships it has given me and what is yet to come.

What a fantastic submission, Emily! How cool to have this adventure to sort of epitomize your camp stay this year—sure to stay with you forever. I’m glad this year delivered such a meaningful experience for you after you were stuck at home for summer last year. I’m so glad Camp Arbutus Hayo-Went-Ha keeps you going back for more! For anyone else interested in checking out Hayo-Went-Ha, you can do so by clicking right here. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John