Chloe's Camp Experience

On July 15, 2018, my family and I made our way out to Bailey, CO.  I was very nervous to go to a camp where I wouldn't know anybody, but when I arrived at Expedition Sport, Avid4 Adventure Camp with my parents, everyone was very fun and welcoming.  My parents and I met my instructors, Graham and Tom.  We very quickly found out that I would be going to Wyoming the next day and we wouldn't be showering for 4 to 5 days.  My family and I went to check out all of the buildings and went to a camp store where you could buy anything from stuff you forgot at home to energy snacks that kept you going throughout the day.  After that, my parents and I went up to the theater where we would hug and say goodbye for the week,  

When all of the campers were in the theater, we all introduced ourselves.  After we all met each other, we soon split into our groups.  I was in the Expedition Multi-Sport group.  There were only ten of us in the group and we all chatted for about thirty minutes until we grew to be friends.  All of us were either going into 7th or 8th grade and were 12-14 years old.  We made our own rules and decided to name our group the Rebellious Zebras.  After that we went to supper and then finished our first day by going up to the astronomy building and then to sleep.  

The next morning we woke up at about 7 am and went to eat.  We then went out to play basketball and a lot of other fun games until we had to leave for Wyoming around 9:30 am.  Once we loaded the van up, we played cards and made a playlist of our favorite songs.  I was the first one to notice we had made it to WY.  WY was kind of what I would picture a desert to be at first, but then it started to turn into a lot of boulders and huge rock platforms.  About 45 minutes later we arrived at our campsite in Curt Gowdy State Park.  There were a ton of trees and it looked like a forest.  There were 3 girls and 7 boys in our group so the girls had their own tent and the boys split into 2 more tents.  Once we had our campsite set up, we had a mini gas stove and made mac and cheese and summer sausage for supper.  Lights out around 10 pm.

In the morning, we all piled into the van to go rock climbing.  It rained for most of the day so we didn't get to climb too much.  When we got back to the campsite, we had supper and the girls went exploring.  Lucy and I were really good friends and the other girl, Ellie, was kind of crazy, but was fun.  When we were exploring, we found a big rock and decided that at night we would go and lay on it and watch the stars.  It was very relaxing.

In the morning, we woke up and ate breakfast, which was powdered milk, oatmeal and granola.  Today we would go canoeing.  Canoeing was my favorite activity because it was fun and challenging at the same time.  Ellie and I had our own canoe.  We practiced what to do if your canoe flips over (with life jackets).  After that we played "stinky fish" in the canoes, which is a game where if you have one of the sponges you are "it", so you have to throw it at another boat to not be the one that is "it".  After canoeing, we headed back to camp for the night.

The next morning, at 7 am, we all woke up and ate breakfast and loaded the van again.  Today we were going to do archery and mountain biking.  Archery was really fun and mountain biking was not my thing.  I fell three times on the bike.  One time I wasn't watching and ran into a boulder.  The second one, I pressed the front and back brakes and went flying.  The third time I was going too fast and took a sharp turn and slid.  Biking was not my favorite, but it was fun.  This was our last day at the campsite in Wyoming.  

On Friday morning, we had eggs, summer sausage and cereal.  Today we would head back to Bailey, CO.  I was sad to leave WY and our campsite.  It was one of the best experiences I have had in my life.  I was kind of excited to get back to finally take a shower though.  Once we were back at the camp in Bailey, we took showers, designed our own pizzas, played basketball and other games.  This was our last night at camp.  We slept outside in the gazebo and our instructor, Tom, told us an inspirational story that I will carry with me.

Saturday morning we had breakfast and I would finally get to see my family.  I had been homesick the first couple days of my adventure, but it got better as time went on. On the way back to Nebraska, we talked about all the adventures I had been on at camp. 

I would definitely recommend this camp to all of the scholarship winners.  It teaches independence and that you can live without technology. I am extremely appreciative to the Rebecca Adams Green Foundation for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime.  From having fun at the lake to falling off my bike, I can look back and smile.  I'm grateful I could share my story.

Chloe Carkoski