Track and Field Day!

Everybody woke up excited for the today because it was Track Meet! The Sunday in the middle of the session is dedicated to a competition between the green and white team. After a breakfast of cinnamon bread, campers headed to the A-field for the standing long jump, running long jump, softball throw, and the 50-yard dash!

We kept up with our tradition of having ham and noodles on this eventful day with churros for dessert. Everybody enjoyed a much needed rest hour to prepare for the optional "marathon", which is more of a half-mile run through camp. Immediately following the marathon, we started a camp-wide relay race called the Indian War Relay. This race involves every single camper who is assigned the job of either runner, swimmer, passenger, or boater and it spans all around camp's property, including the lake. The campers had a lot of fun with it!
 

We finished out the afternoon with some swim races and other activities to occupy the time we had left until dinner. Evening program was a series of relay races such as soccer ball dribble, dizzy izzy, kickball pass, and pass the hula hoop. Tomorrow we will total up each team's points so we can announce the track meet winners at banquet! Today was a fun day and we are sure they will sleep soundly tonight!

-Shannon and Sloane

Friday July 3rd

The first session of Camp Asto Wamah 2015 has come to a close! We started the last full day of camp off with english muffins and cereal. During the morning periods, all of the campers worked hard to show off their swimming and boating skills. It's tough to pass a swimming or boating level in just a week but some returning campers as well as a few extra talented newcomers proved skillful enough to advance. After a morning filled with hard work, lunch was a camp-favorite - shepherds pie and "leftovers" for dessert (jello, cherry cake, cheesecake and apple crisp). During activity period, campers could go jumping off the tower, attend a "boot camp" with Noah (an Air Force Academy student), or finish up arts and crafts projects.

Dinner was chicken fajitas and peaches for dessert. After dinner, everyone went back to their cabins to organize their belongings. Now, the campers are all playing a fun game of King Dodge. Afterwards, we will all gather in the Council Ring for boating/swimming awards, year awards, songs and s'mores.

Tomorrow we will wake up a half hour early and have breakfast at 7:30am. Pick up will be from 8:30am to 10:00am. We will be sad to these campers go, but we look forward to the next two weeks of boys camp!

Maddy, Cabin 6

Thursday July 2nd

It has been another typical day at Camp Asto Wamah. Breakfast this morning was cornbread with cereal and orange slices. After a normal morning schedule, campers gathered in the upper lodge for chicken tenders, rice, corn and salad. Dessert was a special cold treat - berry or orange juice bars. Activity period options were Aquarium swimming games, the ever-popular jumping off the tower, fishing and row boating. All the campers either chose an activity or entertained themselves with games in the cabin. Dinner tonight will be meatball grinders and potato chips. Right now, cookees are busy setting the tables for supper. The campers don't know yet, but tonight we are playing a camp-favorite game, Pirate Gangs. The camp will be split up into two teams and battle each other with guns (flour filled clothes) and search for a hidden treasure. It will be a ton of fun! Check back in tomorrow for some more updates. Best,

Maddy, Cabin 6

Maggie, Cabin 2

Wednesday July 1st

It has been a beautiful day on Columbia Lake. Fortunately, the rain only hit us very early in the morning so we were able to hold our normal schedule. After a yummy breakfast of chocolate chip bread, campers worked hard to clean their cabins and fulfill their duties around camp. During the morning classes, campers had a chance to improve their swimming strokes, paddle and row boats and canoes and make bead animals and friendship bracelets. It was too wet on the field for a normal sports class so we held that class in the upper lodge and Drew hosted some fun indoor games. Lunch was ziti and pasta. After a relaxing rest hour, we had perfect weather for a general swim and everyone went in and enjoyed the water. After 4th period, campers went sailing on the Hunter, played soccer on the A Field and those in level 4 swimming and above went for some jumps off the tower. Tonight is the kitchen staff's night off. Counselors took sandwich orders from all the campers and tonight we will eat out picnic style. Each cabin will choose a spot somewhere around camp. Some will sit on a dock or raft and others will venture out to a campsite in the woods. It looks like it will be a clear evening for a fun outdoor evening program! Can't believe there's only two more days! Best,

Maddy, Cabin 6

Camp Updates

Welcome to the first Birch Blog for the 2015 camp season! Our first session is off to a great start. Unfortunately, Sunday was unusually chilly. We made the best of the weather, but we couldn’t stick to our usual first day program. Instead of classifying our new campers into their swimming levels, we gathered inside the lodge to meet the staff and learn about some camp rules. After some ice breakers and tours with our cabins, we had our traditional first night of camp meal – hotdogs, baked beans and chips, followed by yummy brownies! The field was too wet to play a game outside, so we broke up into cabin sections – hilltop (girls), lakeside (younger boys), and seniors (older boys), and played a game that showed off everyone’s individual talents called “skills challenge.”

Monday was a bit nicer but still not as hot and sunny as we prefer. Right after breakfast (cinnamon rolls and cereal) and cabin cleanup/camp duties we got all the new campers in the water to test out their swimming skills. Following that, we went through our normal morning schedule. All three sections of camp rotate through swimming, boating, sports and arts and crafts. After lunch, it still wasn’t too warm so those who wanted to go in for “General Swim” had the option and everyone else played some getting-to-know-you games on the field. After General Swim, we had our first Activity Period! Campers had the option to go on a sunfish sailboat, play soccer on the field, or go jumping off the tower on White Raft. After dinner, we played our usual first night game on the field – Medical War (a dodgeball game). Everyone loved the competition and we finished the night with a snack of animal crackers.

Today we finally got the nice sunny weather we were waiting for! We started our day with flag raising, Chicken Fat (our morning exercise routine), and a breakfast of bagels, cereal, and oatmeal. Sports classes played their traditional first day game of Nuke ‘em, boaters and swimmers had great weather to work on their skills, and many beaded geckos were made during Arts and Crafts! Lunch was ham and noodles with delicious apple turnovers for dessert. After a relaxing rest hour, everyone went down to the waterfront to go in for General Swim. Activities offered today included a nature walk, jumping off the tower, and going for a ride on the Hunter (camp’s largest sailboat). It was a beautiful afternoon to enjoy our activities both on and off the water. Following flag lowering we enjoyed a great supper of tacos, carrots, and chips with cherry cake for dessert!

Now it’s off to evening program – a camp-wide game of capture the flag!

Until next time,

Maddy, Cabin 6

Maggie, Cabin 2