Camp McGovern

Camp McGovern Hanover, ON September 17, 2012 www.campmcgovern.com

Camp McGovern is located near Hanover Ontario. It is run by one lone ranger. We arrived late at night on Monday. The next morning we met Grego Dow and he took us on a tour, fed us some lunch and told us all about what it is like to run a camp basically by oneself. My favorite part of this camp was that their campers were completely funded by either Big Brother Big Sister programs, the United Way or some other supportive service of some sort.

Laura

South Mountain YMCA

South Mountain YMCA (Camp Conrad Weiser and Bynden Wood) Wernersville, PA September 11, 2012 www.smymca.org

South mountain is beautiful. Upon arriving here we met up with Sue Williams. She was the first female camp director we came across, so of course I loved her instantly. She also has experienced so much camp, having worked in the camping industry all over the country. Her confidence was not boastful or unapproachable but seemed trust worthy and passionate. She gave us a quick tour and then we went to eat pizza and beer with her, the CEO Nathan Brant, and a handful of other employes. Jack and I after not eating enough all day got a little tipsy after one beer and could both feel where we slipped in conversation. But all in all it was a nice meal and fun to meet these people. The next day we helped out at their United Way day of caring. Jack mowed for hours and I washed a vinyl fence. It felt good to do some manual labor volunteer for our stay.

Laura

Camp Delanco

Delanco Camp Tabernacle, NJ September 10, 2012 www.delanco.org

This Camp is located in the pine forests in South Jersey, we were warmly greeted by Matt and Mike Ralph. These brothers are some of the most passionate summer camp enthusiasts we have met. They are a part of a very unique camping operation. Their camp is completely staffed by volunteers and a board picks who is going to be the camp program director for each week and then from there the program director runs the show, everything from the staff to the schedule and the programs for that whole week. Matt Ralph runs Summer Camp Culture which is a blog about anything and everything camp.

Laura

Frost Valley YMCA

Frost Valley YMCA Claryville, NY September 6, 2012 www.frostvalley.org

Woah, incredible place. We were both a little nervous pulling in. This camp, in the middle of the Catskills is basically its own small city. Isolated by mountains and valleys, even the drive to the camp was majestic. We pulled up to the camp office and asked one of their many secretaries to put us in contact with Dan Weir. We then got wristbands and parking permits and the whole shabam! Dan met us there and walked us up to the dinning hall to eat lunch and then spent the whole day with us. Frost Valley has so much to offer and so much to learn from. Between the amazing facilities, the diversity of camp programs, and the traditions that let all campers feel some ownership over such a big place.

Laura

Camp Scully

Camp Scully Wynantskill, NY September 3, 2012 campscully.squarespace.com

Camp Scully was the first stop on the trip, not knowing what to expect Colin, the camp director was instantly warm, reassuring and welcoming. It is obvious he is the life blood of his camp. Camp Scully is on a little lake near Albany NY. The camp is surrounded by cottages but there is plenty of forest and places to explore. Camp Scully was founded on fun and making memories, from yelling the Pledge of Allegiance in the morning to dressing up in the silliest of costumes for the weeks dance. Counselors are invested in their campers and travel with them through all the activities during the day. Camp Scully never turns any camper away for financial reasons and Colin and his staff have learned to do an incredible amount with limited resources. For example the simple but incredibly effective destination spots in the woods like the legendary sacred rock and other recently proclaimed historical landmarks.

Laura

More Photos

Visiting Camps Coast to Coast

Rocky Mountain Ridge

Hello! We are Laura Kriegel and Jack Schott and we are currently traveling across the country on an epic road trip to visit as many camps as possible. Our goal is to learn from and give back to the camp community through volunteering. We have now visited 22 camps and 22 states. We are having so much fun and meeting some incredible people. The camps we have stayed at have amazing directors with inspirational philosophies on directing and the camp industry. We have had the pleasure of working family weekends, a united way day of caring, weeding and preparing gardens for winter, helping out in maintenance yards, and painting murals. Our trip so far has been so fun and educational that we want to share it with other people in the camp world. We have been accepted to speak this February in the ACA National conference in Dallas!! We are enthusiastic about camp and being recent graduates have the time to explore the amazing things available in the camping industry.