I was girls camp director for our ward again this year. After talking to a lot of the leaders and girls, and learning the majority of them had never been to Yellowstone, I knew that is where we needed to go. I guess I love it there so much, and have been so often, I can't fathom people living so near and never visiting! I'm grateful to my parents (particularly my dad) for instilling in me a deep love of Yellowstone and the general area. My parents were nice enough to let us use their cabin and surrounding property for camp. We had nearly 30 young women and about 10 leaders, so we were a pretty large group!
Our camp theme this year the YCLs chose was "Out of this world," which we used in a variety of ways. We paired it with the scripture D&C 25:10, which says, "And verily I say unto thee that thou shalt lay aside the things of this world and seek for the things of a better." We talked about "being in the world, but not of the world," and likened the temple as a place "out of this world." We also talked about God creating the world for us to enjoy, and places like Yellowstone being "out of this world." Also, how sometimes it is good to take time to be "out of this world" with breaks from social media, making sure to make time for things that matter, etc. We had firesides each night relating to the theme in some way, and I thought it turned out awesome.
I still had the girls and leaders stay in tents on the property, but we used the cabin for the bathrooms and kitchen, etc. It was a great way to do camp! We still had the camping experience, with the perks of having flushing toilets, hot water, a kitchen, etc. On our final night we even had a big dance party in the basement.
On our way to Island Park we stopped in Idaho Falls to see the temple and we ate lunch on the green belt.
Our next stop was Mesa Falls
So many fun leaders! I consider all of them friends and felt so lucky to have them at camp!
We finally made it to Island Park and set up camp. We headed up to Sawtelle to go star gazing, but it didn't end up being a great night to see the stars. It was a full moon though, so that was cool. It was so windy at the top that night!
The next morning we departed for a full day of sight seeing in Yellowstone. I took the girls to some of my favorite places. We started with the brink of the lower falls in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Even having been here multiple times, I am always still awestruck in this place.
We then made our way to the Grand Prismatic overlook trail. This was many of the girls' favorite parts of the trip.
We followed that with a walk around the boardwalks in Biscuit Basin to see Sapphire Pool, etc. I love this area, but we had a bit of trouble with a few girls obeying the rules here, so I admit, this was not my favorite stop this time around.
Last, we finished with Old Faithful and ice cream in the gift shop.
The next day we did an activity in the morning where we did personal scripture study isolated in the woods around the cabin. This turned out to be a really great experience for some of the girls, and I am so happy. That afternoon we canoed down Big Springs. It was a beautiful day and we saw a few moose, bald eagles, and a river otter!
We had a great testimony meeting that evening and had a lot of fun just hanging out. We even had a big dance party in the basement of the cabin.
It is tradition in our ward to hand out "paper plate awards" right before we head home from camp. These are individual awards written out by the YCLs on a paper plate and given to every girl at camp. It is a really fun tradition and the girls love it.
I learned a lot as camp director this time around. This is my third year as camp director. Once in our previous ward, and the second year in this one. Each camp has been different. Navigating that large of a group through a busy day in Yellowstone was pretty challenging, but I think it was worth it. I am happy the girls were able to experience the places we visited and do something different than their typical camp experience. Admittedly, there were times I was pushed to my limits and I broke down and cried in the basement for a few minutes, but it was worth it. I know there are girls whose testimonies were strengthened , as well as friendships and bonds that were deepened as well. That makes the hard work and stress worth it. I am grateful for the experience I've had being camp director for this ward for the past few years. I was just released last Sunday. I can honestly say I did my very best and gave it my all. I will miss going to girls camp but am also excited to have my summer back and not have to tell my kids a hundred time, "Maybe after camp!"
