Friday, July 18, 2008

I love summer camp!

It is amazing to me that even though I grew up as a military-brat-on-the-move, I am blessed that as an adult, I am able to go to the same camp that I went to as a kid. Come along, and see how I spent last weekend.

Okay -- first let me tell you: my hair is up all weekend, and I have no makeup. This is unusual for me. I don't wear alot, but I do feel nekkid without it. Let's move on, before I start noticing how dry and wrinkled I am...



Now....this concerned me immensely.... "Holy shit!" I worried, "they've moved the toilets outside?!? And there's a him and hers?" Some of you may remember that I have some serious potty issues.......I was relieved to find that I could relieve myself inside. These were just....extras.....
One of my...."jobs" is to take the group on a hike. In years past, we've done Big Baldy, Little Baldy, Big Meadow, Tokopah Falls, North Grove Loop. This year, we decided to return to Crystal Caves. It was always a favorite of mine as a kid, and I've done it as an adult numerous times.

The cave, you perves, the cave.
To access the cave, you take a 1/2 mile trail down. Here's a couple shots along that trail. Yes....that means the hike OUT of the cave is all up hill. I hate uphill. But there are some lovely things to look at on the way down...and up.
Finally, you reach the mouth of the cave....and the 48degree breeze blowing out of it feels so good!


We waited about 20 minutes for our group to begin. We were told to not touch....but this sign invited us to touch. ::sigh:: talk about mixed signals. (Lawdy, lawdy, and with all my talk about caves, and ups, and downs, and mouths, etc. I so was wanting to touch something....) Mixed or not, touched or not, into the cave we went. Crystal caves was discovered in the 20's, and was the first (and only) cave in the Sequoia National Forest open to the public. For those of you who live here, and those of you who don't, I recommend this to everyone. If you want me to take you, tell me. I love this one!










There are some beautiful sites close to our camp, one being Eagle Trail. It was aptly named because it was an Eagle Scout's project. It makes a circle around camp, through meadows and big trees, and contains floral and fauna that I wish would grow in my own yard. After finishing my hike, I snapped this shot of the moonrise.









And, of course, no camp is complete without a group shot. Here you go -- both then (1975) and now (2008).

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

cool! glad you had a good time. Cheers!

robkroese said...

Cool!

KaMotion said...

I love the crystal caves. Did that hike when I was pregnant with Izabella.

Summer camp looks like fun! I am so jealous that you found a way to go back. I'm still searching.