For the first time that I’ve been going to our church’s annual camp for girls (both as an attendee and an adult), I did not drag myself into my house, barely making it into a shower before collapsing on my bed and sleeping for 2 days when it was over. I attribute it solely to the air conditioned cabin. And the king sized bed. And the cool mountain weather. And normal showers. It was fabulous to “camp” without sacrificing any creature comforts. We did outdoorsy type things like go on a fun hike. We did classic camp stuff like tye dye shirts and have classes. We even did high adventure – A river rafting trip complete with helmets and a real guide (a crusty, sunburned guy named Chad). It was a lovely break from the usual bug-infested, sweaty environment. However, the spirit and the camaraderie (and good food) were everything I’ve come to expect from Girls Camp.

The cabin we stayed at was a solid 4 hour drive west. We were about 20 minutes from the Tennessee border. On the way we stopped for a hike to a gorgeous waterfall. Layna is not a hiker. But with lots of pep talks, distractions (look at those pretty flowers!), and water…we too made it to the waterfall. Picnic lunch and we were back on our way to the cabin. That first night we tye-dyed our camp shirts, had dutch oven cobbler, and explored the cabin. Day two was river rafting! Driving through the winding mountain roads was hard on me (long story) but I’m so glad we did it. I opted to not bring my phone and so have no pictures on the river or of my very brave girls jumping off of rocks into the river from about 15 feet up! It was universally loved and universally wished that the rapids had been bigger.
The rest of the time there we enjoyed the amenities and the company and just had fun. One unique thing was that because we knew we had TV access we brought devices so that instead of a traditional skit, the girls were able to make movies. They were so funny and the girls had so much fun. We ended with s’mores, as is fitting and proper.

Normally Girls Camps involve a lot more girls. The way it works here is that every other year we do camp with our stake (a much large geographic area and closer to 100 girls) and on off years it is just our ward. We don’t have many Young Women…but it makes camps like this possible. It was the first time I had a huge role to play in the planning and execution of camp or that I went to a camp with so few girls. It was different, for sure. But different is often pretty great.