Laura's Summer Camp Page
My Experiences with Girl Scout Resident Camp.
Camp La Jita
I spent my first week at resident camp during the Summer of
1984. That was my introduction to Camp La Jita, which is operated
by the San Antonio Area Council of Girl Scouts. That first summer
I decided I was never going back. The next summer I went back for
two weeks and that was it, I was truly hooked. I spent summers at
La Jita as a camper from 1984 until 1991. The Summer of 1992 I
was a CIT (Counselor in Training) at La Jita. The summer of 1993
saw my dream of being a counselor realized. Those four summers
(93, 94, 95 and 96) I went from a Junior Counselor to a Unit Leader
at La Jita. I loved it, loved the girls, the camp, everything about
life as Jabber aka La Jita Counselor aka Margaret Super Scout (not
by my own naming on the latter one).
The things I learned during those 13 summers varied. I learned the
basic camping skills (knife safety, knots, compass reading, building
fires, cooking out, cleaning latrines, trail signs and many more).
and specialty skills (ie: canoeing, lifeguarding, sailing, horseback
riding, unique ways to cook out, archaeology and much more). The
summers at La Jita were the best part of my life, the experiences,
leadership gained, friends made as a camper and counselor have
never left me. La Jita was, and always will be home to me.
Camp Timber Ridge
The summer of 1997 was a unique experience for me. For the
first time, I worked at a different camp. Camp Timber Ridge, a
Girl Scout camp run by North West
Georgia Girl Scout Council was my home that summer. Although
a Girl Scout camp, the experiences I had there were often very
different from those I'd had at La Jita. Being in Georgia for the
first time ever I had to quickly adapt to a climate different than
that of south Texas. Timber Ridge is a beautiful camp, and I had
a wonderful summer as program director. It was a summer full of
firsts - first time as admin staff, first time to sleep in platform
tents, first time to have "rotating schedules" in camp, first time
to be working for a camp where I didn't previously know everyone
and every tradition. It was a great summer, I made many friends,
learned new songs, and taught old, shared many skills and saw many
smiles.
My second summer at Camp Timber Ridge, 1999 was another excellent experience. I was again in an admin position, and also worked with the CIT's. Adding to the summer was the fact that two of my CIT's of 97 were back as Junior Counselors (Purple and
Step (aka 99) ya'll did super!). The weather was great (for Atlanta) and we had a good staff and some wonderful campers. I spent alot of time teaching canoeing and lifeguarding in addition to everything else. I had the opportunity to meet more New Zealanders and Australians and one South Korean (and she
is a Girl Scout and just as enthuiastic about Girl Scouting as I am).
Something to smile about, the "mystical" staff house that was
supposed to be finished early in 97 but never was, was complete. On the sad side, (and Kate heard this all to often!) my wonderful tent was gone =(. I really missed my tent. (Kate! my poor tent...its gone!).
The summer ended early for me, as I had to leave early to take a group of GS from the Bluebonnet GSC to Savannah Georgia. You can read about this on my Girl Scout Page . Overall 1999 was a good summer camp summer.
Camp Lachenwald
This past summer, 1998 I encountered a whole new world in Girl Scout resident camp. I was a Unit Leader / CIT Director at Camp Lachenwald. The uniqueness of the experience was the location and the individuals I worked with. Camp Lachenwald is located near Marburg, Germany. The camp is part of the North Atlantic Girl Scouts which are American Girl Scouts overseas. The camp is situated in beautiful (but way too cold and rainy for this Texan) Germany. {I promise to scan some photos eventually} The staff this past summer hailed from all over the USA, Poland, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Canada. It was a wonderful experience for me to learn more about international Girl Guiding and Scouting. I was also able to travel during my time in Germany. Throughout the course of the summer I visited 5 countries (England, Belgium, The Netherlands, The Czech Republic, and of course.. Germany). Within Germany I traveled all over - overall my favorite places that I visited were: Rothenburg o.T., in Bavaria Germany, and Prague, The Czech Republic.
At Camp Lachenwald, the experience, as a counselor was not as wonderful as my previous summers have been, but was overall a rewarding experience. I had the priviledge of working with some wonderful young ladies. My first unit was "Outdoor Adventurers", then I trained the Outdoor Program Aides, and finally at the end of the summer I had three wonderful Counselors in Training (CIT's) to train. The CITS were definitly the highlight of my summer.
Camp Timberlake
My camp experiences during the summer of 2000 were unique in many ways. Originally I was going to volunteer for 1 week, but found myself talking myself into staying 3! Camp Timberlake is one of the 2 resident camps in the Circle T council. It is fairly close to home, yet beautiful and away from the city. I spent my first 2 weeks leading the Canoeing units. When we were not canoeing we swam, did archery, arts, raided pack-out and more. My third week I was the 'driver' and additional lifeguard for the 2 week sailing unit (this was their 2nd week). I had a great time but did not have a full camp experience. For example -I was never able to have a cookout all summer at all, not because the camp did not have them, but because I was taking a grad - school course that I drove back into town for on Wednesday nights.. cookout night. Also it went much to fast, 3 weeks is a short camp summer. It was neat to be there as a volunteer and to enjoy myself so much. I am already thinking about next year (and still trying to train myself not to call it Camp Timber Ridge!)!