By Hannah Keyes and Bridget Clapp
Day 1: Kayak Base Camp
Campers arrived at the office bright eyed and bushy tailed at 9:00 AM, eager to conquer the South Llano River by kayak. Driving through the beautiful Texas Hill country the group was greeted by scattered showers. Once arrived the group escaped the heat by immediately hitting the river before setting up camp. Once the scorching sun let up, the group eagerly set up shop. Enjoying a delicious meal of Stouffer’s lasagna cooked in the Dutch oven the group shared jokes as the sun set behind the canyon.
Day 2: Kayaking with Critters
After a early wakeup-call paired with delicious breakfast burritos campers prepared for their first journey. After going over safety rules, we worked as a team to set up the kayaks and pair up in teams. Once their partner was identified, they practiced paddling skills and in water-entries before hitting the trail. Navigating the river we came across boulders that the group was able to leap off of into the river. Campers also came across a rope swing where play commenced.. There were many battles of campers vs. spiders until the exit point. At the exit campers were able to ride rapids until they were tired. While waiting for a delicious dinner of tortellini the group had a visitor, a beautiful hummingbird! We created a concoction of sugar water for our friend and he stuck around for the evening. After dinner the kids watched the sunset from the nearby bird blind.
Day 3: Sweet Start Turned Silly
Another early morning for an eager crew, began by filling up on slap jacks with lots of syrup. South Llano had the best drop in spot close by to our campsite. By Tuesday, everyone knew the drill. The kayaks were unloaded and distributed on the shore. The ambitious campers went for a quick cool off swim in preparation for the long 4.5 mile journey ahead. As the crew set out on their journey, they took some time adjusting to the paddle rhythm of their new boat partners. Two ladies fell into their spot at the back of the kayak line but could be heard singing their catchy songs from the very front. Now and then campers would catch their breath long enough to join in with their peppy singing.
Every once in a while a group would find themselves stuck on a rock or some shallow water. They quickly adapted to a sequence of taking turns to push the boat or leaning back and wiggling their way out. During our trek, we were met with a downed tree blocking the entire river. Thinking fast, some kayakers found a small break in the tree where they would weasel their kayak through and proceeded by coaching the remaining campers through the process. After a well deserved lunch and break to skip stones, the group continued on down the river. At our final destination we were treated to a tunnel where everyone could practice their funny voices and scary laughs.
Day 4 Rest Day
A much needed rest day allowed us to find a cozy spot by the river to chill for the morning to afternoon. The campers delighted in creating minnow traps out of old jars. They experimented with different types of bait until they found what worked best for them. A little reservoir was created to observe the fish that found themselves in one of our traps. Other campers took turns snorkeling and riding down the current of a little rock dam nearby. A short break from swimming allowed us to gobble down some hotdogs with all our favorite toppings under a shady tree. Since we could never get enough swimming in, we all ran back to the water, but this time taking tubs.
An hour-long float was made up of lots of laughter as the tubs would break apart from each other, someone would fall out, or someone would get caught in a “dead” spot in the lake where they had to resort to the dreaded paddling. After finding our hands more prune-like than we could stand we dried off and headed toward camp. The campers had the chance to channel their inner chef with some silver turtles. They topped their meat and veggie creations with the perfect seasonings to suit their pallets. The campers then headed off to a sunset hike in their favorite spot only to return to a scrumptious dessert of a smore brownie bake and ice cream. As we were all full of energy from the sugar, we alternated performing skits for one another under the little camp string lights.
Day 5 Homeward Bound
After a few long and hot days, we chose to have another relaxing day on the river. The team traveled over to our absolute favorite little shady spot on the river. Once there, campers rode the rapids on their trusty tubes, over and over. Tubes came flying down the rapids one by one where other campers waited to snatch a tube for their turn. Once everyone had their tubing fix, we ate delicious hot dogs for lunch.
Over lunch, it became apparent that we had a camper with a slight fever. After monitoring them, the staff made the call to come home (just a little but early). On the way home, campers alternated between telling stories of their adventures and taking recovery naps. A quick stop at chick fil a to refuel, and we were home at last. The kids came pouring out of the van smiling really big and saying their bittersweet goodbyes.
And we are happy to report that everyone was feeling great upon camp pick up. Even the camper who was not feeling so hot, joined us on our Living Local Camp a week later
