Ana Alexander

I went to Camp Batawagama in the middle of July 2019. I went to camp with my friend Amelia. Camp Batawagama is like an hour and 30 minutes away, in Iron County. It is a boy and girl camp. When I first got there, we signed in and then went to figure out what cabin I was in. There were two girl cabins sections (A and B) and a boy section (C). There are 5 cabins in each section. I was in Cabin 4 section A. Thankfully Amelia and I got put in the same cabin. Amelia and I were the last girls to get to the cabin and choose our beds. Since I got there before her, I got to choose if I wanted a single bed or a bunk bed. I choose the bunk bed (really bad decision).

The same day I got there our cabin counselor took us on a tour of the camp.It was bigger than I thought. After that we chose an empty spot on the grass to sit and talk and get to know each other, even though me and Amelia already knew each other from school.

After that we got ready for dinner. Dinner was fun. They always have an alternative if you don’t like the main meal. You could sit at wherever table you wanted to. I sat at our counselor’s table. After dinner we sang songs. One of my favorites was, ” Rolling Over the Billows.” Finally, we headed back to our cabin. We got into our PJs and went to the bathrooms to brush our teeth. There are four toilets and showers in each bathroom. There are two bathrooms. They are surprisingly nice… for camp. After we were finished brushing our teeth we went back to our cabin and our counselor told us that she would leave to go to a meeting and that there were night guards making sure we behaved. When Taps played at 9 p.m. we had to be in our beds either sleeping, writing letters or reading.

A typical morning at camp we would get up at 7 a.m. Every morning we were woken up by a trumpet playing Revelry and we would get dressed and get in line for breakfast. After that we would play volleyball and wait for our counselor to be ready to take us to crafts. At crafts we made bracelets. After we finished with making bracelets we made hula hoops. After Arts and Crafts we went to a special activity like setting the table for dinner or knot tying.

After that we went to lunch and once lunch was over we had quiet time. At quiet time you could write letters or read. Once the bell rang to say quiet time was over we rushed out of the cabin and to the canteen. The canteen is a shop where you can get candy. After the canteen we rushed to swimming lessons. I had a different swim lesson than Amelia. After that I got out of the water and took a shower. Then we had free time. Once the other girls got back from their swim lesson and took a shower we had nature time with our counselor. Once we finished with that we had a little free time before it was time for dinner. After dinner we went back to our cabins. I usually wrote letters until Taps.

On the second to last day of camp we went on our overnight to Mini’s Lake. We packed our clothes in smelly backpacks and hopped in a truck. We only had to walk a little. But me and Amelia being the smallest girls got the heaviest crates to carry. After that we set up our tent with Whitney and Ashlyn, or we tried to… we had to ask our counselor for help. Then we had to collect wood for the fire. Amelia and I worked together. Unfortunately, she dropped the wood twice because there were spiders in it. When I was holding the wood, I got a tick on my finger, but the counselor just told us we were being babies. The dinner was ultimate mac-and-cheese (not my favorite). After dinner we had to go to bed. We still stayed up late talking. Unfortunately, on the way back to the car Amelia and I got stuck with the heavy things again. When we got back to camp we were sour and tired. I did not enjoy the overnight experience. However, I am excited about going back to Batawagama in the summers to come.