By Dylan McDonough
Anticipation and excitement ran through my body as I leaped out of the car. Every end of the season, Camp Roger takes the campers on a three mile hike through the camp grounds and Pickerel Lake Park. It was my second time going on “The Journey” so I was thrilled. Plus, what could be better than going on a walk in nature with my best friends?
Our first stop was at a large, dense part of the forest that had ropes winding around the trees. It was a rope maze. Everyone paired up and began zig-zagging through the labyrinth of string. Asher, Avery, Calvin and I got to the finish! Asher and I were very excited because it was our first time conquering this maze. Near the maze we learned that some trees are musical! If you hit a branch on a tree with a stick it makes noise!
A little later on in “The Journey”, Hannah told us the story of Indian Joe. (Everyone called him Indian Joe but he was not an Indian.) Joe was not a people person. He owned lots of land and even gave some to Camp Roger after he died. His neighbor always used to drive his motorboat across his lake so Indian Joe came up with an idea. He dug up some dirt and made a wall in the lake between them. The neighbor could not get across the barrier. We got to walk on the dirt wall. A little later we saw an old pioneer’s house foundation. It was almost the size of my living room! We then went across Pickerel Lake on a wooden walkway.
After going across the lake, we paused at a good resting spot. Asher, Avery, Calvin and I ate our snack under an evergreen tree.
Following the break, we all experienced “The Valley of Death!” It was a big crevice that the camp counselors only showed the campers on “The Journey”. We had to be careful because of all the barbed wire Indian Joe once set up around his property. Kent County dumped all that dangerous barbed wire here! Avery and I learned that Asher can climb the steep hills quickly and easily. There was a long dirt slide that lots of people slid down. When everyone came out of “The Valley of Death”, Julia showed us an old rattered, tattered abandoned car in the middle of the woods. She told us a story that the Camp Roger community assumed happened, but no one knows for sure. “Once there were two criminals driving away from their latest robbery. The first robber was rather large, and the other thief was very skinny. They decided to drive away into the woods to outrun the police. Once they were out far enough the two criminals ditched the car and ran
away. The skinny one escaped through a hole in the barbed wire, took the money, and escaped. Meanwhile the fat robber did not have such luck. He got trapped in the tiny hole in the barbed wire and was caught by the police. So the moral of the story is to exercise often and never underestimate the power of barbed wire!”
For the rest of the hike everyone was hungry for lunch. Every hill had our hopes high, but it turned out to be another curve in the trail. When all hope of nourishment seemed lost, around the bend we saw…hot dogs! Glorious hot dogs! I almost got trampled as everyone raced towards this mouthwatering cook-out. We roasted our wieners over the blazing fire and to my surprise and delight, I roasted mine perfectly. I shall remember this moment in history forever and ever.
This was a great trip in God’s nature. This is just one of the amazing adventures I have experienced at Camp Roger’s Homeschool Program. It is my favorite camp, by far.
