Afternoons at camp bring lots of free choice for the campers. Come to think of it, they bring lots of free choice for the staff as well. We basically just write down what we want to do and somebody eventually transfers it to a big dry-erase message board. Kids read the board and choose whatever they want. Whether or not they'll miss a chance to buy ice cream is usually a big factor in deciding what to do. Ice cream is important. Visiting the swimming pool is important too. I think some kids probably just eat ice cream and lie around the swimming pool. How decadant.

Nine kids and two counselors opted to go on a hike with me today. I decided to take them down a trail that I had never followed to the end before. It passes a huge landslide area that was closed off for most of the winter due to the possiblility of another such event occurring, so I didn't have a chance to hike it during the winter. Anyway, we made it to the end where we found a nice fixer-upper (see photo) and a cold, clear creek. One of the counselors found a Pacific Giant Salamander under a nearby log. That's always nice. We also saw lots of perfect little spider webs glittering in the sun. I pointed one particularly nice one out to the group. One of the boys looked at it with the appropriate reverence, making me feel like I was instilling in him some much needed reverence for the natural world.

At least I did until he looked at me and said, "it looks kinda like the Death Star."