Clear Creek 2012

Another Clear Creek has come and gone. Gosh, I love that place. Every time we go there's something new or different--it never gets old. Our school district has owned this outdoor education camp for more than thirty years, possibly approaching forty. What a great investment they made once upon a time. The camp is eighty acres of beautiful land sitting at around 8000 feet elevation in coal country (sheep country too). The above photo was snapped no more than fifty yards from the driveway of the camp. The sheep were impeding our impending arrival, but only slightly.

I'd be flirting with trouble if I posted pictures of minors on my public blog. I may post some of the bad pictures I took which don't show any faces of the kids I teach. That's what the news channels do when they're doing a story on obesity--they just film all the bellies walking down the street and nobody gets cited for anything.

The camp has several ropes course activities installed here and there. I've never been trained or certified to use them so they're off limits when we visit. However, the father of one of my students contacted me last month and asked if he could be one of the volunteer parents at camp. And then he told me he is currently trained to run the ropes courses. What teacher would turn down such an offer on such a shiny silver platter? No one, that's who.

I really adore the above three photos because they all feature hands: teaching hands, learning hands, let's trust each other hands, I'll-catch-you-if-you-fall hands, and the hands of friends. I could go on and on about the whole camp experience, but if we only consider the ropes course, my, it is such a tool to help kids stretch themselves, try new things, learn new skills, gain confidence, learn from others, listen more, hear more, feel more, consider more. It was all just this amazing combination of various things on various levels that they don't get in my classroom. We were so blessed that the weather held for us, that the stars aligned for so many to participate in this activity. Lucky, Lucky, LUCKY!

After all of the children had a chance, the instructor asked if any of the adults wanted to try. I was pleased to have nine wonderful parents join us on our overnight adventure. Each parent worked hard, sacrificed, and contributed something to our camp experience. I'm sure they thought, "Of course I would do all of this for my child." However, it blows me away every time to see how much these parents love their kiddos and what they are willing to endure in their behalf. One dad raised his hand to be in charge of tie dye when nobody else wanted to (and he stayed jovial for the duration). Six parents stood up to take eighty percent of the kids on a cold hike in the pouring snow. Parents mopped, hauled trash, comforted the homesick, and dared to discipline. They worked together as a team. You know those moms who always have a song up their sleeve? She was at camp. Those dads that can load and haul any assortment of gear, bags, and boxes? He was there. Those moms who help the dilly-dally girls finally finish packing? Yep, She was there too. We had just the kind of parents we needed and they didn't get much sleep. The campfire dads were covered in snow so that sixty students could cook their banana boats. I saw pure love all around!