Apply Now

By Ollie Williamson

Before I arrived at Gerald R. Ford Airport in Grand Rapids, I had no idea what my summer was going to entail. When I touched down, I found myself with a couple of other international staff and a few U.S. residents from further around. With all our stuff ready to head into camp, we bundled into a bus, stopped for a Wendy’s, and slowly began to talk about our varying cultures. I was nervous as this was not only the first time I had ever travelled outside of the U.K. by myself, it was also the first time I had ever been to camp.

When we drove through into the car park and got out of the van, it was dark and we couldn’t really see where we were going to be spending our next two months together. It was then when I met the beaming smile of Tiwi, the Boys Camp Director, who knew all of our names and welcomed us with open arms . He’d obviously made the effort to do this so we’d feel as at home as  possible, even though we were over a thousand miles away. I felt honoured (yes, that’s how we spell it across the pond!) that my boss seemed genuinely excited to have me on board. For the rest of the evening we hiked through the woods and I nearly passed out climbing the sand dunes. At that point, I’d been up for 24 hours and I was definitely not at the peak of physical health.

After getting a good night’s sleep, the beauty of camp really began. I woke up the next morning to actually see my surroundings in daylight and it was beautiful. There was so much greenery and I was so excited to explore it. We entered the eating lodge and discovered the buzzing energy at camp, which made a few of the other Brits and me feel quite outside of our comfort zones. Nowhere in the U.K. would you find people dancing around the dinner table like it was a slumber party, and showing so much passion about washing dishes, sweeping the floor and shoveling compost for the garden. It was surreal, but it was awesome.  The community was one that loved doing even the more gritty tasks, and it brought so much life to everything that it touched. I wanted to be able to do the same thing and only a place like Miniwanca could allow me to do it.

After staff training, I got my first set of campers. I was in charge of six younger humans for the course of two weeks. I felt nervous, but in a matter of hours, they were my friends. We were singing in assembly, working out the most bizarre skits and all laughing our heads off. I spoke as if I was younger again and sometimes they spoke with wisdom beyond my age. The dynamic shifted every single day, which allowed us to become closer. We could joke around like a bunch of kids, and then switch to speaking about more serious topics about the world and our lives. It was as if we were octogenarians at our 70^th high school reunion. I taught them lessons from my experiences as a young adult living in the U.K. and they taught me things from their experiences as teenagers living in the US. Camp gave us the opportunity to learn about each other and grow from these lessons. In my seven years of teaching experience, I’d never experienced anything like it.

In the past, I had struggled a lot with my mental attitude. There were times when I wasn’t the brightest I could be. At camp, I learned that it is okay to not always be your brightest as long as you are working towards something. For a few weeks, I had been bringing a lot of energy to the activities that my campers were involved in, but I made it a goal to push myself even more. Going into the last few weeks of camp, I decided to bring as much positive energy as I could.

If you had been there for the Four Fold Tournament during Session B, you would have seen me dancing like a dad on Christmas day. I was chanting for our Quad (shout out to Creeks and Dunes), rallying up all of the kids, and yelling with them at the top of our lungs. We wanted to bring as much PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) as we could. Faces around us were lighting up at the sheer silliness and happiness we were exuding into the big circle of people on Bryant Field. That was the moment when I brought the most energy to camp, and it was glorious. I felt like I’d accomplished what I set out to do when I first arrived.

Looking back to the beginning of staff training, I remember learning about “Miniwanca Magic.” Miniwanca has a certain air about it that makes the world seem like a brighter and more amazing place. At first I was skeptical of this concept, but now I know it to be true. The feeling of Miniwanca Magic has been with me since I left, and it has allowed me to do things that I didn’t think I would do. I have completed two weeks of work on a Netflix series in Spain, working with the Assistant Director Department on set. I have applied and been allocated a place to study in Galway, Ireland for a year. Finally, I have been working with a summer camp agency to help send people like me out to other camps in the U.S.A., hoping that they can experience the same joy that I did. I have changed for the better, and it’s all thanks to Miniwanca.

To think I have to wait four months until I get to receive my next dose of Miniwanca magic is almost agonising, but I’ll wait. Until then, I will keep on striving to be my best self and dare myself to try new things every day. Miniwanca changed me and now I never want to spend my summer anywhere else.

My own self,
At my very best,
All. The. Time.

The post “Faces around us were lighting up…” A Summer at Miniwanca appeared first on American Youth Foundation.

Campers then headed to CORE to write letters to their future selves and finished their final Interest Groups. After one last chance to play some games, shoot some arrows, and makes some bracelets, the campers headed to a chili and quesadilla lunch. After responsibilities and dancing, we all got a Rest Hour in and then gathered in Council Circle for Awards Assembly. Our Polar Bear campers received their t-shirts, the skippers received awards, the Foresters received a reminder of their trip, and the campers learned the Secret of the Tags (ooh, ahh, secret of the tags).

After Awards Assembly, the campers headed for their cabins for packing and cleaning, and then a Mythical Creatures themed banquet hosted by our Avail campers! There were mermaids, frogs, and of course unicorns. We feasted on chicken, alfredo, and bread sticks and enjoyed amazing chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches for dessert.

Full and ready to finish out the day, we headed to Council Circle for our Grand Council. In typical Miniwanca fashion, we closed our experience with songs, memories, awards, and the recognition of the many amazing things our campers have experienced this summer. We watched the session slide show and then got to listen to our Avail campers share about journeys for this evening’s Vespers.

This has been a magical session and it’s hard to believe it’s already over. We are sad to see all our campers go, but as the song “Linger” says, we know this is goodnight and not goodbye. We’ll see all these wonderful people again.

The post Our Last Full Day appeared first on American Youth Foundation.

After breakfast, the campers got to finish watching Spiderman: Into the Spider Verse. For lunch we had hot dogs, potato wedges, vegetables, and grapes  and the campers ate it all up. After lunch the campers had a much needed extended rest hour. In the afternoon, the campers were able to do their Interest Groups which involve going to the craft house, high ropes, to the lake, and so much more. After their Interests Groups the campers had their usual Free Time before dinner.  Tonight’s delicious dinner included BBQ chicken, mashed potatoes, and carrots.

Tonight’s Nights Doings were special because our campers performed a skit that they came up with in their Camper Frolic Interest Group and there were a few last acts from the Talent Show. But what topped off everything was the traditional ceremony of giving Voyager, Odyssey, and Avail their rugbies/jackets/t-shirts. Evening reflection tonight was led by the returned Odyssey campers from both Boys and Girls Camp who talked about celebration. Though the night ended with a storm, all the campers were safe and sound and fell asleep to the pattering of the rain.

The post Ride In appeared first on American Youth Foundation.

After a tasty morning breakfast of cheesy eggs, hash browns, and pineapple, we headed out to CORE and our Interest Groups. Lunch was our typical Taco Tuesday. Rest Hour was much needed by our tuckered out campers and when the bell rang to end it they were all ready for Assembly. The LITs kept the campers entertained with many skits and Hanine and Hannah engaged in a Lip Sync Battle!

After more Interest Groups, Free Time, and a dinner of ravioli and garlic bread, we had the talent show for Nights Doings! Campers sang and danced their hearts out as they showed off their talents. We also had campers doing magic tricks galore.

We ended the evening with a reflection from the returned Adventurers. Have a good night, Miniwanca family.

The post Talent Show appeared first on American Youth Foundation.

Trailblazers finished out their session by putting their handprints on the wall at Graceland.  It’s been fun watching them come up with funny catchphrases and inside jokes to write on the wall alongside their handprints. It’s such a great tradition to be able to see campers put their handprints on the wall, leaving a true imprint on this place that represents the larger impact they’ve had and will continue to have on their communities.

Explorers are riding into Graceland as I write this with cheers from the Adventurer pals who are finishing up packing in their gear after ride-in this morning. Ride-in for Adventurer is quite the thing to see—check out the photos and videos on SmugMug for a taste of what it looks and feels like—but watching them come over to Graceland and cheer on their fellow campers is just as beautiful. Adventurers had several delightful days on their ride-in toward camp. They had some bike trouble up near Manistee so our 4T Coordinator David went up and did some quick repairs so they could keep moving forward. From there it was easy riding all the way back to camp. Our Explorers experienced some pretty intense thunderstorms after getting into their campground last night, but thankfully the wonderful campground owners opened up their indoor space for them to sleep in. We’re so grateful that everyone was able to be safe and sound inside during the night.

Voyageurs are mere miles from camp as I write this. They’re being transported to our Well Site camping location for the night to be ready for ride-in tomorrow morning. We’ll bring them pizza and sit by the campfire with them tonight while they tell us all about their adventures.

Odyssey campers are in Michigan and are riding to our registrar Cassidy’s farm to camp tonight. We’ll drive out in just a little while to meet them and provide all the necessary supplies for a celebratory cookout. They’ve had two days on a bus riding back from New Hampshire so we know they’re ready for some good food and time with Cassidy’s cows and pigs (and dogs). We can’t wait to see everyone.

A final note: Thank you all so much for following along this summer. It’s been an incredible summer of adventure, stunning landscapes, positive mobile communities, and life-changing experiences and we’re so grateful to be able to facilitate that for all of our campers. Check out the SmugMug for our final photos of the session and we’ll see all of you in just a few short days when we close it all out!

Andrew

The post Four Trails Update – Coming Home appeared first on American Youth Foundation.

Interest Groups had us sailing, paddle boarding, swimming, crafting, getting ready for the Camper Frolic (a theater production) and more. Just around noon some rain rolled in and we had a quick soaker. Before even 15 minutes had passed, though, the rain was gone and it was time to celebrate Adventurers returning to camp! These campers were dropped off at the tip of the Mitten of Michigan almost two weeks ago and have been cycling their way home ever since. They’re seen coastal towns galore, including Traverse City, hiked in the great sand dunes of Sleeping Bear Dunes, and tested their strength on Arcadia hill. We’re so proud of them and happy to have them home.

After a happy reentry, we all headed to a lunch of grilled cheese and tomato soup. Rest Hour was quickly followed by Assembly with the LITs and then we headed into afternoon Interest Groups. After a happy few hours of rock climbing, archery, crafts, reading, swimming, and more, the campers headed to Free Time and then a dinner of chicken stir fry.

Campers were so excited to head out from dinner for an amazing Night’s Doings of Safari! The leaders dressed up as animals and the campers traveled around camp on a safari to find them. We’re still waiting on the tally of the points and the campers can’t wait to hear the score. Right now, every point could not count more! The distance between first place and fourth in our Quad competition can be measured in a Night’s Doings win.

Right now, the campers are safely and snuggly nested in their cabins, rain flaps pulled down as we experience some rain and wind. We’re excited to see what tomorrow brings!

The post Welcome Home Adventurers appeared first on American Youth Foundation.

We started our day by taking it easy and sleeping in a little. Campers were glad to wake at 8:30 this morning and catch a little extra sleep. After one of our favorite breakfasts, Wanca bread, the camp community ventured to Church of the Dunes for some reflective time called Something Sacred. Through this, campers are challenged to dig deeper into something greater than themselves to grow in their R Fold. Campers spoke on how they practice their own spirituality through gratitude, the mystery, forgiveness, and love today.

Following Something Sacred, we all headed out to some camper free time and an amazing lunch of chicken tenders, carrots, and chips.

From there it felt like the day was just beginning. After Rest Hour, we joined Boys Camp in the Council Circle for the Four Fold Tournament. The Four Fold Tournament combined both camp’s Quads to form the Bridges, Valleys, Drakers, and Sails. In these combined Quads, the campers traveled around camp to see some of our beautiful spaces, competed for Quad points, and cheered each other on through friendly competition.

After a hot afternoon in the sun and plenty of water and sunscreen along the way, we were all ready for a delicious cookout dinner of cheeseburgers. We completed our co-ed time by dancing the Flashmob and headed back to Girls Camp for movie night! The campers enjoyed Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse in the Upper Lodge until around 9:30. From there we took a pause on the movie and will finish it on Wednesday morning after Ride In.

It was another eventful day and so exciting to interact with the Boys Camp community. As the pretty sunset turns to dusk campers lie in bed anticipating their adventures of the day to come tomorrow

The post Four Fold Tournament appeared first on American Youth Foundation.

The day started off like any other with a Polar Bear call and a Morning Stretch. Cabin 53 talked about what creativity means to them before we all headed in to the dining hall for some scrambled eggs and home fries. We headed out to our morning amidst another perplexing paddle clue “how big, how blue, how beautiful” and started the new round of Interest Groups! Campers got to try out new crafts, more sailing and paddle sports, L.I. Tea Time, watercolors, step dance, and even a theater production!

After filling up with a yummy sloppy joe lunch, campers headed to Rest Hour for some rejuvenation. Quad Games after rest quickly woke everyone up as the Quads battled it out on the Block Soccer and Kickball fields. Then it was off the the afternoon Interest Groups, which featured more fun and games. Meanwhile, the Foresters have been out at the Well Site this whole time. They’re experiencing their first camping trip with Miniwanca where they get to learn to set up tents and stoves, cook meals in the wilderness, build fires and shelters, and orient themselves with compasses. It’s been an exciting adventure in the woods for all our 7th grade campers.

Back in camp, everyone fueled up with a enchilada pies for dinner before heading to our epic Lip Sync Battle at the Assembly. Campers prepared lip syncs and dances to songs with their cabins and performed for everyone’s entertainment. TBZ1’s performance of My Heart Will Go On was a crowd favorite and received a Standing O.

Cabin 16 ended the night for us with a reflection on creativity. As they finished, the sky helped inspire some feelings of happiness with yet another incredible sunset.

The post Another Beautiful Day appeared first on American Youth Foundation.

Trailblazers are in camp this week after completing their adventures canoeing and hiking through the Manistee National Forest. They learned a lot on their adventures: how to build a mobile community and take camp with them on their travels, how to put up tents, purify water, and cook on a camp stove. This week they’ll dive into interest groups: sailing, paddle sports, crafting (of all kinds), and a variety of other fun and interesting things. They’ll also help us down at Graceland as our oldest campers all return in the coming days. They’ll help us welcome everyone back, gather their gear, and begin to clean it. We can’t wait to spend more time with them.

Explorers began their final adventure yesterday as they hit the roads for 5 days of cycling around coastal west Michigan. They’ll cycle north today, headed toward Hart and Ludington. In two days they’ll begin looping south again toward Pentwater and back to camp. The trip is short and sweet, but full of beach time, swimming in lake Michigan, and ice cream. They also have visits scheduled with David and I—we’ll surprise them by visiting them while they’re on trail. We’ll lead a fun evening reflection and bring them a special treat to celebrate their final nights on trail.

Adventurers have officially the halfway point of their trip and will cycle for three (or four for the adventurer girls 2 group) more days before arriving back at camp. Yesterday and today the groups ascended Arcadia Hill, a beautiful spot on the road where they reach the top of a huge hill overlooking Lake Michigan. They spent some time at the top reflecting on their adventure and the obstacles they’ve overcome along the way. Still to come: Adventurer ride-in at Miniwanca where we’ll celebrate their accomplishments as one  large camp community.

Voyageurs have passed through the McCoy Islands and are just three short days of paddling from their pickup in the Parry Sound. Though we haven’t been able to get many photos of their trip in the past couple of days, we have spoken to the groups and most are asking for more days on the bay because they have been having such a good time. One group asked us just to come up and resupply them with food so they could keep going! The bay is a powerful place and they’ve enjoyed waking up to the sunrise and dancing in the sunset each night.

After an incredible ride-in at Merrowvista, Odyssey is spending another day at Merrowvista. They had a reflection early this morning at the waterfall, a pristine and beautiful spot in the woods at MV. This afternoon the groups have an extended rest hour and will focus on planning the Evening Reflection for the entire Merrowvista community. It will good practice for the Odyssey Vespers ceremony that they will lead for the entire Miniwanca community. Tomorrow they’ll hop on a bus early in the morning and begin their journey back to Miniwanca, stopping first in New York for a night along the way. We’ll have one more blog post before ride-in but here are some details to keep in mind:

Voyageur and Odyssey ride-in happening from 9:30am-11:30am on Wednesday, August 7^th. It’s a special day and for this reason we allow close friends and family of our Voyageur and Odyssey campers to join us for the festivities! If you wish to join us for ride-in we ask that you park in the Girls Camp (West Camp) parking lot and be in place at the Green Acre by 9:30 am. The trip groups will be preparing for their grand entrance at this point and will be riding and paddling in at around 10 am. Once all the trips have arrived back safe and sound with us there will be time for pictures, hugging, etc until around 11-11:15 at which point, both camp communities start gathering for the rest of the day’s activities.  We ask that all visitors depart by 11:30am.

The post Four Trails Update – Rivers and Roads appeared first on American Youth Foundation.

Campers got to sleep in late and skip morning stretch to go right to breakfast to eat French toast, sausage, whip cream and strawberries this morning. Campers were greeted in the dining hall this morning with fairy lights and streamers hung from the ceiling. After that, we jumped right in to the fun and excitement as the campers took on some of our most favorite activities.

The Food Program team kept us fueled and ready to go today too with a hot dogs, potato wedges, and grapes for lunch, and vegetable lasagna at dinner. A crowd favorite, of course, was dessert which today we got to enjoy at both lunch and dinner!

After such fun throughout the day we headed to the Council Circle for Low Council. The campers preformed skits, songs, commercials, and mysteries.  The campers performances were in the style of a cooking show, a spy movie, a video game, and a fashion show. At the end of the night, the Dunes pulled out the win for their excellent inclusion and creativity. They even came up with a new cheer to encourage hydration!

We closed this evening with the setting sun painting the sky glorious pinks and purples and a camp fire on the beach. Some of our lucky campers are currently sleeping out on the beach beneath a beautiful night sky, in full view of the Milky Way and some shooting stars. It’s a perfect end to an amazing day.

The post Dreams Come True appeared first on American Youth Foundation.

At lunch we devoured chicken tacos and afterwards campers headed to Rest Hour to prepare for the fun day ahead. Reenergized, the community then attended Assembly with the LITs and their final Interest Groups of this rotation.

Dinner was sweet and sour chicken with rice and broccoli. After such fun throughout the day, we knew we had to end on a high note too, and so we headed to the Upper Lodge to prep for Leader Hunt. As the name suggests, the leaders all found hiding places around camp and the campers had to search for them and find them. The more leaders the campers found, the more points they got. The scores are still to be tallied, but we will find out tomorrow which Quad found the most leaders.

The night came to a close with another beautiful Lake Michigan sunset as cabin 52A presented on change. Until tomorrow friends!

The post Leader Hunt appeared first on American Youth Foundation.

After a yummy breakfast of waffles, fruit salad, and jelly and butter, the campers went out and engaged in CORE. The sixth graders got to repaint some of our benches that needed love. They look amazing now! Campers then headed out to their selected Interest Groups.

After such a packed morning we scarfed down a delicious lunch of sandwiches, pretzels, macaroni salad, and watermelon, followed by a much needed Rest Hour. In preparation for Nights Doings, the campers built their chariots from cardboard and duct tape in the time after Rest Hour.

With Interest Group time was upon us, we headed out for Stony Lake paddle sports, Pottery, Bracelet Making, and more! All the campers were able to stretch their four folds with a wide variety of activities. Free time began, and campers rushed down to Lake Michigan to swim, the Hollow for games, and the Crafthouse to make bracelets and crafts.

Fueled up after a delicious dinner of pizza and veggies, Girls Camp participated in the incredible Wanca Cart for Night’s Doings. This fun and interactive event had the coed Quads race around cones in their chariots. After several rounds and tough competitions, the Sails (Trails from Girls Camp combined with the Sands from Boys Camp) pulled out a win! In Girls Camp the Trails have been solidly in the lead for the last week and this win will make it that much harder for any other Quad to catch up. As night time fell, everyone hurried off to bed, exhausted from the busy day but very excited for what tomorrow has in store.

The post Fun in the Sun appeared first on American Youth Foundation.

Trailblazers are in the midst of their adventures. Our Trailblazer Girls 1 group departed for their canoe trip today and the Trailblazer Girls 2 group will be departing tomorrow for theirs. Both groups will be canoeing through Hodenpyle Dam Pond before portaging over the dam and into the Manistee River. They left here in high spirits this morning singing Ariana Grande. Trailblazer boys departed for their hiking trip in the Manistee National Forest along the North Country Trail. Tonight they’ll camp along the White River and tomorrow they’ll be camping near a beautiful small creek.

Explorers returned yesterday from their stunning hike at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. In total, they hiked for six days along the shore of Lake Superior, all with sunny weather—perfect for swimming. They explored Mosquito Falls and the Beaver Basin Overlook and took some pictures of their travels. Check out Smug Mug to see their travels. Explorers also spent some time in camp today doing some much needed repainting of our Boys Camp garden fence.

Adventurers continue south toward Miniwanca as I write this. They’ve passed Traverse City and the Leelanau Peninsula and are cycling toward Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore  in the next couple of days. They’ll get a well-earned rest day there and then will continue back toward camp afterwards.

The Voyageurs are fresh off of their resupply and are enjoying their time back on the bay. Tomorrow they’ll pass the McCoy Islands and continue kayaking for the next 4 days before we pick them in Parry Sound. As their time on the bay has turned toward their final days of kayaking, the Voyageurs are starting to look forward to their return to camp and to seeing the entire camp community.

Odyssey  is similarly nearing the end of their long journey. In just three days (on Thursday) they will ride into Merrowvista to the cheers and celebration of their AYF family after nearly 28 days of cycling. They will spend some well earned days resting but will also participate in the many activities that Merrowvista has to offer: swim time at Dan Hole Pond, a hike to Flagg Mountain, Night’s Doings with the Merrowvista 4T campers, and leading an Evening Reflection for the entire Merrowvista community. They can’t wait to make it, but in the meantime, they’re enjoying a stop at Ben & Jerry’s in Vermont for a Vermonster.

The post Four Trails Update – Onward appeared first on American Youth Foundation.

With much joy, the community rushed to the Eating Lodge for lunchtime TACO TUESDAY! We all sang our taco song and enjoyed the meal. After, campers had Rest Hour followed by Quad Meetings. In Quad Meetings, campers started to plan and prepare for Low Council, which is coming up on Friday. In Low Council, they will have to perform a skit, a song, and another act. Their three acts will be judged on creativity, brevity, and inclusion.

The afternoon Interest Groups were full of more fun, games, and laughter as campers sailed and paddle boarded, crafted, made projects in the woodshop and more. After a fun Free Time hour, it was dinner and campers filled their bodies with ravioli, green beans, and garlic bread. Tonight’s Nights Doings included an epic game of Grab Bag with Bre! We’re still waiting to hear who won, but in an exciting turn of events the Trails found the paddle that has been hidden since Friday!

To close our night, we ended on the beach with Evening Reflection by Cabin 26 on the theme of flexibility. The campers shared how important it is to be flexible in life and how flexibility can lead to so much more happiness. The sunset as we reflected was absolutely beautiful and now campers are off to another peaceful night’s sleep.

The post Taco Tuesday appeared first on American Youth Foundation.

At lunch we enjoyed a camp favorite of grilled cheese and tomato soup. Campers cheered, danced, and sang as they cleaned the Eating Lodge and contributed to our positive community. After their energy was all worn out, campers and leaders headed back to their cabins for Rest Hour to recharge for the rest of the day.

The remainder of the day occurred in “typical” Miniwanca fashion. Campers headed to their afternoon Interest Groups, snack, and free time. They enjoyed some barbecue chicken, potatoes and peas for dinner, and competed in a fun and crazy camp game called Soldiers and Spies. Throughout this game, Quads were set to send and intercept messengers from location to location at camp for quad points. The game ended with the Draws winning and singing out a cheer. As it ended, the staff and campers alike let out a happy chant of “If you had fun you won!”

Cabin 29 led our Evening Reflection on the topic of growth to close the night on the beach, ,talking about how growth can be both mental and physical. Some clouds on the horizon gave us a beautiful red sunset to reflect to. As another day comes to a close, campers now sleep tight waiting for the next day to come.

The post Soldiers and Spies appeared first on American Youth Foundation.

Today, we welcomed all of our two week campers. They were greeted at the Upper Lodge with music, bubbles, pictures, brownies, and more. During this time, our three weekers had some quality time with their cabins and age group communities. After some rotations to learn about Interest Groups and how to have a fun, safe summer, campers headed to the Eating Lodge for a pasta dinner with cupcakes for breakfast. Dinner was followed by Council Circle introductions and late night cabin chats..

On the flip side, a quick update about our Four Trails trips. Trailblazer girls are currently hiking on the North Country Trail of the Manistee National Forest. They will be back on the dunes soon to pack up and head out on their canoes. The Explorer girls are currently hiking at Pictured Rocks and are having a great time. The Adventurer girls are in Traverse City for a layover day. Voyageurs just completed their reration and are heading back out into the wilds! Finally, our Odyssians are right on the edge of New York and Vermont, powering through their trip like champs.

We are super excited for the days to come and the memories we will continue to make this session until next time!

The post Opening Day for 2 Week Campers appeared first on American Youth Foundation.

In the midst of the hellos between campers and parents, our first group of Trailblazers got started on their first off-site trip with Miniwanca! These Teebz (as we tend to call them) will spend three days and two nights hiking in the Manistee National Forest.  When they return, they’ll get a quick rest in camp for an evening and then head out on a three day canoeing adventure down the White River.

The three week in-camp campers also engaged in some fun activities, starting with games in the Hollow and ending with some service projects. Our Avail campers, the in-camp high schoolers, helped do some gardening over in Boys Camp while the younger campers did some beach maintenance and helped clean up some of our spaces around camp.

By this time the one week campers were heading home, having watched their slide shows, received their rewards, and said goodbye to all their friends. It was a small community that met at lunch for turkey grilled cheese sandwiches and  broccoli cheese soup, but we all enjoyed a little quiet as we rested before over 80 campers join us for more fun tomorrow. The afternoon included a relaxing hang out with some swimming and boating at Stony Lake. Dinner was hot dogs, carrots, and pretzels, and then we enjoyed a special treat for dessert – ice cream sundaes!

Now, as the sun begins to set over Miniwanca, the campers are enjoying more relaxation and fun together. There are friends watching the sunset and chatting, digging in the sand, and enjoying a bonfire. It’s been another amazing day on the shores of Lake Michigan and we can’t wait to see what tomorrow has in store for us.

The post The Adventures of our Three Week Campers appeared first on American Youth Foundation.

Trailblazers have spent this past week balancing their time between in-camp activities and some time spent at Graceland. They’ve spent several interest group periods taking a tour of Graceland, discovering where they’re going to place their hand prints on the wall at the end of the session, learning how to light stoves, learning how to set up tents, and taking on many of the other essential skills they’ll utilize this week. This has been such a great week for practice and they capped it all off with canoeing shakedowns yesterday afternoon. Over the course of today and tomorrow, the Trailblazer boys will head out canoeing through the Hodenpyle Dam Pond and down Manistee River while the Trailblazer girls will hike the North Country Trail through the Manistee National Forest.

The Explorers are busy hiking the North Country Trail as well—though much farther north at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. We aren’t able to get photos from them during their trip because the cell service is limited, but we’ve connect with both the boys and girls groups and they are enjoying their layover day today as they rest from the past several days of hiking. Over the past four days of hiking, they’ve seen some of the most beautiful coastline in America as they’ve hiked alongside Lake Superior. They’ve traversed craggy rocks and rock spires and they’ve spent a lot of the time on the beach swimming. It’s quite a long drive to go up to the Upper Peninsula to pick them up, so we’ll send out a driver to pick them up tomorrow and then we’ll pick them up on the 29^th. We can’t wait to hear all about their adventures.

After several busy days preparing for their trips, our Adventurer campers are finally out on Michigan Bike Route 35, heading down the coast of west Michigan and on their way toward Traverse City. It will take them several days to get there, but along the way they will cycle along the coast, stopping for ice cream and for swimming in Lake Michigan. They’ll also spend some time reflecting on their journey and what it means to be cycling toward Miniwanca solely on their own mental, physical, and spiritual power. They have great adventures ahead.

The Voyageur campers are enjoying the spoils and treats and reration. After a week and a half of backcountry living and kayaking, they had a wonderful dinner brought to them and prepared by our special guest star reration driver, Chris Farrar. Chris Farrar is a former full-time Four Trails coordinator at Miniwanca who was able to take several days this summer to drive out and spend some time with our Voyageurs, many of whom already know him. They’ve been able to send us photos and talk to us because they cell service at their reration location, so check out the SmugMug for more photos as they come in. This will likely be the last photos that we can get before we pick them up in the Parry Sound. Over the next two days, they will head back out into the wilds of the Georgian Bay to experience some more of the beauty of the natural world.

Odyssey has had their final mail drop and rest day and they are moving through the mountains of New York and Vermont in their final stretch to New Hampshire. This is the most physically demanding section of their trip, but we’ve heard from every group and they are all taking on the challenge beautifully. They are cycling some of the most beautiful roads and through some of the most beautiful mountains that New England has to offer. Over the course of their travels, they’ve truly been able to see the landscape change around them and they’ve been able to see the world in a way that few others have had the chance to. They have one final incredible location to see: Merrowvista! When they arrive on Thursday of this week, they will be greeted with a ride-in by all of Merrowvista. They’ll sing Founder Hearts and then run down to Dan Hole Pond for a quick splash. I’ll check back in with updates when they arrive, but they have some amazing activities scheduled for their time at MV.

A final update: for those of you that don’t know, Graceland is on a field that borders Stony Creek. The area along the creek is home to several baby bunnies that come out to say hello and goodbye to the kids. I just thought I’d share a picture with you.

Happy trails!

The post Four Trails Update – Adventure Daringly appeared first on American Youth Foundation.

Today the campers were woken up by the Polar Bear calls to start their day.  Feeling refreshed from their morning slip in the dip, they headed to Morning Stretch which was led by Cabin 12. Today’s topic was opportunity. They discussed how many amazing opportunities there are here at camp after they did their rocketgizer to our Flashmob song “Don’t Be So Hard on Yourself”. After, we all enjoyed an amazing breakfast cooked by our incredible food program staff, which included waffles, sausage, and strawberries. During breakfast we sand Happy Trails to our second group of Adventurers who are headed out to cycle the coast of West Michigan from the tip of the Mitten back to Miniwanca.

Following breakfast, we had our typical CORE meetings and Interest Groups 1 and 2. For lunch we had meatball subs with chips and macaroni salad. After lunch, we had an EXTENDED REST HOUR! From there our day became not so typical because our one week campers had to pack up for their departure tomorrow. While those campers packed, our three week campers had cabin time. Some cabins enjoyed chill time in the Crafthouse while others headed to the creek for some tubing adventures. As the afternoon drew to a close, the Quads met one last time before Low Council to prepare for their skits.

At dinner we had alfredo pasta with garlic bread and broccoli, yum! And to top it all off there was rice crispy treats for dessert! Fueled up for Low Council, the campers did an outstanding job on their skits. The Quads were given themes such as Shark Week, Zombie Comedy, Survivor, and News Report. They each prepared three acts: a song, a skit, and one more item. After three very close rounds, the Draws pulled out the win!

For evening reflection, we had the Trailblazers explain their thoughts on opportunity. They talked about how important it is to say yes, how those moments when you do say yes are the ones you will always remember. Tomorrow those Trailblazer campers will start their own hiking adventure and we’re so excited to see them make the most of the opportunity.

Today just seemed to be the perfect day to end camp for our one weekers. Hope to see them back next year!

The post Low Council appeared first on American Youth Foundation.

At lunch we munched on quesadillas, chips and salsa, and chili,  and soon after campers headed to Rest Hour to prepare for the rest of our fun day ahead. Reenergized, the community then attended Assembly where the LITs entertained the campers with different games and activities. Afternoon Interest Groups were followed by Free Time where many campers headed down to the beach. A shift in the Lake Michigan current brought us some warmer water today and the campers were quick to take advantage of it!

Dinner was vegetable lasagna and garlic bread with yummy ice cream sandwiches for dessert. At Nights Doings the campers enjoyed a game of Founderly Feud. There were questions like “What is the best dessert at Camp Miniwanca?” and “where did the paddle come from?”. The Dunes answered confidently and pulled out the win! The night came to a close with another beautiful Lake Michigan sunset as the LITs presented on positivity. They shared ideas like how Miniwanca feels like such a safe and positive community, and how being positive doesn’t always mean being happy but instead acknowledging your emotions and still feeling gratitude. 

We’re grateful for all that has happened today and for all of you! Until tomorrow friends.

The post A Day of Positivity appeared first on American Youth Foundation.