A full week of exploring is hard enough to remember let alone recount within the confines of a screenful of paragraphs. How could one possibly transmit the smell of the sun on the shore pines, the feel of your first experience carving into green willow, the excitement of getting close enough to a bald eagle to be able to see the feathers near his feet, the suction of thick mud around your legs, the electricity pulsing through your being as you hold a red legged frog or a newt? Where, amongst these 26 letters is the heat of the day, the breath of the trees, the moisture of the lakes, the gentle south wind, the sting of a mosquito, the thrill of sneaking and chasing, the music of a thrush?
In Explorers Club, we have a practice of reminding ourselves of
the events of the entire week during our final meeting. We do this because there is so much goodness in Exploring, and each of these experiences is fully worthy of being reinforced so that they can become a part of us and guide us as we grow with the world.
the events of the entire week during our final meeting. We do this because there is so much goodness in Exploring, and each of these experiences is fully worthy of being reinforced so that they can become a part of us and guide us as we grow with the world.
When asked to remember the events of the week during our closing meeting, Explorers shared a wonderful collage of memories: many games ofHide!; navigating Whatcom Falls Park; finding a dead shrew on the trail in learning about these fascinating mammals; discovering the strange spontaneously grafted tree; an epic game of Spider's Web; 
meeting our Explorers Club EMA, Soren; finding fish and frogs; stalking deer; eating berries and learning new plants; swimming in the lake; meeting the challenge of fitting everyone on the Pine and Cedar Lakes sign; skillfully backpacking to Cedar Lake; carving with so many different types of wood; discovering newts and nymphs and carnivorous plants; a very challenging Spider's Web game; having an opening meeting in a tree; running for over a mile along the tide flats; standing in the middle of the ocean water; seeing herons and storks and eagles and crabs and flounder; learning how to sharpen knives and cut greenwood; lounging and enjoying the freedom of summer; discovering the Earth Keeper’s Den and creating a new game; mud
mucking all the way to our destination; piling into Stubbs and being a part of the bus breaking down; games under the shore pines by Sunset Boulevard; parents to the rescue; setting up camp; navigating the big field; discovering the deer beds; finding pockets of trees and water and learning what indicates them; enjoying Hovander Park; learning how to take charge and work as a group to scout an area and find a desired location; service with the knotweed; Burritos!; Setting up tents; the quiet night walk with a green heron flying overhead; the calls of coyotes and great horned owls; the slap of beaver tails on water; the harvesting of
swamp gas and the ghostly blue flame; morning oatmeal; a new game inspired by the osprey and the tower; enjoying one another's company and giving thanks.
meeting our Explorers Club EMA, Soren; finding fish and frogs; stalking deer; eating berries and learning new plants; swimming in the lake; meeting the challenge of fitting everyone on the Pine and Cedar Lakes sign; skillfully backpacking to Cedar Lake; carving with so many different types of wood; discovering newts and nymphs and carnivorous plants; a very challenging Spider's Web game; having an opening meeting in a tree; running for over a mile along the tide flats; standing in the middle of the ocean water; seeing herons and storks and eagles and crabs and flounder; learning how to sharpen knives and cut greenwood; lounging and enjoying the freedom of summer; discovering the Earth Keeper’s Den and creating a new game; mud mucking all the way to our destination; piling into Stubbs and being a part of the bus breaking down; games under the shore pines by Sunset Boulevard; parents to the rescue; setting up camp; navigating the big field; discovering the deer beds; finding pockets of trees and water and learning what indicates them; enjoying Hovander Park; learning how to take charge and work as a group to scout an area and find a desired location; service with the knotweed; Burritos!; Setting up tents; the quiet night walk with a green heron flying overhead; the calls of coyotes and great horned owls; the slap of beaver tails on water; the harvesting ofswamp gas and the ghostly blue flame; morning oatmeal; a new game inspired by the osprey and the tower; enjoying one another's company and giving thanks.
This Explorer could add volumes. This camp was rich and rewarding for all involved. Each mentor expressed delight at working with this group of boys. Challenges were there, and they were skillfully transformed into powers as the days went on. Pictures are, indeed worth a thousand words. Experiences are worth ten thousand pictures. So, if you really want to know what this Explorers Camp was like, get out there with your Explorer and have him teach you what he has learned.
Not just the information, but the games too. Go out and get dirty! Be a kid and play a few rounds of Hide! Actually rub your hands in mud and touch that frog. This Explorer could (and will upon request) give you all kinds of very compelling physiological and psychological research data that will convince you of the benefit… but do you really need it? This earth is our medicine and we are the sum and the quality of our relationships. Relationships are built by showing up and paying attention. Have your son and the landscape be your guide. Get out there and Explore the magical and vast wilderness of your own back yard.
Not just the information, but the games too. Go out and get dirty! Be a kid and play a few rounds of Hide! Actually rub your hands in mud and touch that frog. This Explorer could (and will upon request) give you all kinds of very compelling physiological and psychological research data that will convince you of the benefit… but do you really need it? This earth is our medicine and we are the sum and the quality of our relationships. Relationships are built by showing up and paying attention. Have your son and the landscape be your guide. Get out there and Explore the magical and vast wilderness of your own back yard.
P.S. You can check out many more pics in our Photo Gallery.
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