DSC_0086
YMCA Camp St Croix
Hudson, WI
Sept. 26, 2013
https://www.ymcatwincities.org/camps/camp_st_croix/
After driving for 3 days through the plane states of Iowa, Nebraska, and the eastern half of Colorado, and before that Laura having her wisdom teeth out and spending a few days to recover, to say we were excited about visiting St. Croix would be an extreme understatement. We pulled in to the massive 800 plus acre facility and were greeted with warm hugs from Russell Spafford, the resident camp director. Russell stumbled in to camping looking to follow his passion and make an impact, after a brief career as a personal trainer and you can tell has found his true calling.
He gave us a great and thorough tour, including the grueling hike down, well mostly back up, from the waterfront, a 100 yard or so steep trail down to the picturesque St. Croix river. We capped it off with a quick chance to see hatchet throwing!
After our time with Russell, we met up with Stephanie Lentz, the day camp director. Stephanie showed us the awesome day camp facility that is home over 250 campers each week through out the summer. Some highlights included the pioneer village, where campers do outdoor cooking and other activities but mostly get to pretend to be pioneers, an incredible volunteer build amphitheater, and our favorite, the Oasis Water Play Area!
-Jack