Day Joe Boy Cow Happy! It was a beautiful morning here in Marion, filled with doughnuts and the spirit of Cowboy Joe. For anyone who isn’t familiar with the myth of Cowboy Joe, it revolves around a man known for his amazing pastries and backward mannerisms. After a startling alarm made up of chaotic staff members passing out milk and doughnuts. We cleaned the scene that remained reluctantly. Once the cabins looked pristine, we left for the Mark to start a tribal activity (mostly found after dinner). This activity turned out to be Battle-Ball which ended up in a draw across both tribes. The bugle sounded for us to head for our 4th period on an average day.

Quite a bit took place today during activities with many people collecting bars and special classes that only happen on Cowboy Joe Day. One of these exceptional activities was a shootout competition in Riflery using special metal targets that spin when shot. In other activities we had other campers getting bars. This included Jack V, who got his bronze in Archery. Finn D, who got his silver also in Archery. H.P. got his bronze in Climbing. We had campers also experience some very special moments here at camp. Ethan U mountain biked the SpyGlass trail for the first time and loved it. Garrett S and Patrick S won King of the Court in Basketball defeating all other challengers in their class. Tristan L built a gorgeous ‘Leave No Trace’ fire in Backpacking for marshmallows. Another camper described it as “the best fire he’d ever had” and the best marshmallows too. This brings us to a wonderful lunch filled with breakfast items. For the main course, it was chicken and waffles. At the neighborhood table, we had tons of cereal, milk, and grits.

After lunch, we had free time to go work for bars in a couple of activities and get some delicious sweets from the Trading Post. We had rest time and 3rd period after free time, which led us right into dinner. For dinner, we had pulled pork sandwiches with beans and corn on the cob. At the neighborhood table, we had the most delicious mac and cheese. Dessert was lemon squares which are pastries filled with lemon-flavored sugary goodness. Campers headed from dinner to our evening yell and screamed to the heavens and back. Counselor Grant H gave a wonderful speech filled with rhymes and memorable quotes. Afterward, we headed towards the chapel for an evening service. Instead of starting with the louder songs and working towards the camp hymn, we started with the camp hymn. Winston H stepped up for another true story. Tonight was a special night instead of one evening activity we had two. This second evening activity was … COUNTY FAIR!!!!. County Fair involves different activities for all the campers to participate in outside and is not competitive. The first activity entails seeing how far each camper can spit watermelon seeds, and another involves throwing a pie in the counselors’ faces. This more relaxed activity makes for a great end to a busy day. The boys went to bed with most likely still a lot of sugar in their systems. We hope for another clear day tomorrow to burn it off.

Cooper Denning
Guitar Instructor
Proud Black Bear