On September 10-12 the girl’s school traveled to Bryce Canyon on a camping trip. Bryce Canyon is located in southern Utah and is a major destination for travelers worldwide.

We left Maple Lake at around 9 a.m. on September 10 and traveled several hours. We stopped at “The Big Rock Candy Mountain” just south of Richfield, Utah for lunch.

Indeed, the area surrounding this resort looks like candy that you could go eat. Lots of minerals and colors. It is a very unique place.

During the campout, the girls packed their own lunch each day. Lunch consisted of sandwiches, chips, fruit snacks, Gatorade, and other trail mix type snacks.

Finally, we arrived at our destination and set up camp.

It was interesting for me to camp with both the girl’s school and with the boy’s school. It is always fun to see how differently the two groups interact and approach simple things like eating and dressing. The girls group was divided into tent groups and each tent group had a different color of tee-shirt. The girls got their shirts early in the camp and decorated them. Of course the colors were bright neon type of colors. But were ever we went, I could tell where our girls were. All I had to do was look for the bright neon colors!

We had a great dinner that night which consisted of hot barbecue chicken sandwiches, fresh water melon, and other side dishes. For desert, the girls cooked s’mores (marshmallows, gram crackers, and chocolate) over the camp fire.

After dinner, we had a very special campfire program. Karie had requested that the parents of each girl send them a story about an ancestor who was a pioneer in their family. It was powerful to learn about so many great people, and the sacrifices they made to come to the United States and also the sacrifices that they made for their families. The girls were all touched by the stories about their ancestors and the staff was touched also.

We spent the next day exploring Bryce Canyon.

We went on a hike to the bottom of the canyon and then back up to the top. Going down was easy, but coming back up was very difficult.

After spending the day in the park, we returned to camp and had walking taco’s for dinner. This consisted of fried hamburger with taco seasoning scooped into Fritos corn chips bags. Condiments included hot sauce, guacamole, onions, and other stuff that you might put on a taco. We also had watermelon and cantaloupe.

Karie, the Recreational Therapist, had organized a special program with a native american theme. The purpose of this program, was for each of us to examine and know who we truly are and go forward with strength. Her and several staff members dressed up as native americans to perform this ceremony. Each girl received great strength from this activity.

After this activity, we finished the night by having a special Dutch Oven cobbler. We  were able to have a chocolate and blueberry cobbler, or a white cake and cherry cobbler.

The next morning we packed up camp and returned to Maple Lake. This campout will standout as one of our greatest memories of the many things we learn and do at Maple Lake Academy.