Summer Camp

When I was younger I never went to Summer Camp.

I'm not bummed about it or anything like that. I lived outside of town, and we had horses, kittens, we played in the woods all day, I had a BB gun to shoot cans with, and a number of other things to do. So my brother, my friends and I were always busy.

Last week I had the opportunity to visit Camp Wood YMCA for a Saturday package at the Gazette. It was my first experience at Summer Camp.

It was pretty much exactly how I imagined.

There was a lake, complete with a water slide and a beach. Kids fished, participated in team-building exercises, fished, swam, climbed The Tower, and played games.

It looked like a pretty good time.

That being said, growing up in the woods in northern Minnesota, playing with friends, going to the beach, fishing, and whatever else we got ourselves into couldn't have been a better way to grow up.

Joe Ahlquist/Gazette | Josh Creel, 10, of Fort Leavenworth, Kan., makes a cast while fishing Thursday afternoon, July 18, 2013, at Camp Wood YMCA in Chase County, Kan.

Joe Ahlquist/Gazette | Tyler Blochlinger, 13, of Kipp, Kan., climbs The Tower Thursday afternoon, July 18, 2013, at Camp Wood YMCA in Chase County, Kan.

Joe Ahlquist/Gazette | Micah Smith, 12, of Springfield, Mass., makes a sand angel on the beach Thursday afternoon, July 18, 2013, at Camp Wood YMCA in Chase County, Kan.

Joe Ahlquist/Gazette | Ben Dill, 13, of Emporia, Kan., jumps off of a raft while swimming Thursday afternoon, July 18, 2013, at Camp Wood YMCA in Chase County, Kan.

Joe Ahlquist/Gazette | Isabel Tiller, 12, Baldwin City, Kan., climbs The Tower Thursday afternoon, July 18, 2013, at Camp Wood YMCA in Chase County, Kan.

Joe Ahlquist/Gazette | Campers check in with their buddies at the beach as a part of a safety check Thursday afternoon, July 18, 2013, at Camp Wood YMCA in Chase County, Kan.

Joe Ahlquist/Gazette | People play Ga-Ga ball, where your objective is to hit your opponent below the knees with a ball in order to take them out of the game, Thursday afternoon, July 18, 2013, at Camp Wood YMCA in Chase County, Kan.