Bus update - 1:00pm

Arriving in Rockford!

Midway update

Lunch stop update (bus has left Madison): ETA Rockford approx 1:15pm, Wheaton 2:35pm. NOTE: This is earlier than previously posted. We will update Wheaton arrival after our Rockford stop.

Session 1 Bus Trip Update

The bus just left! ETA Madison 11:30am, Rockford 2:00pm, Wheaton 3:30pm.

Banquet Night

Last night the campers gathered in Chrouser for their end-of-session banquet. (Thanks to the Service Team for your help setting up!) According to tradition, the campers eat everything-- baked potatoes, fried chicken, and even ice cream-- with their hands.  Buckwheat Bill and his gang helped the campers drink milk and water straight from the pitcher.  After the banquet, the campers gathered on Chrouser Lawn for an exuberantly noisy session of “Chief.” (The boys won this round, with the aid of a large metal barrel-turned-drum and some handmade Styrofoam megaphones.)

Two Service Teamers and a cowboy pour a camper a drink of water.

Transportation Updates

In the past we've had a transportation hotline for parents to check on busses between Wheaton and HoneyRock. Starting with this Friday's return trip, we will be updating our Twitter, Facebook, and blog with quick updates and ETAs instead of the transportation hotline. We hope this will make it easier and faster to spread the information. 

facebook.com/HoneyRock

twitter.com/HoneyRockNews

Canoeing & Tug-o-War

by Joey McLellan
Canoeing Instructor 

Canoeing has been a vital activity to HoneyRock. Throughout the years, HoneyRock canoes have transported campers through the Northwoods, journeyed across Lake Superior, and helped kids enjoy the beauty of whitewater rapids. 

Inheriting this rich tradition of canoeing at HoneyRock was a thrill to me and I have decided to continue this tradition by bringing even more fun to the canoe area! During the one week session, I experimented with doing tug of war. The campers loaded up into two big canoes, a rope was connected between the two canoes, and they tried to pull each other's canoe. The campers loved Tug of war and it turned out to be a great addition to canoeing at HoneyRock. 

I also was inspired by a quote from Pierre Trudeau to add a different type of fun. Trudeau states "What sets a canoeing expedition apart is that it purifies you more rapidly and inescapably than any other travel. Travel a thousand miles by train and you are a brute; pedal five hundred on a bicycle and you remain basically a bourgeois; paddle a hundred in a canoe and you are already a child of nature." The quote inspired me to focus on campers having a canoeing experience that makes them a "child of nature." I did this by taking silent trips through the rivers near HoneyRock and getting campers fired up about future whitewater trips. 

We recently took our first whitewater trip to the Wolf River and the rapids were so much fun! I hope more campers get excited about the whitewater trips and I can continue to add to the great tradition of canoeing up at HoneyRock!