It's GODZILLA!!!

The best part about today was the water table(the sandbox with water). We built so many, many failed waterways. We eventually learned how to manipulate the sand to make a fairly permanent "stream".We have two Lorax's this year. In the sandbox we found "Lorax's this year. In the sandbox we found "Godzilla!?" and built him an Island and a moat (A.K.A. "Awesome Land"). We even built an underground tunnel that suprisingly held for a while.

Team Red Zone is in the zone with GPS!

Used a Used a GPS tracker for the first time. After a few technical problems, it turned out that us (a.k.a. Team Red Zone) (coolest team name ever!!) finished first. On our last destination, we saw the other teams were gaining on us and we ran the rest of the way! We earned appreciation and a high five from Creek Counselor. Then we got our first freezer pops of many and got to watch everyone else find the treasure.

Awesome Island

We got to check out a steam table today. We watched the way the water moved and reshape the sand around it and how the speed of the water change when we change things within the little steam. Building dams in sand is so much fun! We built a number of things like dams and waterfalls. Awesome Island is the island that Creek Counselor Matt came up with when we were there.

-SweetPea-

First Activity

On the first day at the camp (Sunday) we learned to use a GPS and locate different points or objects. These are really useful and easy to use. The campers were divided into 4 groups and each group should locate a series of coordinates. When we were close enough to the point we had to look for a box which contained another coordinate. There was a total of 5 coordinates and then we had to meet in another point. It was very interesting and really fun!

Creek Camp is almost here!

Hi Creek Campers!

We are anxiously awaiting your arrival and everything is almost in place! We thought we'd help ease your journey by posting a picture of what North Village (the apartments we will be staying in) look like. There will be directional signs around campus which are also pictured. And maybe, just MAYBE, you'll see a rare gator sighting. I hope you guys are ready to have the best time of your lives!

:-)

Meadville awaits your arrival!

 

They've rolled out the (used) highway signs and created a grand mural to welcome you to the city.  When you exit Interstate 79 and head toward Meadville, look to your left to see the mural created in a joint project between the Allegheny College art department and PennDOT.  See if you can figure out what local Meadville places/events are depicted.

Amazing what you can do with a bunch of old signs and a lot of creativity!!

Pack your bags... it's time for Creek Camp 2010!!

Hello campers!  Summer vacation is here and Creek Camp is right around the corner!  The registration packets are in the mail, the camp schedule is nearly finalized, and preparations are being made for your arrival on the Allegheny College campus.  I hope you're as excited as we are!

Please share this blog address with your parents and friends.  It's a great way for them to follow your activities at camp as well as to make comments that you can read.  It's also a good way to ask any questions that might arise as you're preparing for camp.  Most likely another camper is asking the same question(s) and would be interested in the response.

Here's a helpful hint... if you purchased new water sandals/shoes, start to wear them now!  It's no fun to get big blisters on the first day of camp.   :(

The Counselor's Video

Hey Campers! Here is the video we played at the final Luncheon. I'm sorry I haven't gotten it up sooner but I've been so busy! We will miss you guys and I hope the rest of your summer is as awesome as creek camp was!

Kelsey

Learning the Herps

Yesterday, we went on our herp hunt, but before we could do it, we had to learn about them. A woman named, April Claus, came to talked to us about the reptiles and amphibians of Pennsylvania. She explained to us that amphibians are very important to the ecosystem because their main prey is keeping burgening insects from over populating.

Originally we were to go looking for Hellbenders in French Creek but the creek had risen too much from the rains the previous night. It was too dangerous for us to look for them. This, however, did mean we had more time to spend learning about them. Some of the animals we learned about were, milksnakes, timber rattlesnake, spring peepers, red-spotted newts and spotted salamanders. The information she gave us was extrememly interesting because not many of us knew about the creatures she told us about. April was also an entertaining as well as knowledgable person and she obviously loved her field. Often she would add jokes to her presentation to make it more interesting.

After we learned about these species came the fun part. She gave us a test using the information we had learned from her lecture, to identify and answer the questions that were asked on the living specimens of several species. We were even allowed to hold the cornsnake and milksnake. The cornsnake was a female that loved to wind herself in knots around your wrists and arms. the milksnake was constantly searching for a place to hide and had to be extracated from one of the boys hoods. The test was also difficult, there were many questions that we had to have been paying attention to answer and the stakes were high. The person who achieved the highest score got a prize. The classes highest score was thirty-five out of thirty-nine. There was a winner out of both boys and girls.

Overall, I had never thought that learning about amphibians and reptiles could be such an interesting and fun experience. I was proved wrong. It was an illuminating prelude to our final adventure for the week: a trip to Bousson, an Allegheny College environmental experimentation center. Though this was one of our final activities, I enjoyed it greatly even though I was starting to feel sadness from the impending departure the next day.

Searching for amphibians and reptiles at Bousson

On Thursday, we went with a herpetologist to go herping, or searching for amphibians and reptiles. It was so much fun! We ended up finding 16 different species of reptiles and amphibians which impressed me a lot! We found 10 different species of salamander, 5 types of toads and frogs, and one snake. All we did to find them were overturn rocks, logs, and look in grass and we found tons of stuff. It was really cool knowing that all these things could live near you, and there are still more things you could find. Plus amphibians are a great way to tell if your streams and rivers are healthy, because they breathe through their skin and any pollutants in the water will kill them. Overall, it was a great time, and probably my favorite part about camp.

Fun with football

This week we had a football game with everybody playing for once. The girls would only play if a boy wore a skirt for part of the game so a kid named dave decided to be the biggest man and take one for the team. It was lots of fun and was very funny. The teams were so even the game lasted until dusk.

Fresh From the Vines Farm

Thursday our group went to the farm called Fresh From the Vines. It is a sustainable farm which means that it doesnt use any type of chemicals in producing food. Not even miracle grow. At the farm we saw all sorts of fresh produce that ranged from many types of beans to garlic and onions. Also we met his animals the donkeys, goat, chickens and the alpacas. In his greenhouses he had plastic over the frame for containing heat. We were also abel to sample his food. Then we went to his house and ate lunch.

The Spillway

So we took a little side trip today tooooo the spillway...which was basically like this um cement walkway thing overlooking the water...HOWEVER, the water was filled to max capacity with carps...creepy...plus the ducks were just stepping all over them to get the bread we were throwing. Truthfully, the fish looked like the inferi from Harry Potter 6...yikes...but they enjoyed the bread we gave them and especially enjoyed the Lorax.

Banding Doves

After breakfast this morning we met with Sarah Dippold from the Pennsylvania Game Commission to band doves. The bands are placed on the birds to help identify them and people contact the game commission to give any information they may find. We checked all of the traps and unfortunately the rain persuaded the doves to stay away from the bait. Even though we could not band any birds, Sara talked to us about how the Pennsylvania Game Commission bands other birds like ducks and geese. Although it was cold and raining, we still had a lot of fun enjoying the protected wildlife there.

During the Storms

Last night we spent some time "winding down". To begin with, we set up a game of dodgeball. It turned out to be more fun than I had expected even though we only played for a minute or two. Then we went to go get ice cream at Casey's. This was an interesting experience because about the time we got to the ice cream place it started to storm. We ordered and ate our ice cream before leaving in the van again. We found out rather hysterically that the way to get somewhere around fifteen people into a van really quickly, is to have lighting flashing in the background. As it turned out it took us about a minute and a half to get into the van.
Once we got back to North Village, the dorms where we were staying, we spent a well deserved chill session listening to music, or at least the girls did. This didn't last long though. Soon we started to dance and got a dance party going. It was more fun than I've had in a long time. Most of us enjoyed it greatly, listening to everybody's favorites on the iHome one of the girls brought. One of the campers this week is from Costa Rica and we finally got her to join us and dance. She asked if any of us had salsa music. None of us did so we hijacked our counsellor's computer and found some online. She showed us the salsa and we were all extremely amazed. She was so good at it. We all started to try to copy her. Soon she started to teach us how to do it. We got a regular salsa lesson and then took it upstairs into the dorm hall where we attempted to get the boys to learn too. They were disinclined to aquiest to our request. Oh well, we still had a ton of fun and as a bonus we learned some basic salsa moves.

Unfortunately, we were exhausted this morning but it was worth it. We really did have so much fun and I'm sad that this week it almost over. We've all made such go friends.

I'M NEVER GOING TO GROW UP.

Last night after a long day us teenagers decided to unwind and connect with our inner child. How? you ask. SImple a nice new play ground on campus. Some swung on the swings while others slid down the slide. Others decided to "chill out" on a metal spider jungle gym, while some climbed a wall. We all enjoyed this freedom and time to be our true selfs. Amy, the consuler, took videos of funny moments and priceless photos. This short time of freedom really made us enjoy the early evening and will be remember FOREVAA!!~~PETER PAN(pictures will be up shortly.)