We’re having a great first week of campers and even though it is hot we’re feeling pretty cool. We have two sampler sessions-camp sampler and brownie sampler-and they are getting to try a little bit of everything. Our Right on Target girls have worked on grouping and today played with the flu flu arrows! Get Your Feet Wet has had a good solid day on the water and today worked hard to learn about the parts of the canoe.

Tomorrow evening our archery and canoeing girls will leave us, but we’ll be getting our Teddy and Me girls on Thursday. We are off to a great start!

Don’t forget to check Bunk1 and Facebook for pictures and more updates. Have a wonderful week!!

Camp Timberlake Staff

It’s been a little while, and we’re sorry for our absence! This summer, though, we plan to keep you up to date on what’s going on at camp. We’ll have weekly posts from the director and hopefully a note or two from our other staff to share some of their favorite moments from the summer as well!

Don’t forget you can always visit us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/GSTOPCampTimberlake, or on Twitter at: CampTimberlake.

Also, check out which session still have spots available at our website: www.gs-top.org/camp under the Camp Timberlake section.

We hope you’re as excited as we are about this summer, and we look forward to welcoming your campers soon!

See you soon!
~Phoenix~

The first day of camp was super awesome!! We are going to have a great summer. We have a great group of staff and campers. Wishing everyone a safe and happy summer!!!

Believe it or not, our first campers of the season will walk into the Dining Hall in 144 days! I know I speak for many when I say that I am truly excited to begin another wonderful summer at camp

Many of you are anxiously awaiting the Resident Camp Guide — this should be in your hands by mid-February! Take some time to browse through your guide and don’t forget to take the “Are You Ready for Resident Camp?” quiz to see which type of session is right for you!

Our Open House is on May 15th — check out www.gs-top.org for more information. We would love to see you and your family that day — come out and tour the camp to get a first hand look at the fun you’ll be having this summer!

Also, don’t forget that there are still plenty of opportunities for outdoor fun this spring — check out our events page — www.gs-top.org/events-calendar – to browse all of our events.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful start to 2010, and I look forward to seeing you all at camp this summer!

Yours in Camping,

Lindsay “Phoenix” Power

Believe it or not we have been hard at work preparing for summer 2010 for several months now — it seems we finish with 2009 and jump straight into planning for 2010!

Heidi (director of Stevens Ranch) and I will hit the recruitment trail in January and visit several Texas universities and colleges to seek out our summer staff. We have already begun to accept applications, and there are a variety of positions to fill. Most of all we need staff members who are passionate about working with girls to help them grow into women of “courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place.”

The beauty of a camp staff is that you have such a wide variety of personalities and experience — many staff are former Girl Scouts, friends of camp staff, education majors we find at college fairs and much more. Regardless of Girl Scout experience, if there is a candidate who is passionate about making a positive impact in a child’s life, the vision of Juilette Gordon Low is exciting and easy to support.

If you know of anyone who might find a summer at one of our camps rewarding and who would contribute greatly to our staff, have them e-mail lpower@gs-top.org for more information.

 I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season full of friends and family, and I look forward to seeing your campers this summer!

Yours in camping,

Lindsay “Phoenix” Power

Also, if you haven’t found us on Twitter and Facebook, check us out here:

Twitter: twitter.com/CampTimberlake

Facebook: Camp Timberlake

Promote Your Page Too

Yours in camping,

Lindsay “Phoenix” Power

Registration space is limited and closes soon, so go to www.gs-top.org for more information and to register.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Lindsay Power at lpower@gs-top.org.

Hope to see you there!

The joy of sharing knowledge and learning from one another is amplified when you share a passion with those you are learning from. Most often we remember one or two gems from each lesson or class — if that — but it is the journey of learning that gives the greatest lesson.  Sometimes it is the lessons that challenge us — things that push us beyond our “norm,” that stick with us the most. Trying something new and stepping outside of your comfort zone is what camping is all about.

I recently returned from an Outdoor Skills and Certification Conference in New York. Along with outdoor cooking, knots and other classes offered, there was an instructor’s course for Basic Water Rescue and Small Craft Safety (aka Canoeing). Whatever I was expecting going into the class, I had no idea I would get anything more than some useful skills and a certification card. Keep in mind I’m a Texan — born and raised — and for me, cold is anything below 70. I find myself, then, on a cool September afternoon in upstate New York staring down a fearsome and frigid (65 degrees Farenheit!) lake from my seat in the stern of a canoe. Now I certainly could have stayed in the nice, warm, dry canoe and avoided the icy water. But, as with most things in life, if you never take that leap of faith, you’ll be stuck in the back of your canoe hoping your partner doesn’t tip you in when they take their plunge. So putting on my best brave face I plugged my nose and gracefully leapt out of our canoe.

I have never been more cold in my life.

In hindsight, it probably wasn’t as cold as it felt. I probably could have done the skills in any water, cold or otherwise. But it wasn’t about any of that. It was about that jump. If I had never taken that leap of faith, I wouldn’t be able to say “hey, I can do these skills, whatever the conditions!” If you go with what is known you will have predictable results, but if you push your limits and take that leap of faith, who knows what you’ll be able to accomplish?

Pushing those limits doesn’t have to be something extreme, either. It could be something like “can I live without my cell phone for a week?” “Can I foster a friendship with someone who has nothing apparent in common with me?” “Can I let myself climb another foot higher on this rock wall?” “Can I be happy with who I am?”

Camping and being in the outdoors fosters so many opportunities for personal challenge and growth. Ten of our girls did the challenge course this past weekend, and even though it was dreary outside they pushed themselves and took that leap (literally!) to get down the zip line.

I cannot wait to hear over the next few weeks, months, and even next summer at resident camp what these girls have learned from this experience that was four hours out of their weekend on a September afternoon. The lessons that stick with us are often the ones that pushed us to do something we didn’t want to do, or thought that we couldn’t do. But the things we take away from those lessons are more than mere nuggets of knowledge — we gain perspective and appreciate  the people and places we have in our lives.

So take a moment to ask yourself — what challenge have YOU chosen lately?

Campers and staff alike shared the experience of learning about the out of doors, of friendship, and of learning about themselves. Thank you staff for giving 100% of yourselves no matter how hot, how late or how “buggy” it was. You truly made this summer fantastic!

Campers, thank YOU for giving Camp Timberlake a try this summer, whether it was your first time or your tenth. I hope each of your took home something new — a new skill, new memory, new accomplishment, or a new friend. I sincerely hope to see each and every one of you walking into the Dining Hall on a Sunday evening next summer.

Last but not least, thank you parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends and families of our campers. You trusted us with one of the most precious things in the world — your camper — and I hope earnestly that she had a memorable experience. I encourage you throughout the year to talk to your camper about her time at camp and carry on the lessons she learned in her time at Camp Timberlake.

Although many of our girls have not yet attained the honor of being called ‘Trailblazer,’ we still feel the call to ‘…carry the Trailblazer spirit all winter long,’ and look fondly at our camping gear, anticipating another magical summer of friendship and the simpler things in life.

Thank you to everyone who lent their time, hands, ears and hearts to making this summer successful — Camp Timberlake is what it is because of wonderful people who pour themselves into the mission of Girl Scouts and the mission of camp.

Thank you again, and have a wonderful winter!

These are some of the hottest days of the summer so far, but our girls have been real troopers! Everyone is staying very hydrated — even when not at camp it’s important to drink plenty of water and especially gatorade if you’re feeling thirsty and a little over-heated. Our Health Supervisor, Peaches, is fantastic with the girls and helps our counselors keep up with keeping the girls healthy and happy!

After the 4th of July holiday we are all very excited about Treasure Island — fondly known as “pirate week!!!” to our staff — and we have many great things planned for the girls coming for the week as well as day campers.

Also, we are on the lookout for another lifeguard or two, as well as anyone that might want to volunteer to help with the remaining four weeks of day camp this summer. If you’re interested, please e-mail the director at lpower@gs-top.org.

Everyone have a wonderful week!

Lindsay “Phoenix” Power

Camp Timberlake Director