By: Jacklyn Spithoff, Volunteer
Welcome back to Camp Quality’s daily blog! Today was a really cool day because our theme was DINOSAUR DIG! We got to sleep in today which was a bonus. Our pancake and bacon breakfast fueled us up for the busy day ahead. Before we left, we had some special visitors come in…
After breakfast, the campers were treated to a really cool interactive presentation by Clarence and Laura from the Lakehead University Department of Anthropology, who came all this way to teach us some really awesome things about archaeology. They brought a variety of fun activities including a miniature fossil dig, building clay pots, and checking out some really old tools that were used thousands of years ago for hunting and more.
Our campers and volunteers got the chance to try out one of these tools, used to launch spears. There were some incredible shots made, even some that made it all the way across the field and into the lake (don’t worry, we got them back). Thank you to Clarence and Laura for everything they taught us today!
Our camper Alessio also got into the dinosaur spirit with his T-Rex water gun, which proved unfortunate for his companion Branden, who wore most of the water.
Next up was a great lunch of sausages and perogies. Yum! Once our campers ate their fill, it was time for Toes Up, my favourite time of the day (and probably the favourite of most volunteers hehehe). After this, we were joined by members of the Thunder Bay Police. These officers kindly donated their time and their boats to take some of our campers and their companions fishing! Back on shore, we heard that the fishing was great as some boats said they actually lost track of how many they caught. What an adventure!
After fishing, we switched gears and took on the police for an epic game of soccer. It was a tough battle, but I’m pretty sure Team CQ won by a landslide (as always). Better luck next year, officers! It was a good game. To top off their visit, the police generously donated $500 to CQ. Thank you to everyone for taking the time out of their days to come out and see us!
Our daily themed dinner was a success, with dinosaurs roaming everywhere! I wish I could put every photo in this blog, to show you the full extent of the great costumes we saw. Here is a photo of my favourite:
The police stayed for dinner, which was a hearty turkey dinner complete with turkey, potatoes, veggies, stuffing and more. We were also pleased to have been joined by long-time CQ supporters, Mike and Kristy from KOA Thunder Bay. On behalf of their camp and KOA Care Camps, they donated an incredible $4000! We at Camp Quality hold a very special place in our hearts for generous people like you. Thank you!
Following dinner, our companions were called into the craft shack to make special awards for their campers, which will be given to the campers tomorrow night before our end-of-camp dance party. While the companions were crafting away, the rest of our volunteers helped the campers out with a dinosaur egg and fossil hunt, put on by our programming team. Each camper found an egg, and if they were lucky, they found one of three special golden eggs. The reward? Getting to be first in line at lunch tomorrow, having their dinner served to them and having their plates cleared at the end of the meal. Our campers did great, searching for eggs high and low and finding many fossils in the process. Congratulations to Hunter, Gryphon and Katelyn for being the lucky!
One more thing that happened tonight was that some campers got to read a piece of Q-mail for our camp video. The mail was heartwarming to listen to and makes everyone feel good.
Now, our campers are enjoying a snack before bedtime. I can hear the campfire songs being sung by the fire, and I can’t wait to join in. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s play-by-play during our last full day of camp, themed “OFF THE HOOK – Pirates!” Have a good night everyone!
This is the eighth year that NetNewsLedger.com have hosted the Camp Quality Northwest blog. NetNewsLedger is pleased to support the work of Camp Quality, and the ongoing battle to beat cancer. On a personal note, cancer has taken both of my grandparents, it tried to take my mom. There are few people in Northwestern Ontario who are not impacted by cancer.