Cascades Camp Blog

As a special treat for those of you who were at Independence Day Family Camp, please enjoy the above recap of this year’s event. This is also a good test for those who are looking forward to getting the message recaps from Independence Day, they will be posted right here on the blog in the next day or two. You can subscribe to the Cascades Camp Podcast in iTunes and have the messages automatically downloaded to your computer for listening on your iPod or iPhone.

Click here to be taken to our listing in iTunes where you can download past podcasts and subscribe to future ones!

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We’re having a great time right now during out annual Independence Day Family Camp… and now that we’ve gotten to Saturday morning the sun is finally shining! One of the highlights so far was our “Cascades’ Got Talent” show on Thursday evening in the Rainier Center, there were nearly a dozen great acts during the evening and we thought it would be fun to share a few of them with you here on the blog!

Watch an percussion show by the kitchen crew during the Cascades’ Got Talent show.

It wouldn’t be Family Camp without a Father & Son dance off between Big Joe & Little Joe.

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Earlier this week Cascades’ 80 summer and year-round staff participated in the annual Yelm “Prairie Days” parade! This was the third time we’ve had a entry and it’s always a blast saying “hi” to everyone.  For the first time this year we invited the community to come out for our FREE Summer Fun Open House, THIS SUNDAY from 2-5pm. We’re having a petting zoo, carnival games, popcorn, hot dogs, hay rides, pony rides and more! Come from near or far, you’re invited too! Hope to see you here.

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We’ve had some great fun the last few weekends at our Spring Adventure Weekends!  The weather has been beautiful, the kids (and parents and grandparents) have been wonderful, and God has been so evident through our time spent together.  Praise Him for all He does in our lives!

To see pictures from the Grandparents & Grandkids Retreat, click here.

To see pictures from the Girls on Horses Retreat, click here.

To see pictures from the Parents & ‘Lil Shavers Retreat, click here.

To see pictures from the Father & Son Retreat, click here.

To see pictures from the Mother & Daughter Retreat, click here.

(All pictures will be added by 8am Monday, June 14th)

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Mark your Calendars: Sunday, June 27th from 2pm-5pm
Cascades Camp “Summer Fun Open House”

This outdoor-based afternoon will be highlighted with activities for children and families to participate in while experiencing Cascades hands-on. The free event will include face-painting, popcorn, hot dogs, horse-drawn hayrides, a back-roads Jeep tour, a petting zoo, crafts, carnival games and special discounts on registration fees.  Cascades’ “Summer Fun Open House” provides prospective campers and parents with a chance to see the facilities, meet camp staff, ask questions, and learn about the variety of programs which Cascades has to offer.

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April 28th 2010: Dan “MacGyver” Clifford, and Rob “Trane” Mohrweis along with Josh “Miles” Rogers and Claudia “Dirt” Fisher are there to observe the very first test runs of the new “High-Adrenaline” Zip-lines.

vital stats:

• Two twin zip-lines
• Both measuring 575ft long
• The first line begins at Timber Rock by the Climbing Tower and takes you into the heart of Cascades’ 1,000 acre wilderness
• The second line begins right near where the first one ends and takes you back to the opposite side of the Timber Rock Amphitheater
• Design for the zip-lines began this fall and construction started a handful of weeks ago.

How would you like to be the first person to **officially** ride our brand-new zip-lines? We are auctioning off the ceremonial first-ride to the highest bidder! All proceeds go directly to our sponsorship fund. Be on the lookout for information NEXT MONTH.  The first ride “ceremony” will be taking place Thursday, July 1st at 10:45am, during Independence Day Family Camp.

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Everyone ought to have a “MacGyver” in their organization.  Ours is Dan Clifford.

Dan has been with Cascades since the very beginning.  Dan’s father was a logger who purchased logs from Cascades when we were clearing the land in the very beginning.  His dad told us that he (Dan) was a very talented young man that we might want to have help us out.  Here we are now, 21 years later, Dan’s fingerprints are a part of every single building, vehicle, and nearly every tree here at camp!

Dan is officially known as our “Special Construction Manager,” but unofficially, he’s our very own MacGyver.  He has worked on everything from building out the addition on Nisqually Center, to troubleshooting & repairing our trucks, to replacing the middle “Swing Gear” in the belly of our excavator.  Dan has been called an true artisan who can fabricate just about anything out of wood or metal.  You probably know his work best in our unique and awesome Log Cabins at Camp Timber Rock.  Dan built all 15 of them mostly by himself!

With all this talent,  you’d think it would go to his head.  Not so with Dan.   He quietly serves in the background, never seeking credit, and always humbly passing off any praise to God.  Dan truly has a Servant’s Heart.  He also has a great sense of humor, but rarely uses it!  I once asked Dan “Is there anything you can’t do?”  To which he promptly answered “Yeah, make money!”

Thanks Dan for all that you do around here, we truly appreciate you!

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As of March 13th, 2010 at 2:23pm the Cascades family, and more specifically, the Rogers family has grown by one!  Jonas Edward was born to Josh and Lydia Rogers just under two weeks ago.  He is strong and healthy and quite beautiful.         

Please join us in praying for the Rogers family as they enjoy life together as a family!

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Recruiting is one of my favorite parts of my job!  The photograph above is from my visit to Whitworth University – after spending the day in the HUB, Kimono and I met up with camp staff and friends from Whitworth and Gonzaga for dinner.  We also celebrated Sammie “Mushu” Trestik’s 20th birthday – and made sure to embarrass her with loud singing in the restaurant!  It was a great trip – as always it is wonderful to touch base with summer staff and hear about how their year is going – and I think I may have made a few new friends at Whitworth too – bring on the summer staff applications!!!

-Dirt

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