Summer, 2009. The NWCM Family picked a great time to go camping in Eastern Washington – the hottest week of the year! Yep – from July 31st thru August 2nd, families from NWCM-FW camped out at Maryhill State Park on the gorgeous Columbia River Gorge (pardon the pun) just across the river from Oregon. It was a memorable camp – different from previous ones in that they also held their annual Youth Camp at the same time.
In spite of the heat (temperatures rose to around 115F during the peak of the sunlight), teens and families turned out to set up tents, cook meals outdoors, sit around and do nothing, sweat a quarter of their body weight, enjoy the Columbia River water and just enjoy each other’s company. Nothing beats Filipino camping food – especially when you’re in the outdoors and there are no restrictions to the aromas you can waft in the air (we just love that “danggit” in the morning).
B.A.S.I.C., our youth group, spent the weekend learning more about the issues of poverty, human trafficking and the environmental crisis through lectures, games, discussion and presentations. That last night at the bonfire, as the teens presented skits was a comedy night with a purpose.
There were also opportunities to learn about the history of the Gorge itself from the nearby
Columbia Gorge Discovery Center in Wasco County, Oregon (http://www.gorgediscovery.org/).
Field trips to scenic areas provided ample opportunities for photographs even as some of the adults enjoyed a time of wine tasting (this area of Washington state produces some of the region’s best wines). The pictures you see here are just samples – nowadays, everything happens on social networking sites like facebook and youtube – and that’s where you’ll see most of the photos and videos we took.
All in all, in spite of the heat, NWCM placed another memorable community vacation weekend in the books. We hope you’ll join us next year for our annual summer adventure – who knows what we’ll be doing next...
