Camp Autumn with the Camp Dog

We here at Lindley G. Cook 4-H Camp would like to formerly apologize if we have rushed you out of your Autumn-state-of-mind and forced you mentally into next summer by announcing our exciting and much anticipated DATES AND THEMES FOR 2017!

(And if you haven't seen that momentous news, start getting psyched for next summer here and here! Oh no. We're doing it again. Sorry. Sorry.)

To prove that our apology is sincere, please help yourself to the below photographs and take a tour of the various stages of fall here at Camp, as you witness some excerpts from  walks over the past few weeks that our Camp Photographer has been taking with the Camp Dog.

It should help your brain step away from dreaming of next summer to enjoy the beautiful fall features of Stokes State Forest and Northern New Jersey.

(Until we bring you back to Summer 2017 in a just few days by announcing next season's brand new classes! Oops. Sorry again. Sorry.)

Now the leaves are off the trees, crinkled and cracked and easily wind-swept every where.

But before that, many of those leaves were still high atop our trees!

And the Camp Dog was still running around a bed of freshly fallen pine needles...

And it was warm enough he didn't even need his jacket.

Even the vines were just starting to go.

Multi-colored leaves in the lake...

Sunny leaves...

Showing off...

Conveniently back-lit.

Yes, a lovely-bright...

Early Autumn Camp Day.

But wait!

Something's different.

Now, it's grayer!

Now, the leaves are further along in changing!

And most noticeably, now...

More of them are on the ground!

Yes, early Autumn...

Quickly becomes later Autumn...

Green slowly starts...

To be harder to find...

And those vibrant colors...

Begin to dull out a little bit.

Because here at Camp...

There are really three stages of fall.

They are: 

Leaves start to change!

Leaves change!

Leaves are gone.

And that brings us back to today!

Where our dried and windblown leaves...

Are all on their way off the trees, invading every corner of the Camp grounds.

Except of course, for a few notable exceptions...

Who are still holding on tight...

Cause they also aren't ready for their Autumn to be this far along just yet.

Dates and Themes '17 - Exciting NEW Additions

When last we spoke (well, I typed and you read, but let's call it "spoke") you were left waiting in a state of pure suspense!

Yes, a cliff-hanger took place, knowledge was withheld, a question was still in the air...five of our seven Camp Themes for 2017 were announced, but what, oh what, were the remaining two mystery themes!?

Well wait no further, the enigma will haunt you no longer, for we will announce the themes for Sessions 4 and 5...right now!

Unless of course you've already stopped waiting because you got  tired of the suspense and scrolled past all this nonsense to get to the themes.

Which are directly below.

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Session 5: Broken Time Machine (July 31^st- August 5^th)

Well, we’ve gone all the way to the back of the maintenance shop, dusted off and hauled out the trusty Lindley G. Cook 4-H Camp Time Machine.  Sure, it’s been sitting idle in the back of the shop for a while, but we’re sure the ol’ thing still works just fine. This session, we’ll fire the ol’ contraption up and journey to all the great historic time periods, from the Stone Age to Ancient Rome to The Renaissance and off to the future and beyond. It’ll surely go great and exactly as expected, and we’ll get to and from all of our destinations with no issues or exciting mishaps what-so-ever. We mean, c’mon. There’s no way the time machine is broken or anything.  

Session 4: Holiday Everyday (July 24^th-29^th)

We’re bringing back a camper-favorite theme that we haven’t done in four seasons, Everyday’s a Holiday Week. (Which we’ve re-branded as the simpler, catchier, more word efficient: “Holiday Everyday”.) What happens during this week? Well to begin with, it’s pretty self-explanatory. There is a holiday everyday. (And some days there are many, many holidays.) At Camp we already cram a whole summer season into a single week of sleep-away Camp, so why not up the ante and fit an entire calendar year of celebration into Session #4. Common questions: Which day is a holiday? Everyday. What happens every day? A holiday. Are there any days that aren’t holidays? No. Every day is a holiday. There is a holiday everyday.

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We always say the themes at Camp are just a bit of flavor we throw into to spice up the classic Summer Camp experience we offer every week of sleep-away camp here at L.G. Cook. With these themes as the ground work, we already can't wait for all the zany fun and creative excitement that's going to be in store for us in Summer 2017.

Dates and Themes '17 - Returning Favorites

We warned you!

We warned you that October was indeed the time to START TALKING ABOUT SUMMER 2017, and it is now happening. (Granted, since it is 85 degrees outside right now you might be under the impression that not only is it time to start talking about next summer, but rather it actually already is next summer.)

Yes, it's happening right now, because we are announcing our DATES AND THEMES FOR SUMMER 2017. 

'Round these parts, if it ain't broke then we do not fix it, and a bunch of last year's themes were just TOO BIG OF HITS not to bring back for another go around in 2017.

As always, we're book-ending our season with two "classic Camp weeks" and we've shuffled around some of our all-time-camper-favorite themes to be the same ol' fun occurring during all different sessions than last season.

Session #1: Classic Camp 4^th of July – (July 3^rd-8^th)

We kick-off our summer season with a week of classic Camp. The week will include a 4^th of July celebration as only Camp can offer, a great array of tried-and-true All-Camp activities, as well as the excitement of being around for the very beginning of the 2017 Camp season. We anticipate a slightly lower enrollment this week than the rest of the summer, so it’s a great choice for campers who like a smaller Camp community or for any campers who are brand-new to L.G. Cook.

Session 2: Spy Week (July 10^th-15^th)

The saga continues as Spy Week returns for another summer! The fourth installment of the Camp Spy Week series will surely feature more exciting intrigue, top-secret code names, clues in need of decoding, mysteries to be solved and crises to be resolved. The Dark Agent is once again trying to seize our beloved summer camp, and there will be all new missions to be both foiled and accomplished. Like prior Spy Weeks, the 1951 Camp Spirit test just might need to be hauled out again to determine who at camp is friend and who is foe. (Disclaimer: we all wind up being friends.)

Session 3: Chaos! (July 17^th-22^nd)

For over ten years, Chaos week has become a mainstay of our season here at Camp. It’s near the middle of the summer and it’s at this point the staff seems to go just a little…off the deep end. A little crazy. A little nutty. A little wacky. A little…chaotic, if you will. As much as we try to keep things calm and orderly with our Wednesday Night “PrankBusters” activity, nothing can seem to curtail the unpredictable zaniness…until near the end of the week when we call in our resident Chaos Expert (a certain Evil Doctor) to preside over a Kangaroo Court and send the guiltiest counselors through his patented Chaos Machine. No one can ever tell exactly what Chaos Week will bring, but it’s a safe bet that some of the staff will end up covered in ice cream.

Session 6: Color Wars (August 7^th-12^th)

Color Wars. An American summer camp legend. Part Olympics, part group spirit rivalry, part all-in down-and-out full-day Camp competition, Color Wars is the ultimate in all-camp-games. Last season, Lindley G. Cook 4-H Camp took on this tradition like we never had before…with awesome, camper-thrilling, can’t-stop-talking-about-it legendary results. For Summer 2017, we’re going to double down on the Color Wars surprise-All-Camp-competition to ensure it’s one of the most exciting weeks of our campers’ summer. 

Session 7: S’moregasbord (August 14^th-19^th)

The traditional end of summer festival! For our final week of the summer we celebrate the fun we’ve had all season long by bringing back some of our favorite themes and activities from earlier in the year, as well as enjoying all the classic summer camp elements that make L.G. Cook great. S’moregasboad week also features a handful of end-of-summer-only events like our End-of-Season BBQ and the ceremonial launching of the Wish Boats. The last week of Camp for the summer is always a special one, so come join all the counselors and staff in wishing the 2017 season a fond farewell.

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But what about the missing two weeks!?

Why did we skip Sessions 4 and 5!?

Will there not be a Session 4 or 5!?!?

OF COURSE there will be a Session 4 and 5!

In fact, for Sessions 4 and 5 we've got two exciting themes that were not included in last season that we just can't wait to introduce for Summer 2017...

Well, that's not entirely accurate.

We actually can wait to introduce them.

We can wait all the way to the next blog post.

Time to start talkin' 'bout Summer '17!

Yes, I know! 

The warm weather from last summer is still going on right now! 

It's not even gone yet. 

I know.  Believe me. I know.  

But that doesn't change the fact that it is time, TIME TO START TALKING ABOUT SUMMER 2017!

Well. Almost time. 


I mean it's not time to start talking about Summer 2017 right now.

Not in this post anyway.

This is just the post where it's time to start talking about the fact that very soon it will be time start talking about Summer 2017! 

Yes, we'll be talking about the dates, talking about the themes, and talking about the new classes.

We just didn't want to jump into giving you all that exciting news without first warning you and giving you a chance to prepare. Which we now have.

So stay tuned!

And in the mean time, to make up for the fact we're forcing you to think about next summer already during the month October, here's an array of photos from today's beautiful autumn weather at 4-H Camp.

Yes, the trees didn't look like this when you were here this summer. 

The grass didn't look like this either. 

In fact, the trees didn't even look like this...

If you were here for our Fall Family Hike Day.

For it is now peak foliage season...

And Lakeside is covered in leaves.

And Joe is putting in the hard work to ensure that...

Our wonderful wooden amphitheater weathers the winter. 

And it's the very first fall...

For our Fishing Shed.

And for at least one of the four legged residents of Camp...

Autumns brings plenty of new sources of entertainment on the ground.

One of the great things about Fall is here is that every tree moves at exactly it's own pace...

Some just starting to change...

While others are finishing up...

Giving each day it's own unique, individual look...

Not to be repeated.

...Anybody who knows me shouldn't be surprised that I don't quite know how to work the panoramic camera feature.  Anyone who doesn't know me should be made aware that this is NOT the actual shape of our lake.