Although I don't wish to write about the past three months in one post, I feel that I can't completely skip over my experience at Camp Ferncliff in Little Rock, AR as it was an amazing project and a wonderful time. In a nutshell, our team managed to demolish a cabin, route signs for trail-marking, repair the Shady Chute (a large and speedy tube slide), and build a multi-layer deck that overlooks one of the lakes at Ferncliff. Some highlights of this project include driving a backhoe, tractor and gator, using power tools on a daily basis, hiking camp trails, canoeing and paddle boating, and the discovery of Depression Fireworks just to name a few. Below is the link to a video/slideshow that I made as a reflection of my time there, as well as a shot of the team on our completed portion of the deck.
--> Ferncliff Video
And now, after a lovely two week Christmas vacation in Boise and one week back in Denver with the pals, Water 2 has moved on to its second Spike project at the Boys and Girls Club of Farmington, New Mexico! We had a one day drive from Denver Saturday and even had time to stop at the fascinating land of reptiles known as Colorado Gators where we held baby alligators, pet giant turtles, and observed piles of crocs and gators lounging about.
We are living on site this round, inside the boys and girls club, and since we arrived on a Saturday night we had the place to ourselves for the first 48 hours or so. We took full advantage of this situation by running around with all of the fantastic athletic equipment in the club's gym including scooters, basketballs, dodge balls, and lightsabers. Here's a couple shots of Jeff and Chris in battle...
We started working with the kids this week and so far it's been really fun! My teammate Erik and I are each going to be coaching our own 2nd and 3rd grade co-ed basketball teams as well as sharing a 4th and 5th grade girls team starting next week. I'm very excited to test out my coaching abilities and be back in the basketball community! I've also been asked to start a photography club/teach lessons with the kids. The building has its own darkroom and printing supplies so there is potential for some really cool lessons in film and printing if we can get it all going! The rest of the team will be organizing projects and activities around their personal interests as well to share with the kids. There is so much potential for creativity and fun that it is almost overwhelming!
Since we'll only be working with the kids from 3 to 6 everyday we'll also be doing projects in the mornings and evenings with some local non-profits through the United Way, though the specifics are still unknown.
We've had a great start to the project and I'm very excited for the next two months!
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