Facili-Trees and Port-o-Pines, The myth of our park bathrooms

Campers and students always ask the tough questions. One of the first is usually…Where do I go to the bathroom? Do I have to go into the woods? Well we have your answers! They might surprise you too. Our Park Is equipped with standard toilets, stalls to maintain your privacy, sinks to wash your hands, and dryers instead of paper towel to help keep our park clean. We have a huge bathhouse that surrounds all of these tech savvy waste disposal units. For those groups who adventure here for more than just the day, they will experience our showers as well as much more. Perfect pressure and heavenly hot water. Don’t forget about your own personal showering space. Oh it’s just like home, except for the memorable conversations and bathroom barter system that occurs for those who have come a little less prepared but with the help of their friends will not go without.  

-Ashley Suntheimer | Group Program Manager, 

 

Our family took a magical, adventurous, and once in a lifetime journey together to Arizona in December. One of the trip highlights was a descent into Glen Canyon. The hike was not for the timid and we took extra precautions throughout to “take risks” in a safe and controlled environment. Both subtle and obvious lessons emerged on that journey- equally powerful.

The first lesson for our teen girls was: Commitment creates stability. It took several practice attempts for them to realize that in order to gain stability from footing on sandstone, you had to resist the urge to use your hands for stability. Instead- by digging deep into your courage and committing your weight fully into your feet- you establish connection with the sandstone. The result? There is an amazing feeling of strength and that you have solid ground beneath you.

The second lesson came when we approached some of the set “anchors” along the descent.

This second lesson: Be your OWN anchor first.

It was very clear at this crossroads that we were to resist the urge to blindly accept this as our anchor. Instead- we were sure that we could count on our own footing and only make moves that we could maintain our own safety.
The most breathtaking section of the trip was when we approached this cable and after some investigation by mom and dad- we decided to live our family mantra and lesson #3: If you’re not living life on the edge, you may be taking up too much room!

Lesson #4: The best gifts may be those you cannot wrap. The hike out was our best family gift of 2014 and was filled with moments to open over and over again. We took the “path less traveled” and this proved to create an adventure, a family memory, and a set of mantras and lessons to draw from as we go through life’s challenges and rewards together.

Lesson #5: The best connections are from nature, not WIFI. We spent 5.5 hours on this journey as a family and when we did “find the car”, we treasured the fact that we did not see a single person the entire time- only us- the crazy, loving Birch family…

 

We are getting both sad and excited around here. Friday November 21st is just two weeks away and it marks the last day of our 2014 program season. We break the week before Thanksgiving so that our staff have the opportunity to spend the holiday at home. Our staff travel far and wide to, places as far as California, Michigan, Florida, and Vermont. Our staff are the faces and soul of Adventure Links and we will miss this year’s crew when they leave for the winter.

That is the sad part, the exciting part is that Monday, December 1st is the opening of registration for Summer Camp 2015. After we have devoured our turkey dinners, shopped our hearts out on Black Friday, and rested up and traveled home over the weekend, we will already be looking towards 2015. We are extremely excited for what is going to be an amazing summer, and we look forward to hiring and planning out the final details this winter and spring.

Make sure to check out our website as we get closer to registration for the posting of the 2015 schedule.

Camp Navigator has featured our Summer Camp Director Mark Diedering in their latest issue. Marks asks and answers the top questions you should ask when choosing an adventure camp. Check out the article here.

 

Camp Navigator also phone interviewed Mark with some basic questions about Adventure Links’ Summer camp. You can hear the interview by clicking here. We are excited to not only offer summer camps to the DC Metro area, but to offer our experiences and advice for parents looking for the right summer option for their children.

Have any other questions? Want more information about Adventure Links? Contact Mark at info@adventurelinks.net

 

Here at Hemlock Overlook winters can be beautiful, they can also be long. While we have programming options that work most of the year, many of our programming options require warmer weather. Activities such as Rock Climbing, Caving, Kayaking, Sailing, Watershed Studies, and Ecology Lessons require warm weather, trees with leaves and unfrozen rivers. So we use the winter season to prepare for the epic three seasons of outdoor adventure, education, and fun. Take a look at some of the photos below to enjoy the beauty winter can bring, and check out our video of why we are ready for some Spring Adventures. What will your Spring Adventure be?