Camp Wawona, Part XI

On Friday morning, I finally hit that elusive bull's-eye I had been trying for several weeks to achieve--twice in a row. This put me into a good mood for the rest of the day, especially when we put out a lavish presentation for dinner, with tablecloths for a change and curry, also for a change. We lit candles for it, giving the campers a proper send-off for the Sabbath. Our last passion play of the summer was even more powerful than ever before. This time, the entire staff sang to the campers as they slowly made their way back to their cabins.

Sabbath afternoon was spent packing to move from Lodge Room 8 to Miwok, a cabin halfway up the hill. It was so sad to take down all the posters Megan and I had worked so hard to create--the heraldry, the ongoing story, the list of words I wasn't allowed to say in her presence, and the welcome back sign she had made for me when I returned from my journey home. The last campfire of the summer was jolly good fun, even including a new skit or two. On my way back from this, some girls tried to use me to play a prank on some of the boys' cabins, and their counselor and I slyly prevented it from happening, to our combined glee. I returned to my room late, but laughing my head off at the intricate plan we had just squashed.

Never has there been such a hectic day of housekeeping as the day that followed. By the end of it, I had worked 6 of my 9 hours in housekeeping. As you can imagine, I was very happy when I got off duty and was able to move into my new home in Miwok. Being the only one who wanted to deal with the stairs, I got the entire loft of it to myself. I decorated it nicely, and one of my windows gives me a view of Wawona Dome. When I returned to work, I burned my arm badly when, as I was carrying the rice out to the hot deck, a door jostled my arm and it stuck to the pan, searing the flesh. The pain of that mingled with the pain of parting with Megan and Brittania, who left that night.

After stopping for bandages at Medical, I was the first non-supervisor to clock in at 6:45 AM the next morning. The scant three of us who were working somehow pulled off breakfast, working frantically to our best abilities and pulling in anyone who showed the slightest sign of wishing to volunteer. It was the beginning of a very long, tiring day whose end I was glad to see when I was also the last non-supervisor to clock out.

The next day was, fortunately, not so bad. Grinning evilly from ear to ear, I took one of those nasty Fuji apples that have been sitting in the back of the fridge since before I came here and walked up to Archery, where I found just one lone girl practicing and the archery director. We had a good time shooting at the apple; after trying fruitlessly to get it from the far target, I finally put it on the lower hay bale of the closer one, and actually managed to hit it straight through the center, so that I actually had to pull it off the arrow. That was very emotionally satisfying after the frustration of the last few days, and became the bright spot of that one. By the time I emerged from the kitchen that night, I was exhausted, hungry, and shivering in the cold of the evening.

But yesterday, the morning came with hope and anticipation as I awaited my aunt and uncle's arrival. When I saw them around noon, I embraced them and they took me to lunch at the Wawona Hotel, the fine fare there a welcome change from the camp food. Then, we made our way to our trail head, and into the woods we went, talking and merrily passing the time as we ventured off the trail and did some cross-country hiking to reach the top of Basket Dome. There, we had a spectacular view of Half Dome as we ate a delicious dinner and took photos of the sunset. My aunt even gave me a brief lesson in watercolors--my painting looked a bit silly, but her's was beautiful. We rolled out our sleeping bags beneath the stars and had a great view of the Perseus Meteor Shower as we shared stories and jokes into the evening.

We watched the sun rise over Half Dome, casting about its brilliant rays, then we hiked out gear over to North Dome, where we ate breakfast--a mandatory feast, as we did not wish to pack out all of our food. I ate so much hummus, it felt like wet cement in my stomach as we made our way down the trail. We also saw the only natural stone arch above water in the park--a beautiful rock feature. We enjoyed lunch at a grill on the way out, and I bade my aunt and uncle good-bye after they dropped me off here at Wawona. This expedition was one of the timeliest, most memorable, enjoyable experiences of the summer, and I am truly grateful to them.

I am also grateful to all my readers--this posting marks a record for Jillian's Journeys. There are now over 100 subscribers, a number I had never anticipated when I started these letters a summer ago to a group of concerned friends and family who were having a hard time keeping track of what state I was in. Thank you if you have been with me on this journey all along, and if you are a new subscriber, I hope you truly enjoy it.