Taum Sauk Memories

As many of you know I, along with numerous others, are very fond of a special little place in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri.  A place I have spent many memorable summers with friends that have spanned decades from cabin mates to fellow staff members to forever friends.  This special little place is located in Lesterville, Missouri and more specifically is Camp Taum Sauk.  I've been receiving updates lately from camp friends and it has gotten me thinking about some of my favorite camp moments over the years.  So here goes...in no particular order some of my favorite times:

1) My first Staff Week Mystery Date party listening to the classic "Nurse Speech".  I knew at that point I had picked the perfect summer job!

2) An overnight at The Farm with the Honky cabin when Kelly was a camper and Megan was the other Honky counselor and after the girls went to bed we started a dance party in the living room standing on all the chairs.  One by one the girls came downstairs to see all the counselors on top of the chairs dancing and they all joined in for a good 30 minutes dancing and singing at the top of our lungs!

3) Another overnight at The Farm when Clarissa was deathly ill...but hanging in there none the less.  And I was cooking dinner with Lexi and I can't remember who else.  Dinner was late as I'm sure we took a crazy long time to float to Kyle's Bluff and the campers were all STARVING.  We were preparing as fast as we could while still having fun in the kitchen, we prepared the whole chicken tetrazzini meal and while bringing it out to the girls realized we forgot to add the chicken to the meal :).

4) The infamous night at Vespers with the juice pot and Carrie Berry's creation.  I am fairly certain not one participant left that night with all their dignity in tact.

5) Katie Berry's best line ever: "Girls...this is what happens when you eat bad mayonnaise..."

6) 1am pontoon rendezvous with my "lover" via the camp trial.

7) My fabulous camp wedding organized by Clarissa and friends when I had to leave early to get married.

8) Alain and Nathan being the hottest Hot Cops ever for Clarissa on her special evening.  They put on quite the show...

9) A gasp of shock from our favorite counselor when she was assigned the youngest girl's cabin..."WHHHAAT!?!?"  And of course:  "WEEENIE RIGHT...WEEENIE RIGHT...WEEENIE RIGHT!"

10) Nights at the local bar with the girls and Marty...Lesterville brings out the finest!

11) I was on a K-Bridge canoe float with a group of campers and was watching a boat that was being particularly obnoxious throughout the whole float (and K-Bridge is a 13 mile float).  And as we're just getting through a section of rapids the kids were goofing off and had turned their boat around backwards and weren't paying any attention.  I started to give them instructions to turn their boat, but stopped as I saw what was about to happen.  There was a large log sticking out of the water they were about to hit.  They weren't paying a bit of attention so I let fate step in.  They ran into the log and both flipped backwards off their seats.  Karma can be so sweet.  No worries, neither were hurt...sometimes life teaches the best lessons!

12) Butt Rot Monday with Jason Brightfield when it was 105 degrees and every activity was on the water.  And not only was it Butt Rot Monday, there was a sign on Capaha with balloon butt cheeks to go with it.  Jason was so fabulous.  "Ring that bell!!!"

13) And lastly, though I could honestly go on for days about favorite memories from camp, my all time favorite night at camp from all 6 years included the following events: Sitting quietly on the tennis courts listening to people's conversations when they weren't paying enough attention to know they had an audience.  Watching events transpire between a budding couple with fire cracker noise makers, flipping on lights in the staff lounge, scoping out the camp vans, chasing skunks through the grounds and finally using the infamous spotlight to watch staff scatter to their cabins.  I don't know that I have ever laughed so hard in my entire life. To my partners in crime...will there ever be a time to reveal that fun little secret?

Taum Sauk is a special place that holds some of my favorite memories and will always feel like home to me.  What are some of YOUR favorite memories...it's always fun to reminisce.