i like camping...

I never went to camp as a kid, so I'm making up for lost time. In 1986, I was a counselor at Camp Buckskin near Ely, MN, in the Superior National Forest. On swampy Lake McDougal, about 150 kids, ages 6-18 had a good time, and still do. Then in 1992, I led trips for Camp Sealth -- a 400-acre coed residential camp on Vashon Island near Seattle, serving 7-16 year olds (300-400 at a time). Beautiful place, lots of nice Douglas firs and icky jellyfish.

In 1993, a wonderful friend told me about Eden (aka Flying Moose Lodge), and I've been hooked ever since. I tried to kick the habit in 1995 by substituting the corporate world of Honeywell and a trek to the Rainbow Gathering in New Mexico. It didn't work. I quit my job and went back to school (UW-Eau Claire, UW-Madison) to focus on experiential education.

...what is Flying Moose Lodge?

Unlike those other Moose Lodges, Flying Moose Lodge has no secret hoofshakes, no secret Moose bellows, or antler locks. Just 47 boys and 13-15 counselors and a few other staff folk (like me) who, since 1921, have loved:

• crystal pure Craig Pond water
• loonlit nights
• living without phone or electricity for a summer
• building and using cedar and canvas canoes
• sleeping in tents
• cooking our own food over campfires
• hiking, biking, or canoeing four days a week

It's a place that makes those other (good in their own right) camps seem really lame in comparison. Of course, I'm biased. I'm sick. I've got MoosePox.