The comment was made that every year we have Camp Wrinkle they just don't know how we can top what they have just experienced. Well, they continued, "You have. This was a 'BLAST'!"
Unfortunately we weren't able to take as many people this year. We weren't able to get another bus. I believe we could fill many buses with Camp Wrinkle fans. The fortunate thing was everyone played until they dropped.
Camp Wrinkle is an annual activity that we do in June. A week of Camp fun. We don't camp out. Our activities get us out of the building to explore and let our hair down. A picture is worth a thousand words. If you look on this blog (website) you will see Photos of our Patrons located on the right hand side. If you click there, you will see many active seniors and Camp Wrinkle. Look for Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5. These are the files for this article.
Click on image to enlarge
Our first Camp Wrinkle in 2001 was Linda Anderson's idea. She was the manager at that time. We are in our eleventh year. Time flies when you're having fun.
The first day started off at Planet Play. The children of our patrons were not there. Everyone let loose and turned by the clock on the years of their lives. They were young and full of energy.
If you think that seniors can't drive, they would have blown you off of this track. The operator of the track said they were more exciting to watch than any of the kids that come in. So what do you think of that one? There is something to be said for experience.
Good news, no one lost their dentures on this one. They really had a ride, holding on tight to the handles.
Sure, this picture isn't in focus. Look how tough they are. You're heart couldn't have handled this tough group in laser tags. It was the first time for most of them.
I hope that he knew this was only a game. He looks pretty intent on shooting something.
They could eat as much as they wanted to, as often as they wanted to.
See what I mean about being young?
The second day was at Hill Air force Museum. Knowing many of our people touring the museum had been in the wars, it became a personal event for them.
Day three we traveled to Washington Park. There were games, food, and a youthful attitude. Well, you could say, we just goofed off. This is my favorite day. I believe it is for many of our patrons too. What a treat to get out of the busy city for a while. The opportunity came where I asked everyone to quiet
down so they could hear all the nature calls around us. As soon as they were quiet, I bellowed out a Tarzan call. That was so fun. They didn't see that one coming. One of the perks of working in parks and recreation is the people allow the staff to have fun too.
We want to thank Scott for cooking for the seniors. He gets a long with everyone and fits right in. Scott saved their lives. . . they didn't have to worry about eating my cooking.
Staff - Eileen Pryor, Virginia Shay, Danna Polad, Charleen Walker and the Manager, Zenda Rogers. It may look like we were going to punch someone. No worries, we were doing our yes cheer.
David Walker was so good to make a Frisbee Golf game. I don't think that we will try out for the flying UFO convention demos.
The next day, day four was a buffet, entertainment, and the pajama party.
David Walker and Judy Slaughter did a Michael Jackson dance to his song Billy Jean. It was a hoot. We found a clip on YouTube and patterened it after it. They did great with the Moonwalk step.
Robin Arnold was a smash hit. He can sing a big variety of music. The ladies were secretly starting a raffle for winning the right to take him home until he unveiled the fact that he is married. He broke a few hearts.
At the pajama party everyone came in their jammies. All the couches and winged back comfort chairs were moved into the cafeteria. Everyone ate their dinner and snacked on goodies as they watched the movie "A Blast From The Past".
Keeping on track we jumped onto the Trax then transfered onto the Front Runner. Our destination was Ogden's Union Station museum. Inside the museum were trains, old fashioned cars, and a gun display. The restaurant's food was scrumptious.
It's easy to see everyone is wearing down. The energy level is lower toward the end of the day and week. What a treat it has been to explore and play with these young seniors. My wish is that it would have been nice to have you there too.
After leaving the museum we missed the Front Runner by about three minutes. That left us with around 40 Camp Wrinkle people waiting on the top level of the train for an hour. I told them camp stories, we sang camp songs, and some told jokes. As others were boarding the train most kept the top level to our group. One teenage boy was holding up his phone, recording the event. I'm sure he was telling his buddies about us. Just before the train started out the train employee told us that we were not on a school bus and we needed to pipe down. There were others to consider on the train. Oh well, we got an hour of fun on the train before they said anything.
Our cheer for the week went like this. . . The message was shouted out, and then the group would repeat the message.
We chanted this all week long. This is one of the songs we sing every year.
Camp Wrinkle is a bonding time. Making new buddies and finding out more about the old ones. So before I close this article, let us cheer one more "Yes!"
