Here is Annika O’Steen’s summary of the annual Peace camping weekend at Camp Calumet in New Hampshire.

I am here to give those of you who might have not gone to Calumet this year a little recap of what happened so that you can catch up, or be more encouraged to go next year.
Calumet has always been such a fun experience for everyone, no matter your age. This year we had about nine families come that are connected to Peace. People stayed in cabins by the water, tents, trailers, and in rooms at the conference center. This year, the campers weren’t able to be in their usual spots because it had been such a wet spring that the campsites were too soggy. My family relocated to near the volleyball and badminton net, which I really enjoyed. When Pastor Jeff and Ms. Johnson arrived on Friday night, they found Mr. Ho desperately trying to keep a tiny little flame alive since the firewood was so wet. But, later when they visited the Vogt’s campsite, they found Teddy making a fire with a blowtorch. There sure are lots of interesting ways to solve problems at Calumet!
Most people had all their meals at the conference center, hot and ready three times a day, while some kept it old school and cooked on the fires at their campsite; whatever floats your boat. At breakfast, Ms. Vogt discovered the peeled grapefruit that my dad and I consider a personal favorite. But, the waffles at brunch are really good too. After some meals, kids and parents would go and hang out in the game room which is in the basement of the conference center, and have a blast. There is ping pong, air hockey, foosball, and my new personal favorite option, pool. The game room is a great place for family bonding, and for the kids to have fun competing against each other, while the dads face off in an ultimate battle of pool. Church was in the Lakeside Dining Hall again this year, which some of us were disappointed about because we prefer being down by the water in the old building known as Luther Hall.

Some other fun things that Calumet hosted this year were the annual bonfire on the beach with the ice cream social and trivia night. Although, most of us decided against going to the bonfire because this year it would be indoors, and who likes an indoor bonfire? So, we had our own group fire after trivia and ice cream. Trivia is one activity that we all seem to look forward to and last year we were all on one team known as the Pink Fluffy Unicorns, and we won! But this time, half of us split away so that we became two teams and we had to battle against each other. The Cuddly Porcupines just beat the Purple Chubby Monkeys by a few points, which were both teams of Peace members if you weren’t there. We got pretty competitive.
Some people also did things outside of the campgrounds and went other places. For example, some people went to a ropes course, some went horseback riding in the hills, and some went on a hike up and over Jackman’s Ridge. Lots of people also enjoyed spending time at the beach in the warm sun during the day. But no matter what we did, it was all so much fun. Every night ended with my brother, Erik, making an amazing fire in spite of the wet wood. We would all sit around, chat about random stuff, and make delicious s’mores. It was always a great way to end each fun filled day.

This year the weather was very nice, it wasn’t overly buggy, and there was only a little sprinkle of rain on the first day, but otherwise it was always sunny. The average temperature was about 70 degrees, and cool at night. There was a lot less pollen in the air, unlike previous years when some spots along the shoreline resembled green swamp water! It was about the best weather that we’ve had in years.

Many of us came home with an armful of new Calumet apparel that should last us until next year when we can do it all over again, hopefully with more of you. Like my new sweatshirt?