By: Meridian 4th Graders
We had a great time at Camp Orkila! We took a ferry to get there, and stopped at Lopez and Shaw Island before we finally got to Orcas. We enjoyed being at the front of the boat–it was windy and awesome. We were looking into the water for ocean creatures. Some of us were trying to see jellyfish, but all we saw were schools of regular fish. The roaring wind was definitely the best part of the ferry ride!
There were so many exciting things to do at Camp Orkila…it’s hard to keep track of them all. We learned survival skills like archery, rock climbing, how to build a lean-to shelter, and more. We also went on a zip line and played gaga ball (if you don’t know what it is, look it up!). There was free time every day before dinner and we could do art, go boating, or just play games as a group. At night there were fun activities like dancing contests and campfire songs!
We learned more than we thought we would on the trip! It’s definitely a lot different than school because you’re spending so much time together (sometimes it’s hard to be quiet after lights out because all your friends are there)! One of the best parts of the whole trip was stargazing and seeing stars you can’t normally see from Seattle. The sky looked like salt spilled over a table.
Two pieces of advice that we’d give to next year’s fourth graders are 1. remember to bring a sweater and flashlight for night games and 2. don’t be scared of the zipline! Just go for it and you’ll have lots of fun!
