Camp Geiger - Sat. June 18 - 10:41 p.m.

As night falls here in Missouri, the rest of our tribe boards the buses back in Flower Mound and heads toward camp. We are all settled in here - tents are up, the truck is mostly unpacked - and now we're just reacquainting ourselves with the bugs, the crickets and the stars. The sky is always so dark here at night without the light pollution from nearby big cities. Our conversations quickly turn to what it must have been like for early settlers like Lewis and Clark who rolled through this very area when their provisions were way more primitive than ours. We also think of the soldiers serving overseas who live for 18 months or more in what we "endure" for a week. We are blessed on many fronts.

As we pulled into camp tonight, we were greeted by Dave Thomas, a long time camper and staffer at Camp Geiger. Notice his necklace. Every year we come to Geiger as a camper, we receive a set of round beads to put on the leather cord that holds our claws. Those staffing the camp get a square bead for each summer they attend. If you notice Dave's beads, they surround his neck to the point you can't even see the square beads for when he staffed. There are many here who have that kind of experience and it is a reminder what a special place this is for so many.

After we checked in with Dave, we got the van unloaded as quickly as we could so we could head to dinner. If you ever want to know how much a 24 foot truck will hold, load and unload it. Lots of stuff!

Next, the boys were on to picking their tents - one of the perks of riding up in the vans to help prep camp for everyone coming tomorrow. Alex picked out a nice one at the top of the ridge as did all the others. Funny how some of them scurry to grab the exact tent they had last year or the year before. Then again, you'll find the adults in their same spots too. At this point, there is a wonderful familiarity to this place.

After the tents were set up, we ran to the "restaurant row" of St. Joe, a fairly new area really, and grabbed our last "real" meal of the week at Buffalo Wild Wings before a quick trip to Wal-Mart to get the batteries, sunglasses and fans that we left back in Flower Mound in our haste to pack. Tomorrow morning, we will wake with the sun, head out for a quick breakfast at Bob Evans and then head back to welcome the boys before noon.

For now, the moon shines down on the Koonce Hilton as well as the other lowlier tents that lie in its shadow and we give thanks - thanks for a safe trip here, thanks for the 68 degree sleeping weather, thanks for the chance to spend what is certainly one of the best weeks of the year with our boys and added prayers for the bus on its way here.