A Night in the Past: Fort Edmonton Sleepover!

 

My Guide Unit had a sleepover at Fort Edmonton a few weeks ago and it was a ton of fun! I took a lot of pictures and wanted to share a few with you!

(I think that is how all my posts have started lately- but I guess that is what happens when you do a lot of events and not a whole lot else!)

 

 

The Fort was almost eerie in the cold and quiet night. It is a truly different experience being there in the winter when there is no one else there. I really enjoyed myself!

 

 

The girls got to start of the night by making some bannock on a stick. It worked pretty well and they really enjoyed eating it right off the stick- classic Girl Guide move!

 

 

The Guides got to try their hand at beading with sinew and beads. I wish we got to do the traditional beading, but this was fun too!  

 

 

Our interpreter was fantastic. He had a very captive audience as he told fur trade tales by the glowing fire. We could have listened for hours.

 

 

The girls got to make a travois as a team and carry firewood from one end of the room to the other. I was really impressed with what they could do and I was shocked that none of them fell apart!

 

 

The lighting was just beautiful on Rowand House in the morning I couldn't resist to take a few shots.

 

 

We finished off our morning activities with a snowshoe romp through the park. These snowshoes were a lot harder to maneuver than the ones I used at the Groundhog Camp, but gave a huge appreciation for the people who had to use them to get around.

 

 

It was a great weekend event and even if it was a little bit pricey. I would definitely recommend it as it is a little bit different than your typical sleepover. The girls had a lot of fun and earned two interest badges! Snowshoeing and Provincial Heritage! Great job girls!

Groundhog Day Camp!

Last weekend I was lucky enough to go to camp with a Guide unit in my district and I wanted to share a few photos of my experience. This was the first Guiding event that I had my new camera so I took a ton of photos. It was a lot of fun! Enjoy!

There is nothing like starting a Guide Camp with a dance party! These girls were so much fun to camp with and their enthusiasm and joy were infectious!

This is the beautiful morning view from the deck of the building we were staying in. I had never stayed at this facility before so I really enjoyed trying something new. Plus this view was incredible!

One of the things I really enjoy about this unit is that they have a lot of traditions that they keep to, like flag raising every morning of camp. Even though it was chilly and a bit windy the girls tromped a horseshoe in the snow, sang O Canada and got day one of camp off to a great start!

One of the main parts of their program they were working on this weekend was their snowshoeing badge so we took a three hour "hike" down the trail. Now when I say hike- I mean for the girls; for me it was more of a try not to fall over and laugh it off when I trip over my own feet. You know that feeling when you know you are going down and there is nothing you can do about it? That was me 85% of the morning...

I love experimenting with light in photography- especially with my new camera (which I am in love with!) so I thought this shot of the frozen wetland was quite nice.

Nothing like the Guide Motto made of snow to make you smile! I like this a lot because it was the girl who went on a night hike's  idea to leave it as a surprise for the snowshoeing in the morning. It was cool to just stumble across it.

Cue Shannon wanting to capture the insane beauty of Alberta winters with a new camera (how many times have I said new camera so far?) Here are some trees... ooh ahh

Here are some pussy willows- it is not spring yet!

Here is an interesting cloud formation. Aren't you glad you are reading this right now? Hehe

Here is a little baby squirrel. He was so very cute I have a small photo shoot of him on my memory card. He was just so chubby and adorable. Too bad he is probably filled with diseases...

Here is some cool looking fungus on a stick. The red really stuck out in the snow and I thought it looked really neat!

The girls decorated the main room of the building with safety posters they had made at a meeting. This one was my favourite; it says "if the whistle blows, everyone goes!" I was pretty impressed with some of the slogans they came up with- some advertisers should get in contact with them for a campaign!

We were lucky enough to have a session on fire building with some of the program leaders who work out where we were staying. First everyone (including leaders!) worked on some knife safety and eventually ended up carving up a feather stick to use on a fire later on. I was very impressed with the girls in this activity and considering they had not really used knives before, the fact that everyone left with all of their fingers was a great success!

Most of the girls had never used a flint and steel before and they actually got a fires started with them which was fantastic! I left the session with a strong desire to get one of my own!

Here is the roaring fire we cooked bannock on for a tasty treat. I really enjoyed the session and learned a lot!

One of the traditions the unit has is to do a project each year so the first years make a pillow, the second years a blanket, and the third years a teddy bear. It was a lot of fun helping the girls make these no sew blankets. It does not take very long and it is a useful craft! (I am sure I will talk about my feelings on some crafts later on on this blog somewhere...)

It was one of the leaders birthday on Saturday so we of course had to have cake! It was delicious!

Here are the supplies for a classic camp hat craft. Any ideas what it is? Hint: look at the picture below...

The classic yarn/ toilet paper roll toque! This is a really easy craft that cannot not be messed up even if you try it is so simple. If you would like a quick tutorial let me know!

Overall I had a great weekend and I am thankful that I got to go to camp with these girls!

Thanks for inviting me!