Thanks for the pics Joel...

Here are some great pics from one of our long time guests. Joel is part of the Yorkville HS group(now Newark HS), which is organized by Jim Still, also a long time Black Bear guest. This group is so much fun to have in camp every summer. If you are a loyal blogger then you have surely read about this group and the excitement and energy they bring to our camp. At the start of their trip they divide their group into fishing teams and they keep a detailed tally of all fish caught for their perspective teams. Most fish wins. Of course there is also prizes for biggest fish of each species and most fish caught by an individual. They also have a very competitive Derby Day, where two man(woman) teams are paired up at random and challenge for the most fish caught during that one day. And lets not forget about the hats...at the end of each day of fishing, the entire group gathers in the main lodge for nightly meetings where fish tallies are logged and stories are shared. The fishermen or women with the best fish (or least fish) for the day will be required to wear a "special" hat for the next days fishing. Blaze orange hats for the guests with the best catches and either a Turtle or fuzzy Bear hat to the less fortunate anglers. Anyone spotted without their hat on gets thrown in the lake.
Oh, and then there is Hawaiian day. One day during the week the entire camp looks like a Jimmy Buffett concert. All guests are dressed in colorful Hawaiian attire (shirts, grass skirts, lays and hats).
As you can image, our guests are easily noticed on the lake throughout this day.

But my favorite thing about this group is the friendship and camaraderie they share among themselves. I have watched many of these kids grow into amazing young adults. The stories they share with each other at their nightly meetings, and the help and encouragement they give each other is awesome to see. And the adults and parents that accompany the students are just as amazing. They go above and beyond to make sure each kid has a good trip and is able to find some fish. Of course as the years have gone by, these young kids are starting to out-fish some of the adults now.

Oh, did I mention that this group can fish...you better believe it! Their group totals are routinely in the thousands not the hundreds. And thanks to Joel, I will prove this fact yet again with just a few more pics. Thanks Joel!!