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A model vacation weekend for a local church. August 20-22, 2004 The United Church of Christ at New Vernon, NY Member congregation of the Hudson Mohawk Association of the New York Conference of the United Church of Christ, ____________________________ Eight adults and eight children from New Vernon shared the first weekend vacation to be sponsored by the New Vernon church at Camp Medusa.
A picnic on Friday just managed to be prepared before the rains came. It was served in Fellowship Hall, while the rain extinguished the charcoal outside.
Millie Shoemaker, seated right above, who had been at camp as cook for one of the sessions this summer, organized the meals and supervised the kitchen, but everyone pitched in to help.
Daytime hours were open for sightseeing. There are many places nearby (see the links below this article) for personal and family outings. Saturday was also a rainy day, so the spaghetti dinner was a wise decision.. that could be prepared in the kitchen!
Each evening following dinner, a brief vespers service and a campfire constituted the program.
The Rev. Marian Shearer, Regional Conference Minister of the New York Conference of the United Church of Christ, delighted everyone with her songs, stories and games on Friday evening. Below, she leads children on a simulated "creek walk," pondering whether or not to jump into a swimming hole. They did!
At dinner, Marian announced, "In a little while we will be making a lot of noise." Immediately, a loud clap of thunder resounded through the camp. "Amen!," said the storm! She probably had this in mind:
The fireplace at Fellowship Hall was the center of much activity from early morning to late at night.
Between showers, and in the rain, hikes were taken to the creek, that the kids called the "river," and to the pond, that they called the "lake." Both were so swollen by the recent rains that they did indeed seem to merit those names. The rains also produced some colorful fungi on the woodland floor.
A nature walk at camp provided some interesting finds, even a slug on a burdock plant was noticed!
Dave Smith and Millie Shoemaker visited the Durham Center Museum, but everyone else stayed near the camp on Saturday. A big feature of the weekend had to do with hot air balloons. Anticipating the better weather on Sunday, the decision was made to stay at camp Saturday evening. The evening program was the digital projection of photos that Rev. and Mrs. Stiles had made at the 2002 International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, NM.
The real thing would be seen early the next morning, so everyone hit the hay early. Sunday morning promised to be sunny. At 5 a.m., the campers were awakened to prepare to go to the daybreak launching of the Great Northern Catskill Balloon Festival.
A prime viewing spot was taken at the edge of the launch site.
The first balloon is launched.
When the weekend came to an end, there was much talk of returning next year! ______________________________________________________ Links to attractions: Within a forty five minute drive, there are many attractions for day trips in the area of Camp Medusa, including: a water park http://www.zoomflume.com ,an established nature trail http://www.cyhaus.com/waterfalls/ ,caves http://www.howecaverns.com/ , http://www.secretcaverns.com/ ;a game farm http://www.catskillgamefarm.com/ ,a mountain skyride http://www.huntermtn.com(Be sure to check the Area Guide on the Hunter Mountain web site.) historic sites http://www.prattmuseum.com/history/PrattRocks.htm ; http://www.midtel.net/~iroquois/location.htm ; http://www.schohariehistory.net/OSF.htm ; http://www.gchistory.org/ ; http://www.uhls.org/NICHE/RvOnline.htm ;, and a hot air balloon festival http://www.greenville-ny.com/balloon.html .If the wind is right, some of the hot air balloons may well soar right over the camp and land nearby.
For those who merely want a quiet time with their friends and family, we have the woodland of our site, campfires, a fishing pond, and an outdoor chapel. The Ten Mile Creek provides a shallow, rocky stream for fossil hunting, and the roads around the hamlet of Medusa can be followed for short hikes to see mountain vistas.
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