Team & Camper Blog


June 2010

Camper offers his poetic reflection on the Legendary experience

Across the Lake

By Clay

I can be myself with no fear
Don't have to worry if I shed a tear
No one there making fun of you
The feelings you feel are real and true
God in every aspect of your life
Not forcing those who don't fit in to flee strife
Holy Spirit present in every person's soul
Filling up your emptiness making you whole
Away from the world in a beautiful place
Able to open up and see God's face
Everyone is equal no person is greater
God is the Almighty power and creator
I miss my family but find comfort in my friends
I wish this wonderful week never ends
But now it is Friday and it is time to go
Taking across the lake the new things we know
It seems so long until next summer
Waiting that long is such a bummer
I miss it already and I haven't even left
But I am sure of this you can bet
That my new faith will not break
Because of the things I have learned across the lake.

Clay was a camper at Legendary Lodge during the 2009 season.



February 2010

Counselor reflects on LL from the other side of the BIG pond

The Counselor List

By Ali Dombrouski... Go Torreros!

Since the top ten/seven list theme seems to be pervading the Legendary Lodge blog website, I will have to adhere to such guidelines. I’m currently living in Madrid, Spain, for the spring semester and have found myself thinking more and more about the Lodge. I’m assuming this cyclic thought process is intricately connected to my slight Montana homesickness. Since LL is a huge part of my life in Montana, it only seems natural that memories of last summer constantly circulate in my head. So I’ve decided to gather my thoughts…and upon further analysis I’ve narrowed them down to the top ten elements found at camp that we counselors miss most (or maybe it’s just me…).

10) Coffee Addiction – Sure addiction has a negative connotation to it. But when thought about in terms of coffee at the Lodge, all pessimistic views shuffle aside. I was never a big coffee drinker myself, until the caffeinated wonder of this grounded bean was revealed to me this summer. It’s hard to explain, but there is something so cool about being in a half daze from telling three too many ghost stories the night before, and then undergoing the transformation that ensues from a simple sip of that liquid-brown gold. Plus, the rotation of all the interesting coffee cups that the Lodge has accumulated throughout the years keeps your coffee drinking experience fresh.

9) Making Friendship Bracelets – If you had asked me at the end of the summer for a friendship bracelet I might have choked on my grilled cheese sandwich in utter contempt. When one of your only workshop talents is making those darn things, it should come as no surprise that after eight straight weeks making knots with strings grows somewhat tiresome. However, five or so months after the fact, I find myself itching to make one. I don’t know what it is, but people from California find it SO crafty that I can create such an art form. So while at camp it may seem like making friendship bracelets is the norm, the outside world has not seen such innovativeness since sliced bread.

8) Caboose on the Hike – During my camper days, I was definitely one of those brats who wanted to prove my athletic abilities by nearly running up the mountain on Tuesday morning. Even my first year as a counselor was spent towards the beginning of the hike line. However, this past summer I have come to appreciate the end of the line and its constituents. There is something raw and real about being with a camper or counselor who needs to take their time in reaching the top of the mountain. You begin to better understand how much of a triumph it is to finally plateau onto the sight of that white cross, marking the end of what was.

7) Free Time – I believe that LL does a pretty darn good job of balancing structured activity with the much needed concept of free time. It really is quite free. There is nothing like having an obligation-less period block. Swim, play basketball, meet new people, eat candy, canoe, skip rocks, reflect, play ping-pong, find small animals, pick flowers, chat with friends, hula hoop, play cards, make crafts, write letters, listen to music in Eagles Nest, play foosball, shower, pray, I mean…the possibilities are literally endless. No conflicting engagements, no previous commitments, just good ol’ free time.

6) Dressing Up – I do not consider myself to be funny, usually I just try too hard and the fruitless effects of such efforts are what people laugh at. But after this summer I think I can put myself in the “mildly comical category,” simply because of the practice time. Though my range is somewhat limited (I can do cheerleaders, beauty queens, librarians, and tooth fairies), I believe that my time spent as Diddly McDoodle or Conan’s lousy intern was well worth it. I don’t think there’s another job out there that requires its employees to adopt such a lifestyle of impromptu-ness…except for actors on Who’s Line Is It Anyway. Of course I’m completely embarrassed while adopting such personas, but I am so completely alive at the same time. In fact, the times I have dressed up as one thing or another are the memories that burn most vividly in my mind.

5) Not Showering – Until the past summer I was one of those germaphobes who showered at least twice a day. But at the Lodge, what you look like has very little to do with what you do up there or how people treat you. I hate to fall victim unto my college environment…but southern California is not a place where you’re appreciated solely for your insides, quite the opposite in all reality. So for me, to jump from SoCal fashion to MT grunge is a gap that I often fall short of. However, summer 2009 taught me the beauty of crawling into a sleeping bag that hasn’t been washed in two weeks with dirty feet and face paint still stuck in my eyebrows. If you don’t care, then no one else does. So just don’t care, dudes.

4) Silent Mornings – When I was first told that the counselors would be spending each morning in 15 minutes of silence, all I could think about were those precious moments of sleep being lost. What a Debbie Downer I was. However, after only a week of experiencing what silence did for my faith, I became a silent junkie. I read a fabulous book called Poustinia, which you all should read if you get a chance. I was dedicated to my journal writing, and prayed like I have never prayed before in my life. The consistency of such a practice cannot be matched in any other way. To be blunt, it is a complete necessity. Simply writing this has inspired me to find more time to say nothing and listen more.

3) LL Mass – Daily Mass is usually not my cup of tea, but if USD offered masses like the ones at the Lodge every day I would be slurping that tea up and away! Father Mark is the man. No way around that. But beyond his eloquence and open approach to the Catholic faith is the surrounding environment. Receiving Christ on top of a mountain, after a fresh summer rain, while listening to E-Con jam on the guitar is just so…right. You forget that that your bum hurts from protruding rocks, you forget that your legs are cramped from sitting crossed-legged, and you forget that a good-sized bee is buzzing around your noggin. You forget all that stuff because you are one with the Creator and the Created, which is what Mass is all about.

2) Guest Appearances – The volunteer counselors are the chocolate chips in the cookies of camp! Of course I love the “paid” staff, but the fresh faces that arrive every Sunday morning keep us all sane. The only way to give proper credit to these individuals is through a stream of conscious reel of memories… Shane’s squirrel story during morning meeting, Fanny’s bear impersonations, Nichole’s blonde hair and braiding skills, Pumpkin and his perfect geek persona, Wad’s orange Brady Quinn T-shirt, Sammy’s stellar dance moves, Lindsey’s hair dying abilities, Stephanie MANsanti’s muscles, Heidi’s mountain top singing, Drew is a real live fighter pilot, plus the rest of you wonderful people!

1) Thou Mayest – John Steinbeck’s East of Eden has the perfect passage in explaining what counselors, and I would venture to say, most members of the LL family miss about that place. The whole scene in which this excerpt takes place in is in reference to the story of Cain and Abel, so brush up if you need to…

“The King James version says this – it is when Jehovah has asked Cain why he is angry. Jehovah says, ‘If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.’ It was the ‘thou shalt’ that struck me, because it was a promise that Cain would conquer sin… Then I got a copy of the American Standard Bible. And it was different in this passage. It says, ‘Do thou rule over him.’ Now this is very different. This is not a promise, it is an order. And I began to stew about it. I wondered what the original word of the original writer had been that these very different translations could be made… And this was the gold from my mining: ‘Thou Mayest.’ The American Standard translation orders men to triumph over sin, and you can call sin ignorance. The King James translation makes a promise in ‘Thou shalt,’ meaning that men will surely triumph over sin. But the Hebrew word, the word timshel – ‘Thou mayest’ – that gives a choice… Why, that makes man great, that gives him stature with the gods, for in his weakness and filth and his murder of his brother he has still the great choice. He can choose his course and fight it through and win.”

SO…what that all boils down to is that we humans have been given the gift of choice by God. And LL is a place where making the right choice is simple, potently simple. Not much more needs to be said because the choices that present themselves at the Lodge come with the clear-cut answers. But after leaving those sacred grounds, the choices multiply tenfold and the answers are vague at best. And we all struggle with that transition. So while this list ends with what I, as a counselor, miss most about LL…it’s also a call back to our summer senses.

Reflect on what you know and love about Legendary Lodge and after some time it will become clear that…thou mayest.



January 2010

First-time camper reflects on Legendary Lodge

Year One

by Isabelle

Feb. 2, 2009 ~ Camp Director & my cousin Colleen Dunne calls while we’re at Walmart. She tells us that camp registration started the day before & at least 40 of the 90 spots are full & if I’m going, I need to register soon. We call my dad & he registers me. We call my cousin Bailey & her parents register her.

Feb. 3 2009 – the last week of July ~ I’m super super exited about going up to the Lodge for the first time ( I finally think of myself as a “Big Kid” as I have 10 older cousins & 6 of them had been to camp there, one to Leadership camp, two were counselors one was going to be a volunteer at my camp) & thought about it all the time.

Weekend before camp ( last weekend in July) ~ I pay a visit to Legendary & love it!!!!!

August 2, 2009~ My mom, my sister & I drive up to the Lodge. We wait in a long line with my cousin Bailey & her family & then make that life changing boat trip across the lake. When we get there, we get our Camper Numbers & go inside the lodge to give health info & get our t-shirts & name badges. We then find bunks & “make the beds” & put our luggage by our bunks. We then walk around camp & meet some counselors & new people. At about 5:00 the bell rings for the parents to leave. I gave several goodbyes then headed to Eagle’s Nest to learn about camp.

August 2 – 7 2009 ~ I have a great week of new friends, small groups, workshops, secret sisters, capture the flag, polar-bearing, washerboards, cabin time, Masses, hiking, swimming, big game, skit night, praying & singing, learning about God & so much more!!!!!!! I met so many new people & learned that my duty was to go back across the lake & teach everyone about the Kingdom.

August 7, 2009~ We get up early & pack, clean, & haul our stuff down to the dock. We take the boats back across & Colleen, Fr. Marc, & the counselors talk to everyone. Then all the campers sing. We drive home.

So, that’s my first adventure at Legendary Lodge in a few words! I could write a more detailed account but that would take at least ten pages. My top ten favorite things (in no order) were:

  • 10. Polar bearing or any swimming. Polar bearing is when some campers wake up early & jump into the freezing cold lake for no real reason. Our entire cabin except one did it one morning.
  • 9. Big Game. On the first night of camp, we had to write the top three things we were excited about & one girl wrote big game. Well, I assumed that was some kind of sports activity & boy was I in for a surprise when I found out it was a mystery game!!
  • 8. Skit night. Skit night is when campers & counselors perform skits of any kind. It’s fun to watch & perform in skits.
  • 7. Workshops. Three or four days during the week, we sign up for cool or crazy workshops to do in the afternoon. I did nail art, yoga, mod podge journals, & barbershop work.
  • 6. Secret sisters. On the first night of camp you pick a name out of a hat that is a girl from your cabin. You give her a treat every day (such as candy, pop, a handmade item, a note that said you prayed for her, etc.). At the end of the week you reveal who you are to your secret sister.
  • 5. Learning about God & His Kingdom. I learned more about God & His Kingdom that I ever thought I would. The Lodge is a life changing place. It is a sanctuary from the rest of the electronic, media-run world that we live in. It is way, way more than you would expect. I learned so much there.
  • 4.”The Dance” This year at girls camp, there was a carnival dance. The activities included dancing to live music (played by some of the counselors), musical chairs, bead drop, nail-painting, ribbon braiding, face-painting, & eating caramel corn.
  • 3. Singing. Every day that Fr. Marc is there, we have Mass. He was there every day of my camp, so there was Mass every day. We sang tons of different songs during Mass. The Lodge’s song book has some great Christian songs which are very modern also. Also, whenever you get a package or forget to wear your name badge, you have to sing the Squirrely Song. I won’t give anything away, though!! Also, we sang while waiting in line for meals.
  • 2. The Hike. The hike to the top of the hill was great. We took lots of “song breaks” & everyone had a great time yelling “Switchback!!” When we got to the cross, we enjoyed the view, took pictures, & had Mass.
  • 1. The Lodge. Everything about the Lodge just made me feel so good & at peace. I learned so much & had so so so much fun!!!!

I love the Lodge!!

Isabelle was a first-time camper during the 2009 Legendary Lodge Season