June 2, 2023, Bellemont- When I got here, three miles from the highway, but well within earshot of freight trains and Amtrak, there was the matter of navigating safely in the Dark Sky territory that is our area Baha’i’s prime campsite.

It’s come a long way, over the forty years or so that I have been visiting and serving. There were times when I slept with nothing between me and the ground but the pad underneath my sleeping bag. There were other times when we pitched a tent and made room for three work nicely. This evening, I was able to open a travel trailer other than the one I am using now. Sleep is sleep, and the place was comfortable enough.

This morning, I was up with the Sun and transferred all my items over to this little retired RV. It did not take long for others to show up, making the various tasks that I faced, prior to the campers’ arrival, a whole lot more expeditiously done. I learned things like measuring water in a cistern and, to a lesser degree of comprehension, how to hook up a propane-powered generator. This one will take several days’ practice, but I will get there.

The campers arrived around 6 p.m., and after orientation, a late dinner and meeting a few individual requests for supplies, all settled in nicely. It will be a fast-moving four days, and the first of four planned camps will have taught me the wealth of what I need to know about running a successful youth camp.