Home on the Trail

You don't have to know me for very long before you hear about my one passion (besides cheese, of course). It's a place located far from any real civilization, a place where cell phone service and internet connections don't reach, and a place where I have never felt more alive...

I have been working at Wilderness Canoe Base (WCB)since the wee age of fourteen and will probably work there for several years to come. I thought it apprpriate to talk about WCB since I am heading up there this weekend. It truly is my home and a place that is very close to my heart. The best thing about WCB is the people. I honestly consider every single staff member my family and I would do anything in the world for them. I couldn't even begin to tell you all of the wonderful things the Wilderness staff have done for me, but here are three fun stories that stick out in my mind:

1. Last year as a senior in high school I was elected as one of five princesses of my school. Being on this royal court meant that I was to participate in this 'Coronation' ceremony at the end of our Winter Week (Like Home Coming, only 100 times more extravegant). The ceremony was at ten in the morning on a friday - slightly inconvenient timing for most people with jobs, right? Well, I thought about knighting the entire WCB staff, but that really just seemed like a lot of stress for everybody, so I just picked one person from the staff to knight. This guy that I decided to knight happened to be living a good seven hour drive away so I wasn't really expecting him to make it...and then he showed up at the Ceremony right on time after having woken up before the sun to get there! And what made this situation even better? He brought another one of my friends from Wilderness to the ceremony. I tried to tell these guys how much it meant to me that they were there, but I don't think that they really understand, so here it is again:

A and C, you guys being at my Coronation made me feel like the most important girl in the world! I didn't expect you to come and then you did and you drove all that way to be there and it made me feel so special. I will remember this for the rest of my life because I think it is the most important I have ever felt. Thank you for being there on that day, I hope it was worth the drive :)

2. This summer one of my friends made me obsessed with this song called Skinny Love by Bon Iver. He played Skinny Love on his guitar on a daily basis and once in a while he would come into the kitchen (I was a cook this past summer) and just start playing it for me! This is another one of those moments that I will remember for years to come because it made me feel special somehow. It was just a song, but it really did make my summer.

J - Bon Iver's version of Skinny Love will never even compare to yours. Please keep singing it for me, because your version is the best song I have ever heard.

3. I turned eighteen this summer and for an entire week prior to my birthday the Wilderness staff sang 'happy birthday' to me at least once at every meal. I'm sure they got pretty sick of singing that song by the end of the week, but it really did mean a lot to me. I mean, they must really just love me if they sing me happy birthday for a week straight, right? Well, that was my thinking anyway. They decided to take it a step further and sing me one last happy birthday song at dinner the day after my birthday as there was only staff at the base. And you know what else they did?! They got my FAVORITE ice cream of all time all the way up the Gunflint Trail for dessert! Yeah, that made me feel pretty fricken special! Again, a week that will forever be making me smile as it sits in the back of my mind.

This is why I love Wilderness. Every memory I have associated with this camp and the staff is a memorable one. WCB means so much to me that I can't even put into words how much I love everybody from that camp.
Go make some love happen today!
Make people around you feel special becuase they won't soon forget it!
-Sig.    
p.s. Okay, it is one in the morning and I knew I needed to post something; however, the cheese portion of this blog will not be happening tonight as the is the fourth night in a row that I have stayed up way to late.
p.p.s I will be heading up to WCB for the weekend so I will not be posting, check for another post on Monday night. I promise, the next post will have cheese info galore!