Camp Champions

Posted On July 19, 2026

Camping With Grandkids

A Blue Ribbon Experience

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On behalf of those who have, and for those who have not yet had the privilege, I can confidently on good authority say, being a grandparent & camping with grandkids is an absolute HOOT!

Non-stop, filled with questions, adventures, discoveries, boundary testing & close calls that by each day’s end left Mama, Grampa & every camp member completely wore out, sharing camp with our granddaughters was its own reward, well worth the effort.

Ari Rae, non stop talker, always the big sister (because, of course, Alayna is littler) is four, but next year she’ll be five, which she makes abundantly clear to everyone within earshot. Apparently turning five is one of life’s primary goals.

Alayna Grace,on the other hand, is one and a half going on fifteen, testing every boundary, always looking over her shoulder to see if anyone’s watching, giving everyone in camp a run for their money.

This year’s Monroe Family Bull Rush Bay camp began Friday, July 3rd. My son RJ & I went in first. Our trip was almost dead in the water before it even began, because once launched and loaded, our boat’s engine wouldn’t start. Luckily, a pair of young women in the boat docked next to us came to the rescue. They had a fully charged jump starter on board, which they offered immediately, and solved our problem. A big shout out and thank you to whoever that Saranac Lake Samaritan was.

***Note to self: Buy one of those things and make it standard equipment.***

At any rate, once RJ & I finally had the boat started, we boated up through the locks into camp. there we busied ourseles unloading gear, setting up tents, and getting things organized. RJ’s wife Carrie arrived later that evening. She walked in from Ampersand with their dogs. My wife (aka Mama), & daughter Abby (aka: “Abba”) boated in Saturday morning, coming up through the locks from the NYSDEC boat launch fully loaded with camp coolers, canine companions & gear to complete our camp setup.

For his part, Grampa spent a good part of one afternoon clearing away shoreline debris and, using my garbage can lid multi-purpose tool (it also doubles as ash remover, firewood cover & dutch oven) as a shovel, moving sand in a nice shallow wading spot away from the boats to build Ari Rae & Alayna their own private beach.

Ari Rae & Alayna boated up from the NYSDEC’s lower lake boat launch through the locks with their mother on Tuesday.

Upon Ari Rae & Alayna’s arrival, Grampa’s efforts were almost immediately rewarded. The beach proved a big hit.

The other thing Grampa did in preparation for granddaughter arrival was to roll two big pine logs up from the pile the DEC’s crew had stacked up after the previous week’s post storm clean-up.

Making each of the girls their own personal camp table, which helped keep the bickering to a minimum.

Bull Rush Bay 2026 was a camp full of adventures.

Hunting toads proved quite popular.

As did climbing rocks.

One of their favorite camp activities was climbing ujp on the big rock overlooking camp, raising their arms up over their heads & exclaiming,

“I’m a Champion!”

Made even better by parental protests that they were way too close to the edge.

Bull Rush Bay 2026 was also a filled with camp lessons & firsts.

Ari Rae learned some hard camping truths about outhouses.

I hate to break the news to my granddaughter, but that’s a fresh post storm hole the NYSDEC just dug. Wait until she gets to experience a really ripe one!

Ari Rae & Alayna both got firewood gathering lessons.

As well as a Grampa tutorial in birch bark tinder gathering, kindling bundles, & campfire building.

When Ari Rae was later asked what was her favorite part of camp, she said without hesitation:

“Starting the fire!”

There were a plethora of activities involving boat rides.

Baby Shark camp floaties

Ari Rae & Alayna even gave themselves an introductory Zen Boat canoe lesson.

Grampa went “old school” and harvested a handful of freshwater clams to help Ari Rae catch her first fish. One at a time he opened them up on a rock, cutting off a piece for Uncle RJ to help arm Ari Rae’s pole with bait, hook, split shot & bobber, the same way Grampa did with his brother Ray when they camped at Bull Rush Bay as kids.

Sure enough, the old school effort quickly paid off, just like Grampa knew it would!

There was Jiffy Pop with Aunt Abba

Afternoon bubble blowing

Quiet coloring time in the leanto

Even a dome tent for afternoon naps

Ari Rae & Alanay departed with their parents on Saturday. They were in camp for five days and four nights, quite a stint! All in all, it was great family Bull Rush Bay time.

Made even moreso accompanied by our pair of camp champions!

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Until Our Trails Cross Again:

ADKO