We have enjoyed our “Endless Summer” up here on Pyramid Point! The unseasonably warm weather has allowed for continued swimming in Lake Michigan right on up through early October. Just the other day, October 8th, the LOC staff enjoyed some hearty body surfing in Lake Michigan. That beautiful blanket of autumn color is beginning to spread itself throughout the hills of Port Oneida Rd. and we have been enjoying those delicious “Honey Crisp” apples found at the local fruit stands.

Didn’t camp just end? It sure seems that way! We haven’t slowed down any. That’s for sure. After camp we had a fun filled Family Camp led by Lisa Chamberlin Johnson. We had 18 families with us that week enjoying all the activities that Family Camp offers. Highlights of the week were many which included our trip to Bar Lake, Wednesday evening church, sunny days on the beach and of course who can forget Slim and his breakfast fixin’s out on the trail. The families departed and the cross country and soccer teams arrived for our two weeks of sports camps. The soccer field, and the hills and trails of Pyramid Point were the training ground to over 500 athletes for those two weeks. We welcomed our first college Division I cross country teams Michigan State and Grand Valley University to camp this summer. Our fall LOC season started right up by welcoming our fall staff of Forest Bless, Meredith Bless, Tom Evans, Amy Robbins,
Emily McKelvie, and Eli Sinkus. By seasons end we will have hosted 17 schools which brought over 800 students and staff in just an eight week period of time. On Sunday October 7th, LOC hosted its first fundraiser here at camp for our local community. Everyone enjoyed the activities which included the climbing tower and ropes course, live music on the deck and a wonderful bar-b-que dinner. We had 185 attendees and raised over $5,000 for LOC scholarships.

Steve Bluhm and his sidekick, Frank, have been busy preparing camp for the coming winter. The big project this fall has been the renovation of the lower level of the Great House. We started by shoring up the foundation along the back of the building with cement footings and block work. And once that was complete, we started the inside work of re-paneling the interior walls and installing new windows and doors. Jim Cooley, a Leelanau alumnus, has his construction crews hard at work and the project should be completed by the end of October. This coming winter we will give Little Dipper its needed renovation and facelift.

Our “endless summer” is coming to an end as I write this. The temperatures are falling and frost warnings are in the forecast. It has been an active and productive fall for all of us. November brings a more quiet time here on the Point and allows us to look ahead to our winter travel season, pulling our summer staffs together, and preparing for next summer. Its’ fun to bring everyone up to date with the fall activities of camp and but now I must grab an apple to enjoy as I head out to assist with the 48 7th graders we have here right now. As we say here on the Point….

“Only today does the fire burn brightly.”