Trip Stories: "Atop the Boundary Waters"

By Peter Grunawalt
March 07, 2016 (comments)

This trip story comes in from first year camper Chris during his 8 day trip in the Northern Boundary Waters. Although it was his second trip here at camp, it was his first canoe trip. He writes… On my eight day trip from Snowbank Lake to camp, we took a lot of time to savor the great land that lay before us. We basked in the splendor of breathtaking overlooks, massive cliffs, crystal clear water, and brilliant green forests that surrounded each lake and river that we traversed. We were constantly rewarded for our hard work with these magnificent views,...

Our Own Little Civilization

By Peter Grunawalt
January 14, 2016 (comments)

In an interview with Vicky Erdmann Burgman, we explore the relatively unknown history of camp, which features the ice house, the generator hut, and a few other quirky things about camp from the 50s and 60s that we bet you had no idea existed! We had our own generator. Back in the 50s and early 60s, camp electricity ran off a generator, which at best worked half the time. We used kerosene lamps for lighting as well. In a sense, we were our own little civilization in those days. The generator only ran at night, when we needed lights. My...

Camp Legends & Lore: "Nature Boy"

By Peter Grunawalt
December 01, 2015 (comments)

Many an alumni have fond memories of Nature Boy, a mysterious log that floated vertically in the camp bay. But few campers within the past 30 years know the full story of Nature Boy, or that he still may live just beneath the surface… The following interview took place with Vicki Erdmann Burgman in the summer of 2015. The story goes that “Nature Boy” is from the logging era, and that at least one or more people died chaining it to the bottom of the lake. You could take the log and spin it, and it would unwind, which is...

Archiving the Past: Photo Gallery Updates

By Peter Grunawalt
September 16, 2015 (comments)

When we created the Camp Voyageur photo gallery, we envisioned not just being able to upload full-resolution images and videos from recent summers. We also wanted to go back in time and upload the photos of previous years and make all that content available to download. It'll be an ongoing project, but during the off-season, we'll begin to upload all the photos we have readily available and some of the summer videos that have been produced over the years. In doing so, we hope that the website will become a more valuable source for alumni and campers alike, and that...

Trip Stories: "Moose!"

By Peter Grunawalt
September 10, 2015 (comments)

This trip story comes in from veteran camper Andy. He joined five others on a 9 day Grand Portage trip from Moose Lake to Lake Superior. He recounts his encounter with not one, not two, but three “Meese.” What, meese is a word, right? Anyways, here’s the story… “Alright you can get out of the boat now,” Peder said. Naturally, I was already halfway out, getting ready to stop the boat from running into the portage landing. Inquisitive as to whether this portage would be a hop skip or a long stroll, I asked Peder. “I think this is about...

CVNN: "Voyageur Radio is Always Live"

By Peter Grunawalt
August 27, 2015 (comments)

About once every session, regional talent scouts pay Camp Voyageur a visit. Why, you may ask? Well, throughout the years, word has gotten out that we put on a radio show, featuring talents perfect for radio entertainment like miming, martial arts, and juggling. In fact, these radio shows have become so popular that we've begun attracting quite the characters, such as celebrity news hosts Donny Frontback and Clint Matthews. As these hosts put it, "we have a valuable partnership with Camp Voyageur where we use their audience to further our own careers with no regard for the actual content of...

The State of the War Canoe Address

By Peter Grunawalt
August 20, 2015 (comments)

Camp Voyageur’s trademark boat, the War Canoe, will be spending this 2015 summer season off the water. The unique eight-man, bright yellow, and fast-moving canoe has been turning the heads of Northern Minnesota’s paddlers for over 25 years. Originally manufactured by Old Town in the 1960’s, the Camp Voyageur War Canoe has been a symbol and tradition since its arrival on the camp peninsula in 1968. It was originally built for the U.S. Naval Academy at the William & Mary College in Indianapolis in 1962. The war canoe was bought (used) in 1968. It was originally painted orange. Camp Voyageur...

Going Out with a Bang

By Peter Grunawalt
August 10, 2015 (comments)

There's no easy way to end the last session of the season. By now, even the new staff are veterans of the program, and everyone is hitting their stride. And it seems just as we hit this stride, poof! Camp is over. With one last hurrah, we pack the last few days of camp full of activities, including a mini-Olympics, a talent show known as the "Gong Show" (where no talent is enough talent), and an initiation ceremony based on the historic rendezvous of the French Voyageurs. The mini-Olympics began with a series of sports, including archery, pickle ball, sailing,...

The CV Olympics

By Peter Grunawalt
August 07, 2015 (comments)

Once a summer, athletes from around the world are summoned to the Camp Voyageur peninsula to face off in a series of sports and camp-related activities. A torch is lit, the Star Spangled Banner is played on trumpets, and campers salute the flag. Let the games begin! Two team captains are selected by the Olympic commissioners from Cabin 9 - the eldest cabin on the peninsula. They’re tasked with forming and organizing their own teams to run a medley of events over the next two days, ending with the obstacle course. It’s a surprisingly difficult task and a lot of...

Voyageurs Return! Session 3 Round 1

By Peter Grunawalt
August 06, 2015 (comments)

Four of five groups have returned from trips, coming in from all over the Boundary Waters (BWCAW). Some groups headed out East along the border lakes on longer trips, ranging from 7 to 8 days. Others headed North from camp, exploring the larger lakes closer to home such as Basswood Lake on 5 day trips. The last group is still out on Isle Royal and will return this evening. They'll be featured in their own blog post, and I expect each of them will have some stories to share. This is our favorite part of camp, as the group dynamics...