Camp Conquest at Children's Harbor

On Monday Frank and I ate lunch at the table with Randy's niece, Della and her husband John.  Della is a school nurse and John is a firefighter.  I think they are both pretty cool people....or at least I did before lunch.  After lunch I thought they were amazingly awesome.  My post today is about Camp Conquest at Children's Harbor.  My personal journey with burned bodies began about 16 years ago when my daughter, Kat,  was badly burned in a boat explosion.  I have a healthy respect for doctors who treat burned victims, therapists who help them begin over, and all the hundreds of other people who were there when Kat and I made our journey out of the fire.  When Kat was in college my friend, Karen Kison, who has helped set up and run the Burn Camp called Camp Conquest at Children's Harbor for several years, asked Kat to work one.  She was in school and couldn't....and it has just never worked out for her to participate.  She would be great...because she has walked in their shoes. Frank and I both have played small parts in the camp and get a lot out of it.  Doctors and nurses from Children's Hospital in B'ham take a week of their vacations and bring badly burned children to Lake Martin and there they come alive...they swim, they go on boat rides, they are normal for a short period of time....but best of all.....they smile!  Still Magnolias sang for them one year and I don't know who got the most out of it...the kids....or us!  Excuse me...I am chasing rabbits here...back to Della and John.  We started out talking about their son Connor's Diabetes camp that will be in a week.  It is held on Lake Martin at Camp ASCCA and costs one child $600.00 to go. Della and John started a facebook campaign to raise $1000.00 so that other less fortunate children can go on scholarship! Is that not an amazing gesture?  If you'd like to help you can just go to the link I have provided at http://www.firstgiving.com/connorbuchanan. This camp at Camp ASCCA is an Easter Seals Camp...but I will blog about it later.  Back to our lunch conversation....John said..."Connor will be gone a week, then he will come home and I will be at camp for a week."  "Camp?" I asked, "What kind of camp?"  I figured he was attending some kind of firefighter camp....his response floored me.  "Burn Camp on Lake Martin, " he said, "This will be my second year."  WOW!  John went from cool to way cool in my books.  This firefighting father and husband takes a week out of his life and goes and works Camp Conquest.  It turns out....that firefighters from all over...bring boats and take the campers for rides, donate meals, pop in and cook.  It is an amazing event.  The camp costs the kids not one dime....and they get to bring a friend and/or family member.  In 2009 Camp Conquest Children's Burn Camp at Children's Harbor on Lake Martin near Kowliga, Ala. had about 15 pediatric burn victims attending the camp along with about 35 friends and siblings. That is the really cool thing....they get to bring friends and family members....for FREE!  During the time they are there they have a blast.  The counselors, the doctors, the staff, the nurses see to it and they do an amazing job.  Today...I want to thank everyone who volunteers to work for this camp....you guys rock!  Happy Wednesday to all!

Let Me Introduce You to Alexander City, Alabama

ALEX CITY...Alabama...is not my old home town....but I have lived here over half of my life...and can't imagine living anywhere else. This town was a great place to raise kids...I teach in it...and believe we have an excellant school system. It is a good place. You can't convince some of that...but then...when I was 15...you could not convince me that West Palm Beach, Florida was a good place. I wanted to live in New York...so here I am in rural small town Alabama...and to be quite honest...I love the slowness of the pace. I love that people you don't even know speak to you when you come out of Walmart...just because it is what you do in the South. We pride ourselves here in Alex City of being the South's best kept secret and we truly are.

Lake Martin, one of our biggest draws, "is located in Tallapoosa County, Elmore County, and Coosa County in Alabama. It is a 44,000 acre (178 km²) lake with over 750 miles (1,200 km) of wooded shoreline." "Lake Martin was formed by the construction of Martin Dam on the Tallapoosa River. The Martin Dam powerhouse is used to generate hydroelectric power for the Alabama Power Company. Construction was begun in 1923 and completed in 1926, creating what was then the largest man-made body of water in the world. Originally known as Cherokee Bluffs for the geological formation upon which it was built, the dam was renamed in 1936 in honor of Thomas Martin, the then president of Alabama Power Company." It is still one of the largest artificial lakes in the United States.

Horseshoe Bend National Military Park is another big draw to the area. Horseshoe Bend National Military Park is a U.S. National Military Park managed by the National Park Service that is the site of the last battle of the Creek War on March 27, 1814. General Andrew Jackson's Tennessee militia, aided by the 39th U. S. Infantry Regiment and Cherokee and Upper Creek allies, finally crushed Lower Creek Red Stick resistance at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend on the Tallapoosa River. Jackson's decisive victory at Horseshoe Bend broke the power of the Creek Nation. On August 9, 1814, the Creeks signed the Treaty of Fort Jackson, which ceded 23 million acres
(93,000 km²) of land in Alabama and Georgia to the United States government. There are some awesome hiking trails...The nature trail is a 2.8 mile long loop with hills and valleys. in the park, a great museum, and each year numerous reenactments take place there.

You can also find Camp Ascca here. What is that you say? Camp ASCCA is a year-round 236 acre camp, located on beautiful Lake Martin in Alabama. The camp serves children and adults with mental and/or physical disabilities. Their mission is to help people with disabilities achieve equality, dignity and maximum independence. They take pride in offering a wide variety of exciting educational, social and recreational activities. Camp ASCCA is an ACA accredited camp. The Easter Seals Camp ASCCA (Alabama's Special Camp for Children and Adults) first opened its doors in 1976. Since then it has touched the lives of tens of thousands of children and adults with disabilities. Located on beautiful Lake Martin in east central Alabama, Camp ASCCA is a nationally recognized leader in providing camping and outdoor recreation service for people with disabilities in a barrier-fee environment. AT the end of the summer sessions....they had a prom this year. Some of my students were counselors...and came and borrowed prom decorations from me...I loved it.

Children's Harbor, is the next stop. It is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, provides free and confidential counseling and support services to children with long-term serious illnesses as well as to their families, and we provide camping and retreat facilities for these children and families as well as for other children with special needs. Children's Harbor was officially dedicated in 1990 to the memory of Adelia M. Russell. From the beginning the mission has been simple: strengthening children and families. Their icon, a replica of the Plymouth Lighthouse which is located on Providence Point at the Lake Martin campus, symbolizes their goal of helping children and families find their way through the treacherous waters in which they sometimes find themselves. The beautiful campus, located 15 miles south of Alexander City, Alabama, on Highway 63, is built around a picturesque New England seaside village motif and features the Plymouth Lighthouse and a charming little early American church, Children's Chapel. The lakeside setting is also home to Church in the Pines, Harbor House, Mariners' Adventure Camp, Mariners' Adventure Course, Mariners' Retreat Center (Concord and Salem Cottages), Time Capsule Park, and our administrative headquarters. This was a taste of some of the things Alex City has to offer. Tomorrow...I will tell you how the town came to be.
BTW there is some amazing camping to be found in Alabama....and in Alex City....want to know where the best places are to go?  If you are an avid camper then check out the following links:
Alabama Camping (linking to: http://woodalls.com/campground/default.aspx?subtype=rv-camping&city=alexander-city&state=alabama&radius=50)
Family Camping Resources (linking to: http://www.woodalls.com/family-camping/)
RV Campgrounds (linking to: http://www.trailerlifedirectory.com/)
24 Hour RV Roadside Assistance (linking to: http://www.goodsamers.com/)