You may wonder…”What happens after the summer programs and Outdoor School programs at Camp Howard? You might not know that Camp Howard is open all year round and people rent the camp for family events like weddings, family reunions, retreats, church picnics etc. During January and most of February we do a lot of interior work like painting walls and renovations. Right now Aldergrove Unit is being renovated on the interior. Bunks and walls are being painted, things are being spiffed up so that campers will come to the unit and really appreciate the new clean look.

During the winter we sometimes get strong winds. Generally nothing happens except branches might fall and litter the ground. But every so many years we get especially high winds and these extra strong winds take down trees that are diseased. We lost one tree to high winds this winter and it hit All Saints Cabin in Aldergrove. It knocked the cabin off its foundation and the porch came off. It was a pretty hard hit and I am really glad we did not have any campers in the camp when it happened.

You may be interested to know that most often the trees that come down in the wind storms are the Hemlocks.  Camp Howard is made up of mostly Douglas Fir, Oregon’s most popular crop tree.

The photos below show the damage that was done. We are in the process of fixing the cabins and my next posts will show where we are in that process. Check out these photos of the cabin and let me know your thoughts or reactions.