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<\/a>Celebrating its 80th<\/sup> anniversary (1935-2015),\u00a0Camp Nor\u2019wester is a co-ed residential summer camp for girls and boys ages 9-16. Traditional camping and outdoor skills are taught through waterfront activities including sailing, canoeing, and kayaking, as well as biking, archery, arts and crafts, singing, and drama. Weekly work projects are balanced with a fun-filled overnight camp-out on a nearby island. Each age-level group takes a turn leading Sunday chapel.\u00a0Click here <\/a>for more camp information and lots of photos!<\/p>\nCampers live in three-person tipis or tents in small units, but meals are eaten together in the main lodge. An Indian big house, craft center, barn, and medical clinic also sit on the picturesque 135-acre property.<\/p>\n
Established in 1935 as Camp Henderson by Frank and Lucile Henderson on Westcott Bay, San Juan Island, the camp was moved to the Sperry Peninsula, Lopez Island, when their lease ended ten years later. Upon their retirement in 1967,\u00a0the camp sold to a group of camp-related families who renamed it Camp Nor\u2019wester\u2014the name it\u2019s known by today.<\/p>\n In 1980, Chuck Curran purchased the camp and hired a variety of directors to run it until 1996 when the Sperry Peninsula was bought by Paul Allen, a co-founder of Microsoft Corporation.\u00a0At this point, the Board of Directors for Camp Nor\u2019wester formed the profit-making camp into a 501(c)(3) organization and considered buying land on Cortez Island in British Columbia, Canada. They dismissed the idea after\u00a0Nell Robinson\u2019s sheep ranch became available on Johns Island, acquiring it\u00a0in 1999.<\/p>\n Because Johns Island is not a ferry-serviced island, it takes more effort to run the camp than at its former locations, but the rewards are numerous. Camp Nor\u2019wester is surrounded by over 10,000 feet of saltwater, and includes wetlands, meadows, and forests. Both the Cascade and Olympic Mountains can be seen from the camp. Add in a sandy beach on the south side, small coves to the north, and Nell\u2019s house\u00a0for the caretaker’s residence and it\u2019s hard to imagine\u00a0a more suitable site for a seaside camp!<\/p>\n Johns Island is a private island without electricity or water, a step back in time. Several vacation homes dot its eastern landscape and a handful of residents live here full-time. Would you?<\/p>\n Thank you for reading!<\/p>\n Blessings,<\/p>\n Deb<\/p>\n We sped across Spieden Channel from Roche Harbor in our inflatable, eager to hike the trail to Turn Point Lighthouse on Stuart Island. Warm sunshine and calm wind beckoned us across the smooth water. Above the roar of the Suzuki … Continue reading <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nPhoto courtesy of Washington State Dept. of Ecology<\/h5>\n
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