On Sept 9th, 2020, around 1pm, interested observers (who had been watching obsessively all week) noted a sudden increase in satellite detected heat signatures over Camp Bullfrog, home to Don and Meredith Fowler, Bry and Carolyn Dunkle, and our beloved Cousins Camp. Soon afterwards came the news that it had indeed burned, leaving behind only piles of ashes and So. Many. Memories.
Meredith wrote:
"Don and i visited camp the first time in December..2 days after Christmas. It was dark and wet and it smelled good (mostly). I stretched out on an old bench that was on the old deck and just listened to the wind in the trees. I loved it and I knew that I wanted that place. I could hear all the laughter, sharing and voices in those trees. I knew that place was never meant to be ours alone.
If you could see what camp looked like when we first bought it.... Tons of rotting carpet, soggy drywall, broken furniture, shattered glass, graffitied walls, upturned freezers, exploded fire extinguishers, busted toilets, gutted cars and unpainted bookshelves. Crushed pop cans, mouse-ridden mattresses, ancient newspapers, forgotten lesbian camp schedules, singed insulation, tangled fishing line, flat tires and unmatched tennis shoes. Don, Katie, Brad, Carolyn, joel, Mike Mclelland and I hauled all that out by the Big Bertha load, getting ready. Not sure for what, but we knew camp was going to be ready. And it was going to be shared.
Sometimes, I would just go outside and listen to the silence of camp. Absolute stillness. No wind, no cars, no voices. And that seemed so necessary to camp too. So, the silence and merriment was all part of the plan. Later, neighbors would tell me how nice it was to hear wholesome activity at the camp again.
When you tell me of your memories and bonds of Camp Bullfrog, to me, it means that my home was exactly what I had hoped it would be. A place of genuine relationships, inclusiveness, healing, children and adults playing together, good food, music, dance, storytelling, and experience. A place where children and adults could feel welcome and free. I'm so glad you all came to my home, Camp Bullfrog, and made it your own.
When we evacuated from camp that last Sunday morning, Katie's family and Don and I gathered in a circle and blessed camp one more time. We thanked that sacred ground for all we had shared. And we left. And all of those sacred memories will be there... where we always know where they will be."
Vivian said that looking at the 'after' video felt like identifying the remains of a loved one. "Yes, that's him." About the best spin I can put on it is that we got to feel the family closeness of a funeral without anyone actually having to die. It has indeed been a week of feeling extremely close to family and being in genuine mourning for a place.
All hail Camp Bullfrog! You were a wonder.
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