What a fantastic Fall Campout at Camp Benson!

The mighty Valley Nation just returned from our inaugural voyage to Camp Benson in hilly Northwest Illinois.  We didn't know what to expect, but the camp exceeded everyone's expectations.  The gorgeous weather certainly didn't hurt either.

The princesses had all kinds of things to do, including archery, a zipline, 5 separate climbing wall lines with auto-belays, the super-long Twilight Zone tube slide, and other cool stuff like this mega-Jenga game at Fort Benson:

Of course, no YMCA camp would be complete without the requisite Gaga Ball court.  This Gaga court, though has a special twist - check this out:

Without a doubt, the most unique activity was the Cave Exploration hike where we hiked through the middle of a 2-3 foot deep creek to find a hidden cave.  Not your everyday hike! 

Last but not least, thanks to the very flexible, friendly staff at Camp Benson for bending over backward to make our campout a success!

Looking forward to our upcoming nation events including Medieval Times, the Rockford Discovery Museum overnight, and the children's play at the Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre.  Hope to see you there!