Camp Dexter

Camp Dexter is about 10 miles north of Nome. The photo above is of the entire camp. Three Quonset huts, a flag pole, and latrines. You can tell from the sign at the entrance that the weather here is a little harsh.

We arrived the day before the kids to get things set up and learn the lay of the land, so to speak. There would be three of us there for the week. We had a volunteer acting as a cook, and myself and Lisa.

When we met Lisa and I realized we were both camp directors. Now the director of a camp deals mainly with logistics and day to day operations and for that reason doesn't get a lot of time with the children. But pulling from our days as actual camp counselors we put our heads together and came up with a good lists of activities for the week. We will survive.

There were three Quonset huts. For those not familiar with Quonset huts and to save a little typing I pulled this from Wikipedia:

In 1941 the US Navy needed an all-purpose, lightweight building that could be shipped anywhere and assembled without skilled labor. The George A. Fuller construction company was selected to manufacture them. The first was produced within 60 days of contract award.
The original design was a 16 by 36 ft (5 by 11 m) structure framed with steel members with an 8 ft (2.4 m) radius. The sides were corrugated steel sheets. The two ends were covered with plywood, which had doors and windows. The interior was insulated and had pressed wood lining and a wood floor. The building could be placed on concrete, on pilings, or directly on the ground with a wood floor.

The middle Quonset hut was the mess hall and was set up with tables, chairs, a wood stove and a big table to prepare the food. Our cook would sleep here so she could get an early start on breakfast each morning.

Another of the huts was filled with cots and also had a wood stove. This is where our campers would live.

The third one was empty and we decided that's where the two of us would sleep. We finished getting everything ready and finished up the week's schedule. Since the kids would be arriving early the next day we thought we better get some sleep. Both of us were experienced backpackers and had done our share of camping in cold weather. We both had mummy bags with low temperature ratings. We would sleep warm tonight. But then how cold can it get, it is July?

Did I mention that this Quonset hit did not have a wood stove for heat. That's important because even though a sleeping bag will keep you warm at some point you have to get out of the bag. The next morning when I woke up and crawled out of the bag . . . it was bloody COLD. It's so cold I can see my breath. We grabbed shoes and jackets and retreated to the mess hall.

Standing in front of the wood stove with mugs of hot coffee we revised our plans. One of us would sleep in the mess hall with the cook and help with breakfast and the other in with the kids. Being in with the kids meant we would have to build a fire and make sure the girls were warm. We decided to take turns and switch places each night.

We have now learned our first valuable lesson. The two big bad camp directors from the lower 48 are not quite as tough as they though they were. Even our long list of credentials didn't quite prepare us for Nome. But we will survive.

Our campers will be arriving soon.