Manitou is beautiful. The trees, the buildings, the lake and even Joel Peckham’s freshly painted lines on the fields, are all beautiful. What makes Manitou special and a truly beautiful place for a camp, are the sunsets. It’s a magical event every evening. Right around the time when our evening activity ends, as campers and counselors are heading back to their bunks, a small crowd gathers in the coral area by the lake to watch. People take pictures, they talk, but mostly people just sit and reflect. I like to sit and reflect on my past experiences at Manitou. Thinking about memories I’ve enjoyed, or games I’ve played, the sunsets always make me do that, they are a part of camp.

I have seen many sunsets all over the USA, from here to California. I’ve watched the sun set over the Pacific Ocean and countless lakes, yet I have never seen a sunset like the ones I can watch from the shore at Manitou. It has an important meaning to everyone at camp, from camper all the way to director. The front of our promotional DVD has a picture of a Camp Manitou sunset.

Last night I took a few pictures of the sunset and remembered one particular thing that happened to me as a camper at Manitou. I remember in my High Intermediate year, I was on the USCS Slugs, which was Jon Deren’s team. During the preparations for pres night, I went up to David Schiff, who was the dean of the University of Arizona, and told him I had an idea for his cheer. I told him he should use ‘Take it Easy’ by the Eagles, because it has a line about a town in Arizona. He was very nice and said he appreciated the help and he would think about it. Whether he did or not didn’t matter to me, what mattered is that he liked my input.

As silly as that sounds, I thought about that last night while watching the sunset for the first time in over 10 years. It’s not just the beauty of the sunset that makes it great – it’s what it represents to all the people who, for a time that extends far beyond the few weeks we spend here, call Manitou home.