American Indian Camping Weekend

Last Weekend I had the opportunity to participate in a camping weekend with a local Detroit nonprofit

American Indian Health and Family Services

Island Lake Recreational Area

We met up on Friday night at Island Lake Recreational areas Organizational campground. First order of business was gathering firewood, setting up our tents and getting water.

The kids arrived and we broke out the REI donated tents.

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After we completed the basics it was time for dinner which consisted of red beans and rice and salad. Food was great and plentiful as we had to have enough for 20! After dinner we cleaned up and went on a late night hike.

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When we got back we had smores and sat around the fire long after all the little ones went to bed. In the morning we made blueberry pancakes and then made GORP bags for our long day of activities. 

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First we unloaded all the bikes from the trailer and road 4 miles to the lake where our canoe trip would begin. They had a model airplane air show going on so we saw some dramatic crashes before beginning our paddling.

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We stopped for lunch halfway down the river. A great day! That night we made pizza burritos over the fire. Sunday rained and we broke camp and headed for home around 10 am.

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Darren Hitz

Darren Hitz

Explorer, Storyteller, and Blogger

I have been writing this blog for almost 20 years. After owning and operating a travel company, reconnecting with the outdoors, I now spend a majority of my time exploring both off the beaten path and well worn tourist adventures.

“I saw in their eyes something I was to see over and over in every part of the nation- a burning desire to go, to move, to get under way, anyplace, away from any Here. They spoke quietly of how they wanted to go someday, to move about, free and unanchored, not toward something but away from something. I saw this look and heard this yearning everywhere in every states I visited. Nearly every American hungers to move.”
― John Steinbeck

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