I’ve drive across the state of Washington from east to west and west to east a lot of times. Western Washington was a vacation destination for our family for many years before we moved here. When our children were little, my brother lived on Whidby Island. The year that our daughter was born, we came west with our two-year-old son in a car that did not have air conditioning. Eastern Washington is hot, dry country in the middle of the summer but we knew that we could camp in our tent in the high country of North Idaho and be cool and that it was less than a day’s drive to the coast where it would be cool once again. We often camped when we were making the trip. We planned to not need to camp in the eastern Washington wheat country because of the summer heat.

As a result of so many trips I have learned a couple of things. One is that as long as our vehicle is mechanically sound and cooling properly, we can make it through the high desert country. The second is that the mountains of Idaho offer respite from the heat. North Idaho is beautiful mountain country and we have camped there for many years. When we lived in south Idaho, the lure of the mountains to the north was strong. One of our favorite destinations year round was McCall, where the Central Pacific Conference of the United Church of Christ has a church camp. For years, I led camps at the Payette Lake site. In the winter there was excellent skiing in the area.

One of the things that I have never done, but that I have wanted to do for many years is to visit the church camp N-Sid-Sen, of the Pacific Northwest Conference of the United Church of Christ. I know the area where the camp is located from many trips to the area. Lake Coeur d’Alene is a spectacular mountain lake with forested shores and deep blue waters. The camp is located on the eastern shore of the lake a bit south of where Interstate 90 crosses the state’s panhandle.

Tomorrow we head to N-Sid-Sen for a week of camp. I have mixed feelings about the trip, however. I’m looking forward to a week of camp in a truly beautiful location. I am excited to visit a new church camp site, having been a person who goes to camp all of my life. I am excited to have the opportunity to dip my paddle into Lake Coeur D’Alene and feel my canoe slip through the waters. On the other hand, I’m not especially looking forward to the seven-hour drive on a hot day across eastern Washington. If it is windy, which is common, the air will feel like stepping into an oven each time we step out of our air-conditioned car. Fortunately for us we now have efficient air conditioning in all of our vehicles. It won’t be the same as those long trips across the state in the days before we had air conditioning.

There is, however, a difference this year. Washington, like much of the rest of the country, is experiencing a heat wave. Out here on the coast, it means that daytime highs are reaching into the 80’s. West of the Cascades, the highs are topping 100 degrees. And the hot weather is affecting the high country as well. The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for the area that continues through tomorrow when we will be driving there. I know what to expect because last year we drove through the area and camped on the shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene in the midst of another excessive heat period. When we checked into the campground they warned us about not over using the air conditioning in our camper as the campground did not have the electrical capacity to manage all of the air conditioners in all of the campers in all of the sites. Daytime highs in the region are usually in the seventies and overnight lows in the fifties in that part of the country. People who live there don’t have air conditioners in their homes. Everyone was sweltering in the heat.

It is happening again this year. Although we should experience some relief from the high temperatures as the week goes on, our introduction to Camp N-Sid-Sen will be in nearly 100 degree conditions. And I know the cabins at the camp do not have air conditioning. Until last summer, they didn’t need air conditioning.

A little discomfort is not going to keep me from going to church camp. The conditions will be considerably less primitive than those of the church camp where I went as a child and youth. We didn’t go to camp for luxury. We went to camp for community. We went to camp for the experience of the beauty of creation. The cabins didn’t keep all of the critters outside. When we were managers at camp in the early years of our marriage, we had a strict ban on any food in the cabins because food attracted mice, which could get into the buildings and bears, which could not. We tried to avoid confrontations between those animals and our campers for good reasons.

Today I’ll be checking over the car to make sure it is ready for the trip. I’ll also be loading a canoe onto the roof rack and paddles and life vests into the back of the car. Sitting in a canoe on the lake gives me a sense of awe at the beauty of creation and connection with the elements. I’m looking forward to early morning paddles on pristine water.

I will also be aware of how much our world is changing because of our failure to be good stewards of its resources. Excessive Heat has a direct relationship to global climate change. that climate change is driven in part by human greed. Camp can be an opportunity to make commitments to changes that will benefit future generations and, hopefully, preserve some of the beauty of these places for our grandchildren and their children.