A message from the Connecticut Burns Care Foundation

Ryan and Dwight hope to raise $10,000 to support the burn camp, which will host 70 children between the ages of 8 and 18. They are determined to reach the West Coast as a personal challenge as well as helping young burn survivors.

Started in 1991, the Arthur C. Luf Children's Burn Camp is located in northern Connecticut on 176 acres. Every summer, burn survivors come to the burn camp, which is a safe and fun environment that helps kids heal emotionally and physically. The Burn Camp is free to the children, who come primarily from the Northeast and some foreign counteries, but any burn survivor child anywhere is welcome. More than 70 adult counselors, primarily active and retired firefighters and burn unit nurses, occupational and physical therapists, child psychologists and even a doctor will serve as mentors for the week.

It's also our goal to promote burn awareness and fire prevention and education, which we do year around. We sponsor a burn survivor, burned in a car accident that involved speeding and drinking alcohol, who speaks to high school students throughout Connecticut. We also support the burn unit at Bridgeport Hospital, helping to purchase equipment.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Giant Ants in the Desert

One thing I never expected about this adventure was the vicious and in one case, monstrous ant! Before the powdery sands of the desert and the hundreds of ants of all varieties that live in it, there was no reason to use a tent on a nice night.

As I was laying down in the dark last night, I noticed a biting every once in a while on my exposed skin. At first, I thought it was the norm, mosquitos or horse flies, but once I turned my headlamp on I noticed there were hundreds of red ants, everywhere! They got in my panier bags, in my food bag and were climbing all over me, biting. Then I saw the mother!...


Ferocious looking. Some mutant ant that was most of the size of Dwight's index finger. No one told me about this...Ants aren't suppose to get this big...

I'll be tenting it in the desert.
Posted by at

2 comments:

Albert said...

Welcome to the desert. It is said that there are 318 species of ants living in Arizona – more than in any other single state. You’ve got to take some of those ants very seriously. There’s at least one species that is urinophilic. In other words, attracted to your nether regions (and prone to explore.) Ever hear of the amazonian candirú fish? Well some of these puppies exhibit the same proclivities. I don’t want to hear about any penectomies on your road trip.

August 11, 2008 at 9:48 PM
Unknown said...

I'd watch out or that mother of all ants you took a picture of. I believe they're known to be poisonous.

By the way, where are you guys now? Still Arizona or near Cali?

August 12, 2008 at 12:04 PM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)