Camp Wandawega

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Elkhorn, WI
Camp Wandawega

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The Historic Camp Wandawega
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10/28/2026

At this age, my more well-adjusted girlfriends dream about designer shoes. I dream about commercial-grade snow removal equipment.

Meet the newest member of the little fleet: a Ford F-350 Heavy Duty 4x4, outfitted with a BOSS XT snowplow.

She’s not new. She’s def not pretty. But she’s a hell of a workhorse (and beats having to call a plow truck at 5 a.m. in February)

We’re calling her the Timber Truck- She’s the new workhorse for our mighty crew of two, Zach & Jesus.

Over the years, (pics here of friends & fam pitching in to keep this place standing)

With 25 acres of woods, oak wilt, elm disease

Clearing & hauling timber. Moving gravel. Pushing snow. & the other 100 things it takes to keep this place standing. The goal is to be more self-sufficient every year. (A dump bed of bonfire logs and one Wisco snowstorm at a time.)

I’m for real just excited about a truck that can haul three tons of dirt. (Midlife is a strange and beautiful thing)

10/21/2026

Huckberry is now carrying our Into the Woods collection. We’ve been fans of the brand and the lines they curate for a long time, and are honored to be in the mix.

10/18/2026

The best dance floor might just be a basketball court underneath the stars paired with a few fairy hats, animal masks and some friends that know how to throw down- (we agree, Devon)

Congrats
Simone Murphy & Caden photos by Devon║Lifestyle Photographer

10/13/2026

Our attic is about to have its first gallery show.

In February, The Jaunt teamed up with Joy Machine to bring Wyatt Hersey, Melissa Lakey, Esther Pearl Watson (she/her), and Anna Valdez to camp. They spent five days painting, sharing meals, and exploring the grounds in the snow.

They found their way to our Department of Objects—an attic full of old books, fishing lures, patches, and camp ephemera—and made it their studio.

Here are a few behind-the-scenes photos from their visit, along with the work it inspired.

We love having artists here. Alongside gatherings like this, we have our own artist-in-residence program. Both give people time and space to make things, get to know each other, and follow whatever catches their eye. It’s always a gift to see what someone else notices in a place we know so well.

Now, that attic has inspired an exhibition—and lent it its name.

The Department of Objects opens October 23 at Joy Machine, 6–8 p.m. All four artists will be there, along with a few objects from camp.

A little about the people who brought this together:

Founded by Jeroen Smeets, The Jaunt sends artists around the world to experience new places and cultures. Back home, each artist creates a limited-edition silkscreen print inspired by their journey.

Joy Machine is a contemporary art gallery in Chicago’s Irving Park, founded by Grace Ebert, Colossal’s editorial director, and Christopher Jobson, Colossal’s founder. The gallery shows emerging and established artists, with joy at the heart of its programming.

10/09/2026

At five o’clock this morning, I found myself sitting on a hotel floor with people I’d never met.
(took a little road trip to see my brother & landed here at the Black Hawk Hotel in Cedar Falls) Turns out it’s the second oldest continuously operating hotel in the country. I wandered up to the 3rd floor, found an old photo album, and sat down with my coffee.

So much for getting an early start.

An hour of old cabins, lake days, picnics, camping trips. Zooming in on handwritten captions. Trying to read somebody’s cursive and figure out who everybody was.

This is pretty much how research happens for Wandawega. I call it research. David calls it wondering where I went.

Part research, part remembering. There’s a lot to learn from how people used to spend time together. And a lot we still want to make room for at camp.

It’s why I keep buying these albums. If you wander up to the Department of Objects, through the stacks at the back, you’ll find piles of them. I buy them whole so they don’t get pulled apart and sold off for crafts.

Somebody went to the trouble of keeping all those memories together. Seems like the least we can do is keep them that way.

And sometimes, when we’re figuring out what to do next at Wandawega, looking back helps.

Some things don’t need reinventing.

10/01/2026

For Tino. ❤️

So many circles of friends are mourning the loss of this beautiful human. Our creative friends, our Soho House friends, the , the Pride community, and so many people whose lives he touched along the way.

We first met Tino when he spearheaded the Wanderboys Pride retreat that we hosted here. I remember watching him rally everyone together and thinking how freaking amazing it was that one person could make so many people feel so loved, welcomed, and like they belonged.

That was the weekend we raised the Pride flag.
We never took it down.

I’ve been looking back through our last text exchanges- every single one had something in common. He always made a point to tell us say I love you Every time. (so very Tino to everyone who knew him)

You’ve been in our hearts and minds in so many new ways these past days, Tino. Eternal sunshine by every definition.

Sharing this little film from that first weekend, because it captures so much of what you gave to the people around you.

Nothing but love and gratitude for having known you.

May your beautiful light keep shining. 🌈

09/29/2026

Landed 8 hours ago.
First thing I unpacked was the notebook.

(Somebody way smarter than me said that sometimes the best way to figure out what’s next is to go look at what’s lasted.)

RESEARCH TRIP : PARIS (Hitlist)

4 days with old friends, walking to blisters, eating everything & doing some very serious Camp research.

ST. AMBROISE FLEA
Started with the important stuff: digging through other people’s old things.

THE GREEN BOOK STALLS OF THE SEINE
& always & forever-

E.DEHILLERIN Officiel
Chef’s supply house dating to the 1800s, jammed with copper pots & all the mysterious kitchen implements. A living, breathing institution of craft.

Deyrolle
A taxidermy + natural history rabbit hole. Same spot for 200 years. Antique specimen cases for the Fieldhouse. Pretty good day.

Rodolphe Paquin
Former hideout of an 18th-century outlaw. Cartouche stashed his loot here, getaway tunnel included. Original murals, game, pâté & enough history to make lunch feel like research-which it was-obviously.

DU PAIN ET DES IDEES
Mindy’s favorite bakery, so we trekked there before sunrise. Est. 1875 & still feeling like itself. (Get the almond croissant.)

🇨🇵. Le parizot. 🥖
The tiniest sandwich shop with the longest line. 3 ingredients: Ham, butter, baguette. Didnt know charcoal bread was a thing?

Shakespeare and Company, Paris
Always a time travel. Writers have made the pilgrimage here forever. (The sleeping quarters tucked into the book stacks- I die.)
robert_robertetlouise
A Bourdain favorite for old-fashioned rustic cooking & huge slabs of beef grilled over the hearth.

1/2 siècle 1/2 diplôme 1/2 neurone & qq kilos à perdre
Tiny, chaotic art & comics bookstore. Like someone’s personal collection turned into a shop.

Just got home with a broken suitcase latch & a head full of ideas.
Lucky to get to do it with friends Mindy Segal & Christina Glickman — so freaking happy to crash a friend-of-a-friend’s flat straight out of Elle.
Turns out perspective was the best thing I brought home.

09/27/2026

About last week:
Outtakes from
Soho House Chicago camp takeover Through the lens of z marciniak

Good times with many friends
Esperanza Rosas Emma McKee myron SunRae. ☀️ & Portia King👑 “Yaw know who my dad isssss” Σ Chris Elizabeth
Kalan Sebert Dondanville
+ +

09/24/2026

That’s a wrap! Continuing our annual tradition of bonfires, meals & creative workshops with our friends at Chicago -
workshops by - good food by . Hosted by & - video by met too many new friends ! than insta lets us tag- y’all know who you are & loved spending time with you. (Thank you )
Until next year ✌️❤️

Address

W5453 Lake View Drive
Elkhorn, WI
53121

Website

http://wandawega.com/

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