Pictures from June 21, 2010 (password required)
note: today’s pictures span several days

Mountain Biking Across Upper Pasture

What a day at High Rocks! Six trips were out & we still had all of our regular activities too!!  This last week is the culmination of the skills our campers learned in the first few weeks.  Lots of trips will leave camp each day this week and in-camp activities will be continuing their skill progressions until the last day of camp.  For many campers just being away from home for three weeks is the biggest challenge.  For others the biggest challenge might be attaining a goal in an activity.  Our ongoing goal is to be sure that High Rocks contributes to the growth of our campers.  Fun and adventure are a big part of our program, but we have other goals for our campers that we hope they will carry with them into the future.  Taking a few steps towards independance, treating others with respect, developing self-confidence, being a contributing member of a community- these are some of our goals for our campers.  

Mail can be slow to arrive in Cedar Mountain. At this late date in the session, I recommend not sending any more letters.  Any letters sent after today probably will not arrive until after the session is over. We will continue to deliver letters, emails and faxes until Thursday.

Several camps in the Brevard area will end on Friday, which means full hotels and restaurants on Thursday evening. If you will be in the area on Thursday night, it would be a good idea to have supper reservations unless you plan to eat fast food. Here are some possibilities, most take reservations:

Nicer local restaurants (not chains), all are downtown, except Sora-

Sora – 828-883-9808 (Hank’s Favorite) Japanese / Sushi (near Wal-Mart)
Jordan Street Cafe – 828-883-2558 (Townsend’s Favorite for supper)
Falls Landing – 828-884-2835 (Seafood- we eat there often at lunchtime)
HobNob- 828-966-4662 (Don & Zoob’s favorite)
The Quarry- 828-877-2244
Marco Trattori- 828-883-4841
Square Root- 828-884-6171

Not fancy, but lots of food-

Twin Dragons Chinese Buffet- kids like it, lots of food, lots of variety
Cielito Lindo – Mexican- Fast service, no reservations needed

More restaurants are listed on www.brevardncchamber.org

You should be receiving a letter from your son’s counselor soon. Townsend was proofing them over the weekend & most went in today’s mail.

Wednesday will probably be the last day of pictures. We will all be fairly busy with numerous end-of-session details on Thursday and Friday.  Many of you pre-ordered a flash drive of pictures from the session.  The USB flash drive is a 4-gigabite drive with high quality versions of the lower-quality pictures we have included on this website.  If you did not preorder a flash drive we will have more available for sale on closing day as well.

Take care,

Hank Birdsong

 Pictures from June 13, 2010 (password required)

Sunday Morning by the Lake

Today started out with a sweet bang!  The Krispy Kreme guy came late last night and dropped off 400 sweet and delicious glazed doughnuts!  The boys were psyched!  Krispy Kreme is more of a household word than it used to be.  Of course, most everyone around here has known what “Hot & Now” has meant for decades!  The sweet “wall of glaze” that the doughnuts go under after they are fried still enchants me to this day.

The day continued with a time for songs and reflection down by the lake, where Zoob lead us with some words about friendship.  She queried the boys about what makes a good friend and how do we go about choosing them.  Her discussion continued about how some of your best friends are the most unlikely ones initially.  She shared a story with the boys that has become a modern classic; the story of “Owen and Mzee”.  It is a true story of a baby hippo and a 130 year- old tortoise who are forced into an impossible relationship, one that by all the rules should never have happened. A tale of two creatures who come to depend on one another in extraordinary circumstances when a baby hippo is rescued after being separated from its mother in a Tsunami and paired up with the ancient tortoise.  The two form an inseparable bond that defines what friendship can and is all about.  Check out www.owenandmzee.com if you want to hear more about this incredible story.

High Rocks is one of those places where friendships are created under incredible circumstances.  I know of so many stories of boys who have met here and request to be bunk mates every year…and they live hundreds of miles away from each other during the school year.  Camp creates so many great friendships; bonds that last for decades and beyond.  Zoob did a great job of identifying some of the former campers (now staff) who have formed life-long friendships here at camp that continue today.  She challenged the boys to be on the lookout for those friends and reach out to those who seem unlikely to be your friend, but could be your best friend once you get to know them.  What a great message…

Sunday morning continued with many choice activities that lasted until lunch including: fishing, swimming, canoeing, disc golf, ping pong, bocce’, croquet, basketball, and tennis.  Lunch was a hefty feast of roasted turkey, rice, dressing, beans, gravy, biscuits, and the salad bar.  We washed it down with ice cream “sundaes on Sunday,” and took a much needed rest.

The afternoon continued with age-group activities that involved a lot of running wrapped up with a refreshing swim.  The evening continues with a cookout on the lawn, followed by our weekly campfire event where we sing a few songs, listen to a story, and reflect on the past week with an eye on the week ahead.  I love Sundays!

There are some great pictures from the square dance last night as well as a climbing trip, and finally the boys having fun on Sunday!

Have a great night…we sure are!

Don Gentle
Associate Director