Another fantastic Sunday here at High Rocks! After a much-needed sleep-in, the boys worked hard to get their laundry up to the lot before breakfast. We had a great meal, then a little bounce-around time in assembly before service. Both took place in the gym as the tropical weather moved through. Zoob led our morning service using some details from the book, “How Full Is Your Bucket”, by Tom Rath. It was another focus on community and how you interact with one another. There are things that empty your bucket like a put-down, and opportunities that fill your bucket like a compliment. Zoob shared some thoughtful insight and how that might work in their day-to-day life here at High Rocks.
The rest of the morning was filled with some free time activities While the tropic rain bands kept rolling through, we just kept playing. The pictures tell the story. It was the first rain we had in over a week. The boys embraced the rain throughout all morning in the activities.
This afternoon the rain part and the sun returned. This brought about a few age-group activities that included the water slide, canoeing, capture the flag, and the mud pit. The main event, however, was the “Upper Senior Challenge!” Again, this event is like an adventure race that is put together very much like ‘The Amazing Race.” Teams must move from place to place performing tasks. Each clue takes them to another part of camp where they must read and communicate the challenge appropriately to the other team members. Most all the challenges are activities some of the guys have been doing for years at camp. Teams are divided up by cabin groups and only the oldest “upper-senior” group competes. Activities included a lot of running, shooting sports, mountain biking, climbing, canoeing, the rope swing, tennis, soccer, and fire building. It was truly a challenge for these boys.
The most important part of this event is that they must do it as a team. The cabin group cannot start another activity until all the members are there and they do not finish until their whole team has passed the finish line. It is amazing to see these boys motivate and cheer each other on throughout the whole event. Of course, some are more athletic than others, but not all the skills are athletic, and everyone pulls their weight. It is one of my favorite Sunday events in camp. I really enjoy seeing these boys, some of whom have been here since they were seven, show the mastery and skills they have learned through the years of camp. There are a number of pictures that really show how much these guys put into it. What a fantastic group of young men.
Our day ended with a great cookout on the lawn followed by campfire and a fantastic story from a longtime staff member, Dan Noland. Near the end of campfire, we handed out five-year backpacks for this session. There were sixteen campers that received them tonight. All these boys are about to complete their fifth summer here at High Rocks. Next week, we will hand out a few 10-year Fritz Orr paddles.
We are so excited to have one more week! It is going to be amazing!
Have a great night,
Don
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