Best of Times

Our Monday started off with a bang as climbing, paddling, and mountain biking had trips out the door early this morning. After a nice rain late last night, the blue skies and wonderful breeze all day long made for a great start to the week!

Crafts moved from rockets to tie-dye.  I feel like they even wrapped that up today so that all of the guys can wear their awesome new shirts on Tie-dye Tuesday!!!  I can’t wait to see them.

The June Mini guys headed right into their activities this morning.  I feel like we even had a few shifts of a few activities by lunchtime.  The beauty of High Rocks is that the guys get to choose their activities and they never get closed out. It was great to see those boys jump right into the mix!

I’m not sure if you have seen too many pictures of her, but our new golden puppy, Biscuit, is enjoying her camp life so far.  We haven’t had a puppy in almost ten years and I have forgotten how much trouble they can get into with all that is going on at camp. Don’t fret Barley (our ten-year-old golden) is still with us.  He has more friends on his Instagram profile than I do.  Check out BarleytheCampDog on Instagram.  Anyhow, back to the puppy…  I think this hit the top of the list when it comes to mischief.  I heard someone yell “Biscuit” over by the waterslide, so I started heading that way.  By the time I got there, Biscuit was standing at the end of the slide refusing to jump.  I immediately asked, How did she get there?  Turns out Biscuit was at the top of the platform watching the boys go one by one down the slide.  Apparently, she showed no interest in going.  Finally, after about 30 minutes it sounds like she just went for it.  Down she went, but then she stalled at the bottom. There she was looking at the lifeguard with a somewhat nervous face.  Boy was she in a pickle.  This is when I came on the scene. The staff held off the campers from going, another staff was up on the slide trying to get her to go off.  I finally had to go under the slide and sort of pushed her off.  She flew into the air and made a near-perfect dive into the water.  I think she went a little deeper than she would have liked, but all was well in the end.  The campers had quite a story to tell their buddies at dinner.  I am sure there will be more stories like this one.

This evening our oldest boys headed out for the annual “chill night” event. The guys will spend the evening at Sliding Rock and then head to the infamous Dolly’s for ice cream. It should be a chilly adventure.

I think the favorite part of my day was watching age groups enjoy their evening programs together.  The waterfront was alive with full groups on the waterslide and rope swing along with a full-on nautical assault by the younger boys playing canoe fill-ups. The rest of the age groups played a little three-way soccer, and McCallie Ball on the activity field.

On a side note, (and I may be opening myself up for a load of trouble) if you have not seen pictures of your son there are a couple of things that can help and a few things to consider. First, “the help.” Send a letter and remind your son to step out when they see the photographer. You may notice that some boys have a knack for the “photo shoot,” like a model uses the runway. Others, are more into what they are doing and may not be as interested in getting in front of the camera. Again, the best help is to ask them in a letter. Second, I can help you if you are feeling like you have not seen your son. Drop me a secret email. I can pass that on to Kelyn, our fine photographer. She does a great job and would definitely catch your boy. A couple of items to consider. First, your son may be on a trip or even multiple trips. If he is in rock climbing, paddling, hiking, or mountain biking he is likely to be out on a trip from time to time. The second item to consider is that as boys reach their teenage years they often feel a little “too cool for school” when it comes to pictures. Again, Kelyn does a great job at catching them in action, so she may still get them.

It is not too early to start thinking about next summer.  If you have friends that may be interested, the summer is THE best time to see camp in all its glory. If you time it right while all the boys are out in their activities, prospective families can speak with the staff and campers as they move around High Rocks to see how our community runs. It is a great experience. Spread the word! Here is the tour sign-up link.  You can also just give us a call to schedule a tour.

More adventures tomorrow!

All the best,

Don Gentle

Today’s Pictures