Upper Senior Dinner and Cabin Night

It sure has been a crazy few days. As a camp director, it is these days that help challenge us to bring the best. We took the weather in stride, adjusted a few events to create some fun, and just embraced being at camp. We still had a couple of trips out today. In camp, we added some more opportunities out of our regular activity schedule. The afternoon was filled with an “air band” competition that really brought the group together. I enjoyed seeing all the smiles, the laughter, and the pure joy of just having fun.

Tonight, most of camp had some choice evening programs that worked well with the weather. They then transitioned to some cabin night discussions and snack that will take them to their highlights and goals later tonight during their cabin meeting. I was privileged enough to host the upper senior age group at the director’s house for the evening.  The upper senior dinner has been a long tradition at High Rocks, but a fairly new one for the June Session. With the help of some awesome staff, we put together a fine steak dinner with sides including corn, salad, and Texas toast. I will say, that we had so much meat that they didn’t finish it all.  We wrapped up the meal with ice cream for dessert.  After the meal, we all enjoyed a little discussion about the Upper Senior Challenge Results. We passed out their Upper Senior Challenge T-Shirts. Finally, we enjoyed some dessert and discussed what their future at High Rocks might look like including opportunities for continuation in the upper senior age group, counselor aides, counselor trainees, assistant counselors, and future staff.  It was a great group to hang out with for a few hours. I look forward to seeing most of them back next summer.

On a side note, during the Three Week Session, we quietly and successfully started a Camp High Rocks library. Located in the Dining Hall, campers are welcome to peruse the shelves and borrow books throughout their session. On the first day we opened it up, books went flying off the shelf. We are still working to build up our library and we invite you to bring any books that your campers may have outgrown, in good condition to donate! Please drop them off with Darby at check-out. You are welcome to stop by our small library on closing day and see the start of a new High Rocks staple!

Tomorrow we have regular activities in the morning and then we will start our transition after lunch. First, we start packing our trunks for pick-up on Friday morning.  We wrap up the afternoon with a camp-wide game. It has been a highly exciting event over the last few years. We will shower before dinner and then enjoy a sit-down meal that is served by our head staff.  Finally, we will head up to campfire one last time to sing some songs, listen to a story, end then hand out our ten-year paddles.  It is going to be quite a day. Always a lot of excitement and emotion.

While I’m thinking of Closing Day, I’d like to pass along a few logistical details. Closing Day will run from 9:15 am to 11:15 am. You are welcome to arrive anytime during this window. There are not assigned times for closing day. If previous years are an indication, we expect most parents to arrive before 10:45. If you are running late, give our office a call so we can let your camper know. If you are shipping a trunk and you have not already done so, please fill out this UPS form and email Darby at [email protected]. Trunks will be packed tomorrow and delivered to UPS Friday afternoon.

Don Gentle

Today’s Pictures