Fun in the Mountain Sun

June 19, 2010 by Don Gentle

Pictures from June 19, 2010 (password required)

This Saturday was a lot of fun in camp.  We kicked the day off with pancakes prepared by guest grillers, Scott Sullivan and Dan Noland.  We then had a rip roaring, fun time the rest of the day!  On with the activities!

Starting over at the climbing wall, we begin with the zany “Pirate Day” where campers “storm the tower” and staff members defend it by throwing water down on them.  The boys have a blast as they get soaking wet!  The event ends each hour with a selected camper climbing to the top of the tower with the pirate flag as a cape and lays claim to the Climbing Tower at the top!

Horseback riding had a similar pirate day event with trail rides staged around a treasure hunt.  The boys would have to follow the clues along the way in order to find the buried treasure!  You will also see some “Celebrity Barn Staff” in the pictures today.  The barn has selected staff from other activities to come down from time to time and be a celebrity rider.   I must say, Woody, our head counselor, looks quite sharp in riding gear.  Chris Dorrity, our head of climbing, also made an appearance this week.

The mountain bikers put on some pretend tattoos then dressed up a little rugged and ready for the road.  They set their bikes up with the classic clothespin-playing cards in the spoke to create a motorcycle-like sound.  Finally, the boys “drove” their bikes through camp to create a sort of bike gang harassment as they cruised through each activity.

Archery and Riflery each had special skilled events going on for their Saturday.  The archers each put multiple balloons on their targets, and then attempted to pop each one with arrows.  In riflery, the boys would pair up; one shooting, the other spotting with a scope.  The goal was to find the small camouflaged plastic dinosaur in the grassy hill.  The team has to work closely since only the spotter can usually find the dinosaur.  The spotter then tries to communicate the location to the shooter to create a winning combination.  It is a great skill in teamwork and communication that the boys really enjoy.

The hikers started out with some great fire building, and then the boys used the fire to roast marshmallows for s’mores.   What a way to motivate someone to get a fire started…add a little chocolate!

Arts and crafts started their ever-popular Tie-Dyes today.  The boys are always excited about these.

We have a dance tonight with another local girls’ camp from Brevard.  Keystone Camp will be coming over to square dance with us tonight.  It should be a lot of fun!

Have a great night!

Don Gentle