Self Reliance

August 2, 2013 by Don Gentle

August 2nd Pictures

We had an incredibly beautiful day.  It was almost too warm?!? However, the nice breeze that blew all day was like whip cream on a Sundae.  The warm weather brought out a lot of guys to swim during choice period. We gave our usual photographer Bryan Ham the day off, which made me the fill-in camera guy today.  I sure had a lot of fun meeting a few more of the boys and taking pictures today.

These guys have really cruised right into the groove here.  I really enjoy watching the boys moving from place to place, cruising in for snack as they need it, getting changed, and even getting to activities on time…mostly :). It was great to see these guys heading out on trails in mountain biking.  The campers spend the first few days in the grass learning all the important stuff first.  Sometimes that even means learning to fall. It sure is nicer on the grass.  The last couple of days they have started heading out on the trail.  With 1100 acres, we have all sorts of trails to get these guys started on.  It’s an awesome skill to learn to trail ride.  They sure were enjoying it!

So the one thing I find the hardest during the summer is not eating so much of the awesome food in the dining hall.  It was another great day.  We started the morning with sausage biscuits AND sausage gravy!  It was complimented with hash browns, fruit, cereal, and yogurt.  I mean what is a man to do? Am I to walk right by the sausage and biscuits and pretend they aren’t even there? I think not! I went for it!  For lunch we had pork and chicken BBQ, baked beans, slaw, hush puppies, fries, and a loaded salad bar.  Again… am I suppose to head right over to the salad bar? Couldn’t do it.  I LOVE barbecue!  Finally dinner rolls around with a meat and veggie lasagna, corn broccoli, and another great salad bar. I had to stay strong. Strong like going for the lasagna!  While most camp directors would happily let the kitchen run the show, Townsend still has a huge interest in the food!  We buy most all of our produce local during the season.  Our meat is from the local butcher of in Hendersonville, and most everything is made from scratch.  She spends a lot of time on the menu every year.  It is a lot about choices for both the campers and the staff. It adds a bit of cost, but we LOVE IT!  It definitely makes High Rocks even more special.

Alright, sorry about the food rant.  I must be hungry again.  I have been up a little late getting all the stuff we need for next year’s registration.  The crazy thing is that it starts the Monday after camp ends!  We are trying to make it a little easier by sending out a pre-filled application or the opportunity to register online.  Anyhow, I think the late nights make me hungry.

I think I was moving into the self reliance when I couldn’t stop thinking about food.  As I mentioned a couple days ago, High Rocks really gives these guys some freedom to make decisions and opportunity to choose their own path of what makes High Rocks awesome for them.  Rather than cruise around in a cabin group, each of these guys head off on their own journey.  Sure that might be with a couple guys in the cabin but it might also be just heading out without anyone. I really enjoyed seeing these guys move around camp today with their own set of goals, ideas, and imagination.  They are making new friends, laughing a lot, and talking face to face. There are no electronics, girls, pressure of school, or even their parents.  High Rocks sure does make summer camp a blast!

Once again, the fun continued tonight. Check all the fun we had for evening activities:

• “Questions that don’t need answering.” (Hillside & Connestee) Cabin Overnights!
• “Green” (Lakeside & Foxhollow) Foxhollow is on their cabin overnight. Lakeside is in the cabin field.
• “Purple Rainbow Unicorns” (Flattop & Chalet) Soccer Field!
• “Bottom Feeders” (Windswept & Outpost) Gaga Ball Pitt.  This is a really cool dodge ball-like game.  You can only hit the ball once, then it has to hit the wall or another person before you can hit it again.  The boys really enjoy it.
• “Red Robin” (Lookout & Holiday) Dodge ball in the gym!
• “Channel 4 News Team” (Halfway & Pinnacle)! Waterslide!

I’m beat and I’m late again.  I’ll be back with more excitement tomorrow! Enjoy the pictures!

Don