Welcome Mini IIs
July 14, 2014 by Don Gentle
It could not have been a more perfect day for for our Mini II arrival! Sunny and warm, with a nice breeze. I always enjoy the surprise on our parents faces when they open the door to the beautiful mountain air. Life at 3000ft has its advantages!
I sure did enjoy meeting all of our families this morning. I hope everyone was able to find their way to our blog. Click the link that says “Today’s Pictures” for the gallery. If you have any trouble, drop me a line and I will help you out.
We have only a few new guys here in this session, with most of the boys coming in as brothers or second year campers. The four week and Mini Sessions fill up pretty fast come registration time. I personally feel like July is what you call Prime Time when it comes to summer camp.
These new guys really add some fresh excitement in camp. They finished out their morning with a quick tour of camp and an activity selection time. I was pretty impressed that two of the guys made their way to the camp store by 12:30 (sorry mom, doesn’t look like any refund there). Once the delicious lunch of chicken fingers and all the fixin’s was over they went right into their activities! After their two afternoon activity choices, their “choice” period brought all sorts of fun like gaga ball, tennis, and swimming.
For our four week boys, it could not have been a busier morning. We had two hikes head into the wilderness today; one, a three-day to incredible Panthertown Valley, and the other a five day on the Art Loeb trail in Pisgah. Our paddlers had one trip heading to the Green River for canoeing, and the other heading to the French Broad River for a paddle board trip. Climbing took off for a two-day in Pisgah with a plan to climb a few multi-pitch climbs on Looking Glass. This means the boys will travel several full rope lengths up the rock to the top. A skill only a few of our climbers get to experience. These boys are playing hard this week!
Holy cow was it a perfect day for a mountain lake swim! The lake had all sorts of excitement going on at choice period. Canoeing, paddle boards, endurance swims, sailing. We are so fortunate to have such a sizable lake for a mountain summer camp. Not only is it a nice size, we also don’t have to share it with anyone.
Choice period brought us right up to dinner and evening program. Our middler group had early dinner and then headed down to Pisgah for Chill Night! A night of Sliding Rock (our world famous natural water slide in Pisgah) followed by Dolly’s ice cream! If the cold mountain stream doesn’t cool you off enough (coming in at a stout 65 degrees), ice cream is sure to finish the job of “the chill.” Our Mini II guys had their own lake fun with the waterslide AND the rope swing! They could not have been more excited! The laughing, screaming, and pure excitement echoed through the hills. The older age groups both had select field games for evening program. Finally, we wrapped up with some cabin time and snack on the lawn before heading back to our cabins. It sort of makes you want to have another Monday. I bet you don’t get to hear that much at work :)…
After a hard day of playing, everyone is ready for some rest. Those min i II guys will be up and excited early! I need to prepare… Only sleep can help…
Good Night!
Don Gentle