Carnival Day and The Mud!
August 2, 2015 by Don Gentle
I really enjoy Sunday’s at High Rocks. I think the change of pace adds a whole lot to the feel of camp. Even though the wake-up bell is a little later on Sunday, I still woke up pretty early this morning. I did a little reading, and then found myself in the office. I knew their would be coffee and doughnuts out early in the dining hall, so I grabbed my mug and headed up. Sure enough, fresh roasted coffee from our local roaster right here in Brevard, Brown Bean Coffee Roasters. AND, the Krispy Kreme fairy delivered dozens of glazed doughnuts overnight. I enjoyed my one doughnut I allowed myself while also enjoying the company of the kitchen crew, and then headed back down to the camp house to do a little work. I quickly found a detour down to the youngest cabin of boys who were already awake and doing their best to remain quiet, but very excited about the the day. I enjoyed hearing some of their stories, and then some of their comics they shared. I watched couple guys play some connect four on the floor while questions flew at me like a machine gun. I was able to rattle back some answers that satisfied them and then offered up some of my own questions about their camp experience. It was time well spent. I then gave the counselor a pat on the head as he lay there with one eye open trying to enjoy the last few minutes of rest and headed out the door.
We enjoyed a quiet lakeside service after breakfast and assembly before jumping into some excitement. The rest of the morning we played some fun games with our age groups, which was immediately followed by the Mud Pit Challenge before lunch. There is just something about mud and a large group of boys. I always enjoy how timid the boys are at first. Testing the mud a little with their feet, while others just drop to their elbows and crawl. Pretty soon everyone is making their way through the mud like it was their mission. Of course, it makes for incredible pictures and a lot of fun! This year I found myself being encouraged by the whole group of campers to take my own plunge through the mud. Admittedly, I have never ben in the mud pit. Not that I didn’t want to , but I am usually taking pictures or running video. Anyhow, the crowd did not cease, so I gave in after they also cornered Woody. Zoob quickly joined in and there you have it! I did the mud pit too today :)…
As if the morning fun wasn’t enough, the afternoon soon came to life after rest hour with the Annual High Rocks Carnival! Complete with all sorts of games and fun including a bounce house and a dunk tank. The boys had a blast and so did the staff!
We followed that excitement with a little shower time before our weekly cookout on the lawn. Much like last night, we all enjoyed hamburgers, hot dogs and all the fixin’s while we enjoyed another beautiful evening outside.
Dinner took us right into our weekly campfire. We taught the boys some slower songs from the songbook. Afterward, one of our counselors, Richard shared a great story. I spoke to the boys about making the most of these last few days. I also encouraged them to extend their friendships to others around them while they did their part to make High Rocks a great community.
There are probably too many pictures tonight, but I had a hard time deleting any of the mud fun! You will also see another link below of the “photo booth” we set up at carnival. These are pretty fun too.
It sure was an incredible week. We are all rested up and ready to head back into our activities tomorrow. It is going to be a great week! Thanks again for sharing your boys with us!
Don