Color War and Final Campfire
July 26, 2019 by Don Gentle
It was a wonderful finish to our July session today. We kicked off the day with our final match of the counselor-camper tennis match. The final two camper-counselor pairs matched off while a number of campers and staff looked on. A time-honored event that has gone on for decades.
Several activities were practicing for tomorrow’s demonstrations on parent’ day. Again, for tomorrow, there will be drill team for horseback around 10:15am, then hiking at 10:30am, climbing at 10:45am, mountain biking (cabin field) at 11:00am, and finally padding at 11:15am. Only mountain biking will be in a different location from their normal activity spot.
After a quick pack-up after lunch, it was time for the biggest excitement of the day; color war. The boys divide into five different teams and play a capture-the-flag style game that really gets them going. It sure was a lot of fun!
It has been an amazing few weeks. We got a little dirty, a little crazy, and we may have even struggled a bit. You know what, though? We did it ourselves… Guided by some incredible young men that are the coolest thing since sliced bread. We learned new skills, new adventures, but most importantly some life skills along the way that school cannot teach us. We made some friends. We sure did love it! For us, it was never about the destination and it never will be. Give us the journey… This is where the story is told.
A few tips for the ride home tomorrow and next week:
- Be sure to continue the conversation about camp at High Rocks and what his highlights were. The stories are great, but sometimes boys need a little help to get the conversation started. All of the two-week parents should use their parent letter as an outline for the conversation.
- At some point next week: Sit down with your son and go through the picture galleries. He hasn’t seen them yet. This will definitely get him talking about camp and it is always fun to hear about what he was doing when a certain picture was taken. You will have your very own narrator.
- Talk about next summer. If your son wants to return to High Rocks next summer (and we hope so), go ahead and decide which session he will attend. Enrollment begins on Sunday, August 13th at 5 pm. You have a few weeks as returning campers, but after that, you may have a harder time getting a spot with the first-year applications coming in.
- Don’t forget about the parent survey. We will send out a link on Monday. We enjoy feedback to keep making camp better each year. This year there is also a special Economic Impact Study of North Carolina camps. Please help us influence our state legislature by filling out this survey.
Tonight at campfire, we gave out twenty-eight 5-year backpacks tonight and another two 10-year Fritz Orr paddles
Thank you for trusting us with your sons. Thank you for checking in every night and believing in our mission. You sure do have incredible boys and we truly enjoy having them not just being part of the High Rocks community but MAKING our community. It was a great two and four weeks in these mountains.
Until next year…
Don and Zoob Gentle
Directors