Saturday in the Mountains
July 20, 2019 by Don Gentle
Saturdays are always great, but today was fantastic. Particularly for our four-week boys, the weekends are a great time to catch back up with everyone. Some of these guys miss several activities during the week because of trips or other events. It is all part of their plan for the session. This Saturday was a fine summer day in the mountains from sun up to sundown. The cool mountain air of the morning was a wonderful welcome as I walked up to the dining hall before the wake-up bell this morning.
The barn folks took off to the Tryon International Equestrian Center for a horse show this morning. TIEC was the host for the World Equestrian Games last September. The boys were able to watch some younger riders compete and check out this amazing facility. They really enjoyed it. Most all of the campers in horseback riding took off for the morning event.
For the boys in camp, the morning was filled with a fun and creative twist to most activities. Canoeing enjoyed some instruction and a few games that helped them with their skills, yet was a lot of fun. The climbers were doing several adventure activities including the caving ladder and the porta ledge used typically for multi-day climbs. Shooting sports competed against each other with a number of different scoring games including the fun “plinking targets” where one team tried to get the balls all the way to the bottom of the rack before the other team shot them off the rack. A great match of skills.
More of the same happened this afternoon. I spent some time down by the waterfront to witness all fo the excitement the boys were having in the lake during our warm afternoon.
Our choice period was converted to “beautification hour” for our boys so that they could go back to their cabins to clean-up for the square dance later this evening. We enjoyed a nice dinner on the lawn before hosting the girls from Keystone Camp. The campers all had a wonderful time. It is a great event for these kids to enjoy each other in a wonderful atmosphere. I always enjoy seeing all of the siblings that attend too. There are a number of pictures from the dance and for the parents that I will push up in the morning. I hope we caught all of the brothers and sisters. We sure did enjoy having them.
As we turn the corner into the last week of camp, many boys still have some goals to reach. I am looking forward to helping them reach those goals. It is going to be a fantastic week. Tomorrow we rest for a bit, but on Monday we are back at it!
That is all for tonight!
Don