Tie-Dye Taco Tuesday is always a good day to be at camp. So the beautiful cool start to the morning matched to the bluebird skies was just a handy bonus. And a perfect way to welcome our freshly arrived Mini guys to their first full camp day!
Breakfast consisted of cereals, coffee cake, sausages, boiled eggs, yogurt/fruit, and grits so good I heard young campers discussing them in the lunch line. To assembly next for some enthusiastic singing to fully come awake. Then off to morning activities.
Horseback riders were out on the trails for their lessons, enjoying the shade of the woods on this sunny day. Some of our new riders also got to see the farrier in action as a couple of horses got new sets of shoes put on. A few expressed some amazement at the use of electric drills in part of the trimming process!
Archery and Riflery both are seeing some solid advancement through the target distance (archery) or the shooting position (riflery). Watching archery guys shoot at 30 and 40 yards, accurately, is quite impressive. In fishing, a couple of large bass catches recently have fired up the fishermen and they were working hard to ascertain the likely paths that those behemoths would take. At the same time, our Mini II guys were getting the full intro to the lake, seeing all the different spots there are to fish from, and learning the basics of knot tying.
With a warm afternoon and not a storm cloud in sight, the afternoon swimming scene was bustling. A class working on the backstroke was followed by one voluntarily asking for distance swimming for the entirety of the activity. Then free swim was hopping with water basketball, the iceberg, games in the deep area, and even waterslide/rope swinging during the evening.
The nice weather wasn’t lost on the tripping portion of camp either. A morning mountain biking Dupont trip enjoyed dry trails and were back before the day’s heat built to any noticeable level. Canoers headed to the Tuckaseegee for a sunny run down the gorge. A group of climbers headed out early this morning to Linville Gorge for a three day trip, offering plenty of time to climb all over the Gorge along with plenty of campfire time to reflect on how awesome life can be.
Our hikers returned from their overnight trip late this afternoon looking quite proud of themselves, fairly dirty, and more than a little excited about dinner in the dining hall with the prospect of warm showers not long after. For one of the young members of the trip, it was his first hiking trip and his first overnight trip off of camp property. Two momentous accomplishments which clearly he was processing as he munched his evening pretzels.
Flattop campers had a crack at the high ropes course, and our Age Group 4 guys crushed an early dinner before heading off for their Chill Night. If ever there was an evening to enjoy freezing cold water before ice cream, this was it. The day was rapidly darkening with a beautiful sunset over the lake while guys were learning how to properly throw a rugby ball, fireflies sprinkled over the whole scene. Not a bad day in the life!
Please enjoy the pictures this evening and we will see you back here tomorrow!
Woody Noland
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