Just One To Go!

Today was our last full day of activities.  We still had several trips out today. There were a couple of river canoe trips on the French Broad. The Hillside guys hit the high ropes course. And while it was a little rainy, it was really the first rainy day of the session. We still had a blast and a lot of fun out there.

While I have not spoken of them yet this session, I do like to bring my two girls into the nightly fold once in a while. Zoob and I (who run a boys’ camp) were blessed with two girls. they are way more than just girls at this point and it sure has been a joy to bring them up at camp. My youngest, Izzie is 16 and a rising junior. While she still spends the bulk of her summers here at High Rocks and the barn, she has spent her summer camp time over at Camp Illahee. She just finished her last four weeks as a camper and wrapped up right before this session started. Most of her time here at High Rocks is at the barn now. She enjoys riding and it sure has built a great work ethic for her. Izzie is currently putting together a proposal to keep one of our horses this winter. She needs to convince her parents she can afford it and do the work to keep him. I am still waiting on the results.

Grace, our oldest, has just finished high school and is heading off to Davidson College in just a few weeks. She worked her most of this summer and is spending two of her last weeks at home as a counselor at Camp Illahee. We have enjoyed the stories of all the littles that she has from cabin 1 over there this session. I know it is hard work. I also know it is a great experience! Grace is more into dance and theater currently, but she also still enjoys horses a lot and spends the bulk of her High Rocks time at the barn as well. It is going to be a strange time this fall once she is gone. Statistics show, that once they leave for college the actual time back at home from now on is a small fraction of what we had. Just a small view into the life of your son’s camp director.

Tonight, we all had some fun with our age groups for the evening program. As we wrapped up the individual events around 8:30, everyone headed over to our cabin field for a special “wish night” by the lake. A quiet moment where we focus on the four cardinal points that guide us every day; Honest, Adventure, Respect, and Individual. It was a perfect evening for it. The sunset was amazing to watch as each cabin shared a wish for the group.

Tomorrow we have regular activities in the morning and then we will start our transition after lunch. First, we start packing our trunks for pick-up on Friday morning.  We wrap up the afternoon with a camp-wide game. It has been a highly exciting event over the last few years. We will shower before dinner and then enjoy a sit-down meal that is served by our head staff.  Finally, we will head up to campfire one last time to sing some songs, and listen to a story.  It is going to be quite a day. Always a lot of excitement and emotion.

While I’m thinking of Closing Day, I’d like to pass along a few logistical details. Closing Day will run from 9:15 am to 11:15 am. You are welcome to arrive anytime during this window. There are not assigned times for closing day. If previous years are an indication, we expect most parents to arrive before 10:45. If you are running late, give our office a call so we can let your camper know. If you are shipping a trunk and you have not already done so, please fill out this UPS form and email Darby at office@highrocks.com. Trunks will be packed tomorrow and delivered to UPS Friday afternoon.

I will put up a closing blog and a few end game pictures tomorrow. Safe travels!  I look forward to meeting with all of you about this great session!

-Don Gentle

Today’s Pictures 

Pictures just started going up at 9:30 pm tonight. It will take about an hour for all of them to load. Sorry for the delay.