Today was a busy day…it started at around 7:00 am when we loaded a van with two bus drivers (one me and the other Roy who has been driving for us for almost ten years) and two van drivers and headed to Kuykendall to pick up the older girls from Pineview. It is close to camp (about ten minutes by car) but deep in the forest down a gated gravel road and across a creek. We got half way down the road and a two big leafy trees were down with no way that we could get by. We sent the two van drivers on by foot to let the crew know that there would be a slight delay, and Roy and I headed back to camp for a chainsaw. We spent about twenty minutes cutting limbs and hauling brush out of the way so that we could pass. We arrived to a cheering Pineview as if we had rescued hostages from captivity…they had a ball last night, with most of the girls sleeping out under the stars.
Tonight ends our June encampment with the delivery of our “middlers,” Heigh Ho. They have a special treat tonight as Laurie will be camping out with them. Dinner smelled really good as I dropped them off, and the entire sight was pretty darn inviting. I know they will have a blast. Some of my favorite boyhood memories are camping with my parents in an old Cox pop-up trailer. We pulled that contraption out West two different times with another family for weeks at a time.
Back at camp, we had an amazing dinner of chicken parmigiano with pasta, Caesar salad and bread…with pineapple upside down cake for dessert. The girls from Pineview received a “bye” tonight on an active evening program with their movie night. There were some swooning girls with “Bieber fever” as they watched Never Say Never. The Hillbrook girls had a fun activity called a “Reverse Scavenger Hunt.” Each cabin group goes back to the cabin and collects 12 unique items and returns to the Rec Lodge. A group of judges then feeds categories like “an item a rabid Justion Bieber fan might have.” The cabins must then “sell” an item from their inventory to the panel, choosing the most appropriate. As the items are used, the selling becomes more creative. The entire affair ended in a dance party, which is sure to complement any successful evening program.
We had a number of great trips out of camp today. Our trips trainers got out in kayaks on the French Broad river near camp. The girls in nature class went to the Pisgah Wildlife Center and had a great time doing stream exploration in the Davidson River. Our Trips Climbers were on Stone Depot at Cedar Rock. The Beanstalk was in full swing today, and all of the active activities enjoyed a cool and beautiful mountain summer day, without even a hint of thunderstorms. It’s the weekend…for you, a time to switch gears! For us, another amazing day in the Heavenly!
Thank you for the pictures of the kayakers. I have read from you and Mary Kathryn about the wonderful places they are getting to explore. It was great to see them in their “gear.”