Something Yummy

It might be surprising, but did you know that the littlest girls, our Juniors who are as young as six, are often some of our best rock climbers? They certainly are predictably enthusiastic and ready to try just about anything, and this easily translates into a fearlessness spirit of adventure. When we announced an optional trip to climb Castle Rock (one of the tall rock cliffs above the camp), Mallory was surrounded by little ones clamoring for the chance. They love gearing up with helmets, harnesses and those cool, sticky-rubber shoes, and hiking the trail up to the base of the rock. What makes these little ones great climbers, besides their attitude, is their flexibility and strength relative to their weight. While they might not be able to reach a high handhold on the rock, being small is an overall advantage. This is real rock climbing, and they feel pretty “big” after doing it.

Yesterday after dinner, during that period of free time we call “Twilight,” we offered a garden workshop with Pam, Rockbrook’s awesome gardener (here she is in this photo). She organized the activity by teaching the girls about Tussie-Mussies. Sometimes called “Posies” or “Nosegays,” these are small bouquets of flowers given in the Victorian-era as gifts, following the “Language of Flowers” where different blossoms had different meanings. Giving someone a Tussie-Mussie was a way to send a coded message, back when speaking directly wasn’t always socially acceptable. With Pam’s help, the girls learned a few of the meanings (e.g., a daisy means beauty), tasting some of the herbs, and then each made their own example.  What a unique experience!  Then to round out the evening, evening pitched in to make a scarecrow.  Using hay, they stuffed a shirt and overalls, and decorated a pot for the head.  See the grass hair? It’s really neat to see the girls having this much fun doing something this simple and traditional.

Throughout the day today, we took Rockbrook Middlers and Seniors whitewater rafting on the Nantahala River. Some traveled over to our Nantahala outpost, located not far from the rafting put-in, to spend the night. We arrived in time to have a taco dinner and s’mores before hitting the hay in the platform cabins. The next morning, we met our team of raft guides, and suited up for the river, enjoying the bright sunshine and 70-degree temps. In fact, it was absolutely perfect weather, warm and sunny, perfect for inspiring splash fights between rafts, and even intentionally jumping in now and then. A raft full of excited, chatting, singing girls is a lot of fun, and when you send that raft through whitewater rapids, bumping, splashing, and sometimes spinning along, it’s about as good as it gets! We all enjoyed a picnic lunch after the first morning trip, and then met another group of Rockbrook girls to run the river again in the afternoon. Altogether, we rafted more than 60 people today, a big fun day of adventure.

Back at camp in time for dinner, which was some of Rick’s homemade lasagna with bread and salad (yum!), we heard the news that tonight’s evening program would be a “Western Auction” led by Jerry. He arrived dressed in jeans, white long-sleeve shirt, sunglasses and hat, and explained how the girls could bid on mystery prizes. They would bid not knowing if the items were some kind of treat like banana boats, or some funny chore like a morning swim in the lake (“polar bear”) or gift like tooth brushes. Jerry rattled off the auction with cabins raising their paper plate insignias to bid. Each cabin had enough “Rockbrook Bucks” to win 2 items, one of which usually ended up being something yummy. After winning a bid, a hushed, worried anticipation comes over a cabin, but when Jerry announces a “good” prize, they explode with cheers, arms stretched high. In addition to the bidding, it’s finding out what you’ve won that makes this game so much fun.

Ready to Paddle and Bid

“Who wants to go rafting?” That’s the question we asked all the Middlers and Seniors, and with little surprise, we had almost 90% of them sign up to go on a trip to the Nantahala this week. There were two options, a day-long trip that would leave camp after breakfast to return before dinner or an overnight-trip that would spend the night over at Rockbrook’s outpost camp near the river. Both are big adventures, with the overnight being even more so. The outpost is very remote (It adjoins the national forest and is not far from the Appalachian trail)— no cars, people or city lights for many, many miles. It’s a real treat to spend time out there sitting around the campfire, gazing at the stars, listening to the whippoorwills, enjoying the cool night air, and enjoying the social energy of being together. Monday night we had over 30 people out there, and while we made s’mores, I think we sang the entire Rockbrook songbook around the campfire!

And the rafting! Wow, it feels good these days. We too, like most of the southeast, have been experiencing some hot weather (For us that means highs just above 90 and lows just below 70), and this makes whitewater rafting all the more enjoyable. Each raft for these trips is guided by one of our seasoned guides, and is “powered” by 5 or 6 campers decked out in helmets and lifejackets ready to paddle. The 2-hour trip down the river is exciting right from the beginning with the first large rapid, “Patton’s Run,” around the first bend. Every rapid means a boat of happily screaming campers, the raft bouncing up and down, and plenty of splashing cold water to keep everyone cool. Between rapids, there’s time to trade places in the boats, maybe play a name game or sing a song, and even jump in the water for a super quick swim. And, you just never know when a splash war will break out between rafts. After successfully navigating a tricky rapid, often a boat will do a “high five” with the paddles proudly in the air. Sometimes campers will take a break from paddling and ride on the front of the boat as the “hood ornament,” something guaranteed to get you some serious splashing. It’s no wonder those two hours go by like 30 minutes!

Back at camp, the place was buzzing with activity, girls doing what they love and in lots of places, trying something new. At the very least, they may have tied a friendship bracelet before, for example, but not in such a beautiful place (like on the porch of the hillside lodge) or with so many friendly, supportive, nice people. Weaving a basket is fun, but so much more fun with your feet in the creek and good friends along side giggling in conversation.

Speaking of the creek, that short, open stretch of running water by Curosty, it has been a favorite hangout these days during free time. One thing the juniors like to do is have flip-flop races. Each girl takes off a shoe, drops it in the water simultaneously and then watches as they float down the stream. Of course, it’s important to catch them at the other end because that water ends up in the lake. If you miss your shoe, you’ll need a canoe to get it back!

Tonight’s evening program was a western themed, all-camp auction, a special event where our very own auctioneer, Jerry, “sells” surprise items to the cabin groups. Each cabin has $1000 of RBC bucks to bid, but what makes it exciting is that they don’t know what they are bidding on. Last night it might have been a yummy snack like chips and salsa, or it could have been something like serving your counselor breakfast in bed. Other prizes included glow sticks, sun glasses and tooth brushes! Some cabins were very careful with their money, waiting for the bid prices to begin lower before jumping in, while other cabin groups bid as high as they could, spending all of their money on a single item (of unknown value!). It’s easy to imagine the girls’ excitement when they win the bid and the prize turns out to be something great… hands-in-the-air-screams. Usually, each cabin can win two different items, and generally at least one is a snack of some kind. Either way it was loads of fun to dress up in out western garb, hear Jerry’s auctioneering, and enjoy the surprises unveiled to every winning bid.

Don’t Forget to Write!

Receiving mail at camp is a huge deal to the campers. Everyday, someone from our office drives to the Brevard P.O. and wheels out a shopping cart full of cards and letters addressed to the girls at RBC. Even with our “no package” policy, there are usually a couple of hundred pieces per day! Then during lunch, we sort the mail and deliver it to the campers’ mailboxes so it will be ready once they’re dismissed from lunch. It’s always so exciting to check your box and see something there. Part of this excitement, I think, has something to do with the simple (mostly) technology-free living we enjoy at camp. Being away from screens and the external stimulation they provide, camp is more immediately interactive. It emphasizes real relationships and sensuous experiences, but is also completely “here and now” and relies very little on the outside world. Receiving mail reminds us of what’s going on outside in the “real world.” It provides some reassurance that everything is fine back home and it’s OK being at camp. Mail shows us that the folks back home are just as excited we are about us having this much fun at camp. Oh, and can you see why a real, hand-written letter is vastly superior to a “quick email?” Mail can really mean a lot!

Today was a perfect summer day (warm, dry and sunny) for a perfect camp day (packed with action, plenty of giggles, and bright-eyed surprises). Clyde, Kristen and Abby took a group of Middlers out kayaking on the French Broad River. Jeff and Leslie took a big group of Juniors hiking to John Rock in the Pisgah National Forest. Thalia offered one of her very popular yoga classes to the seniors. Everyone paused for a cinnamon streusel muffin. And then it was back to weaving baskets in the creek near Curosty, working on backhands on the tennis courts, flips in gymnastics, and climbing to the top of Castle Rock. There always seems to be time to squeeze in a quick game of tetherball too. During the free swim time before dinner, the new water slide was running nonstop.

Tonight’s evening program marked the return of Auction, a special all-camp event we haven’t had in a few years. This session we went traditional and decided to make it a “Western” themed event. This meant all the girls came dressed in their best western garb… cowboy hats, boots, overalls, hair bows, bandanas and plenty of plaid. Each cabin sat together in the dining hall and was given a handful of RBC bucks to make bids on mystery prizes. Jerry, our Director Emeritus, ran the event as the auctioneer. Some of the prizes were sweet, like a cake or ice cream treat, while others were a little less exciting, like a tray of veggies or new toothbrushes. There’s plenty of suspense once a cabin won a bid, and just as much laughter and cheers when the prize was revealed. It’s funny how there were enough prizes for every cabin to win both a yummy and a silly prize…   Good fun.

Going once. Going twice. Sold to….Harry Potter?!

Auction and Harry Potter night rolled into one? Whose crazy idea was this? I don’t know but it was a great one!

Campers showed up at the dining hall for evening program dressed up in their hogwarts gear and ready for a great time. Each table was given a handful of Rockbrook bucks to bid with. However, no one knew what the prizes were, which definitely added to the fun. What a shock it was when your cabin got dish duty while another one received all-you-can-eat ice cream.

Will the fun at camp ever end?