We Love Roasting Marshmallows

Getting excited for camp? We sure are! There are so many reasons, but seeing this picture really gets us looking forward to campfires and roasting marshmallows. It’s such a great classic summer camp experience… searching the forest for just the right roasting stick (the right length, thickness and stiffness, etc.), gathering around the fire, and carefully holding the marshmallow near the coals or over the flame to turn it that ideal shade of brown/black. Golden brown or charred to a crisp?

Did you know that marshmallows originally were made from extracting a substance from the root of the marshmallow plant, Althaea officinalis, and were primarily used as a remedy for sore throats? Later, candy makers in France began whipping it with sugar and egg whites to make a yummy dessert, and then in the 1940s marshmallows were mass produced and distributed as we know them today.

Around here, it seems like a bag of marshmallows goes on every overnight backpacking trip. We’ll definitely be doing some roasting! Can’t wait!

Big Busy Thursday

Today was another big busy day at Rockbrook as the campers began their second set of activity choices, trips went out of camp in several directions, and we enjoyed all-camp special events. Down in the Lakeview Lodge, which this session is the meeting lodge for the Middlers, the dance classes were swinging. All three of our historic (built in the 20s) stone lodges have wooden floors, a big fireplace, and windows wrapping around, and the Lakeview Lodge has mirrors on the wall of one end making it a really cool dance studio. The dance classes always have several things going on, usually a new move or dance step to learn, a group choreographed dance to work on, and a silly game like “Freeze Dance” to keep things lighthearted. It’s a good balance of action, coordination, concentration, musical rhythm and goofball fun, and the girls really enjoy it.

We’ve been having lots of families visiting camp this week, having guided tours, in anticipation of next summer (already!).  We always encourage new families and their girls who are interested in Rockbrook to visit camp, and for some reason this has been a big week for that.  Getting a firsthand sense of the place— just how friendly and relaxed the people are here, for example —is a welcome spot of reassurance that may not come through from just reading our catalog.  It’s so great to meet these new families and to hear their stories about how they’ve found out about RBC.

In gymnastics, Elaine our head instructor is working with the girls and teaching them a few moves on the mini trampoline. She sets up the tramp at the end of the carpeted runway and positions landing pads all around. Then, with a couple of counselors spotting, the girls run down, plant both feet firmly on the tramp and jump up and onto the landing pads. Starting off with a good solid jump, they can advance to doing tucks, splits, pikes and even flips in the air. Over on the Alpine, they’re doing a different sort of trick— climbing blindfolded! It’s one of the new challenges over there; after climbing all 50 feet of the tower, up one of the many different routes, the girls can elect to climb again without being able to see. They get plenty of help from their friends on the ground shouting out instructions (“A little higher with your left foot!”), so they do quite well, sometimes climbing even more confidently than without a blindfold.

Clyde and Kelsey signed up a group of girls to go whitewater kayaking on the Tuckaseegee River all day. This is an intermediate river suitable for kayakers who are comfortable in their boats and who have previous whitewater experience. It has several excellent rapids and offers great opportunities to practice catching eddies and ferrying. It is a dam control river, and the water was up nicely, making it a fantastic trip. By the way, “Tuckaseegee” is a Cherokee word meaning “place or river of the turtle,” and sure enough, we just about always see turtles in the river over there.

For our evening program tonight, our friend Gary Greene, who is a wonderful storyteller, singer and musician, came over for an all-camp campfire. He brought his guitar to teach us a few songs, and of course presented several stories for us to enjoy. He’s really talented and quick to involve the campers in his performance, animating different parts of the poem “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll, for example. This was also a chance for some of the counselors to get in on the act. Grace and Gracie transformed themselves into gypsies, acting as occasional story and joke tellers throughout the evening. They had all of us cracking up with their flamboyant accents and witty vignettes.

One last thing… If you haven’t heard the news about Malia Obama, the President’s daughter, attending summer camp, here is an article discussing it. It’s a very nice article, well worth reading, because it affirms the benefits of camp for all children.

Banquet and Spirit Fire

The big surprise was finally revealed Tuesday Night— the theme for this session’s banquet. The CAs and their counselors select a secret theme for their banquet, which is essentially a huge elaborate party with special decorations, costumes, music, dance numbers, treats, and of course food, and the whole camp is kept guessing. What was the theme? Christmas at Rockbrook. The whole dining hall was decorated with posters of snow scenes, with garlands and spruce trees, and each table had wrapped presents, “snow” and candy canes. Several counselors dressed up as elves to join Rudolf, the Grinch, and Frosty the snowman. Even Jerry made an appearance as Santa!

The CAs served an awesome dinner of sliced roasted ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, yeast rolls, cranberry sauce, and decorated cookies for dessert. It was so yummy! The girls had a great time singing popular Christmas songs like Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer, Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, Jingle Bells, and Frosty the Snowman. The whole camp ends up dancing toward the end of the banquet, with girls snapping photos and giving each other lots of hugs. It’s a great time and a true highlight of the session.

The final event on Wednesday night is our Spirit Fire final campfire. This is a more serious time to enjoy traditional camp songs and remember the camp session and some of the important things we all shared during these few weeks. Everyone dresses in their uniforms. Campers and counselors prepare short speeches about their time at camp, and Sarah gives a final talk reflecting on how the session has gone and her hopes for everyone as they prepare to leave camp the next day. It’s always an emotional time because the girls have made such close friends while at camp. It’s as if the campfire is one big hug celebrating how close everyone has grown as they’ve had such fun here at Rockbrook. It’s quite amazing to see just how meaningful the experience is for everyone, campers and staff members included. It really is a special moment.

A Full Camp Day

It was another full, busy day at Rockbrook Camp today with campers signed up for trips, special activities available, and a fun day-long theme to add even more silliness to the mix. Everyone was excited to learn about the surprise theme— Cartoon Character Day. This is when campers and counselors dress up as their favorite cartoon character. It’s certainly optional, but it was fun to see Minnie Mouse, the Tasmanian Devil, several princesses, and even spider woman running around camp. There are some very creative girls here who are always looking for a reason to dress up.

After our excellent breakfast of bacon, home fries, fresh cut fruit, yogurt and cereal, several outdoor adventure trips packed up to leave camp. Clyde and Kelsey took a small group of senior girls for a day of whitewater kayaking on the lower section of the Green River. Also, the oldest campers, our “Hi-Ups” who have finished the 10th grade, went hiking in Dupont State Forest. They hiked to Hooker Falls and climbed down to the pool of water below to wade in a bit (and take photos of course!). After the early morning fog burned off, the skies were a wonderful sunny blue, making this a beautiful trip.

Every few days or so, Jessi leads a morning Yoga class for anyone interested. Everyone gathers in the stone “Hillside Lodge,” spreads out across the wood floor with their mats, and moves through a series of beginner Hatha Yoga poses. With calm music playing, and good friends all around, it’s a very relaxing time, and it feels so good! It’s surprising how much enthusiasm there is for these yoga classes, even from girls who have never tried it before. Jessi’s teaching is a big part of that, I suspect.

For our evening activity today, we had a very special campfire with our friend Gary Greene who is a talented story teller and musician. All the campers and counselors gathered at the Spirit Fire area to enjoy Gary’s stories (“Peanut Butter,” for example) and to sing several songs (e.g., “Little Cabin in the Woods” and “The Frog Song”). Michelle helped by staging a few jokes, and leading several RBC songs as well. One highlight was his reading of Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky while a few campers and counselors acted out different parts. Everyone was really engaged and entertained all evening. We loved it!

The smell of wood smoke outdoors, the sounds of crickets and frogs from the lake, being together like this in such a beautiful setting, signing and laughing … that’s real camp.

Final Campfire of the Summer

We’ve had our final closing spirit fire for the summer, and we can’t help but remember all of the wonderful parts of the summer. We’ve made so many amazing friends, seen so many beautiful places, and enjoyed so many fun activities. As we’re busy with everything each day, it’s easy to forget how much Rockbrook means to the campers and counselors that return each summer. It really is true. Rockbrook is their camp. It’s a place for them to explore nature, meet new people, try new things, and essentially relax and enjoy being themselves in a friendly and welcoming environment. It’s also a place where we all grow and discover amazing talents and other aspects of ourselves. Camp is a very special place, and we’re all very grateful for being a part of it. Thanks to everyone for such a fantastic summer. We’ll miss you… until next summer!

First Session Camp Spirit Fire

We just finished our first session of camp this summer, and it was fantastic! Amazing counselors, excited campers, and good weather, made for nonstop fun for everyone. These last few days were a mixture of being together, celebrating, and remembering all the things we enjoyed during the session. This is what makes the final campfire, our “spirit fire,” so moving. We’re there with all of our friends; we all have shared so much; and now we’re saying goodbye until next summer. It’s tough and very emotional, but it helps us realize what we really love about being at camp… being with each other in such a wonderful and beautiful place. Wow.

Thanks everyone for such an awesome session.

Summer Camp Traditions

One of the oldest summer camp traditions at Rockbrook is the final campfire known as the “Spirit Fire.” It’s when the entire camp gathers for a ceremonial campfire. We sing traditional camp songs, recognize campers and listen as people share their thoughts about what Rockbrook and their time at camp means to them. At the end of the presentations and songs, each camper has a candle they light from the central campfire, symbolizing a shared spirit of the camp. It’s a very beautiful event, and a great way to close each camp session. It’s also quite amazing to think that every girl who’s attended Rockbrook since 1921 has shared that same experience.