Jane and Stephanie

Sometimes when you make friends at camp, you’ll see each other long after the summer is over. That’s exactly what happened when Jane from North Carolina took a trip with her family to Washington DC. While there, she took some time to visit her cabin mate and best camp friend Stephanie.

Stephanie’s dog Dottie (there is the photo) got in on the fun too.

What camp friends have you seen lately?

Back to School

This time of year, as we head back to school and the memories of our time at camp can seem far away, it’s a good idea to reflect upon some of the important habits and skills we learned during our stay at Rockbrook, and to realize how important they can be throughout the rest of the year.  But what are some of those values? What are some of the surprising things camp taught us that can still serve us well at school?

At Rockbrook this summer we learned:

—things are more fun when we include everyone
—you can be creative with just about anything
—making friends is easy when we respect and care for each other
—everything is better in a costume

Of course there are a lot of other ways camp helps kids grow too.

Peg Smith, the CEO of the American Camp Association, also wants kids to remember what they learned at camp, in particular the “Three Cs” — Confidence, Curiosity, and Character. Pack all these great things in your school backpack. You know camp is awesome; now make that true for school too!

Plenty of Smiles

This, the last full day of camp, is always a strange day of wrapping things up, cherishing moments with friends, and feeling a little melancholy knowing that we’ll all be heading home tomorrow. As we pack and move luggage, there is a certain reluctance to let camp end, even as there are last minute activities and time to be together.

Today we picked up our finished pottery projects. All of the pieces the girls made and glazed during the session have been fired, their shiny colors now leaping up at you from each dish, cup and piggy bank. This is the first time the campers have seen how the kiln has magically transformed their work into these amazing creations, so it’s very exciting for them.  Katie and Will, the lead ceramics instructors, take great care to fire everyone’s work and have it available in time to take home.  It’s so cool to see how everything turned out!

Down and over at Rockbrook’s Equestrian Center, Audrey and her crew of horseback riding instructors invited everyone down for their “Barn Party.” This is an event with riding demonstrations, mounted games, and decorated horses. Everyone who took horseback riding was invited to participate and plenty of other campers came down to the main lower riding ring just to watch the festivities. The funniest game was “Herding Cows” where three staff members, dressed as cows in white t-shirts and black spots wandered randomly while riders tried to guide them to a pen. It was pretty funny to see and hear (moo!). It was a fun, cheerful event for everyone, complete with chilly popsicles as a surprise treat at the end.

Lunch was a classic camp favorite: grilled cheese sandwiches and Rick’s homemade tomato soup. They also served an awesome fruit salad that included the sweetest pineapple. After lunch, we all assembled in he gym for this session’s production of Schoolhouse Rock, our camp-wide musical. This is a play written just for kids and is based on the popular TV series with its well-known songs: “The Great American Melting Pot,” “Conjunction Junction,” and “A Noun is a Person, Place or Thing.” All three age groups had roles to sing with a couple of solos mixed in with choral numbers. These girls have talent!

Rockbrook’s traditional “Spirit Fire” brought our day to a close just beautifully. As dusk approached, the whole camp, all of the campers and counselors dressed in their uniforms, gathered around a campfire circle by the lake to spend some time reflecting on everything camp has meant to us over these last few weeks. We remembered all the fun events, and those moments where things couldn’t be funnier. We expressed our thanks to one another, recognizing that Rockbrook is wonderful chiefly because it encourages all of us to be our best. It inspires us to help each other enjoy camp together. I suspect that’s one of the main reasons it’s such a friendly place. The Spirit Fire can sometimes be a little emotional too as the girls realize the close friends they’ve made at camp are going home in the morning. Tonight too, there were a few tears, but also plenty of smiles.

Following a long tradition, we ended the Spirit Fire by each camper and counselor lighting a small white candle from the central campfire. Sarah and the other Directors first lit their larger candles and everyone else filed by to light their candle. We then spread out around the lake singing a couple of last songs. Standing around the lake, shoulder to shoulder gazing at the candlelight and softly singing with chirping crickets in the background, this is a scene generations of Rockbrook girls have experienced. It’s a truly beautiful moment they will remember for a very long time.

Cooperation and Imagination

Juniors dance! The dance activity, which meets in the Lakeview Lodge, is popular for every age group at camp. Partly this is because Lindsey has come up with different, age-appropriate, dances for the Juniors, Middlers and Seniors, but also because the girls are really learning some cool moves. One wall of the Lodge is lined with mirrors making it easy to watch as Lindsey demonstrates a certain dance sequence, and for the group to watch themselves as they try it as well. As they master each dance move and string them together, they’ve got a great show. In fact, during the intermission of the camp play performance, each age group will perform their dance for the rest of the camp.

Today was another day that included several tours of camp, families who visited Rockbrook to tour it so they could see the camp and meet some of the people here— the directors, the counselors and the campers. It’s always a delight for us to show folks around Rockbrook. Families are certainly impressed by the camp’s buildings (the stone lodges for example) and grounds, and they are excited to learn about the wide variety of activities we offer, but it’s particularly nice when they pick up on the feeling of life at Rockbrook. My favorite comment today was, “Everyone seems so happy and friendly.” It’s true; as you walk around camp, you can’t get far without someone greeting you and saying hello. It’s just easy to make friends here, so that makes Rockbrook stand out as being friendly too.

The equestrian staff organized a fun event for the campers that combined, like a lot of things around here, music, dancing, dressing up and a heap of imagination. It also, however, included some horses because it was a pop music “air band” and “lip sync” competition based on different horses playing the parts of pop stars like Katy Perry, Lady GaGa and Taylor Swift. The girls dressed the horses with paint, ribbons, beads, braided tails, glitter and even lipstick, and then came up with a dance for each. The campers then were the backup singers for each artist (horse!) as they performed for the “judges” (Audrey and Sarah). It was very fun for the girls and very cute to see.

After dinner tonight, we played a camp-wide game of “Clue.” Like the board game, there was a mystery to solve that involved the players, in this case all the cabin groups, moving from room to room collecting clues. For us, the cabin groups tromped all over the camp looking for clues. They went to the tennis courts, the gym, the store, the different lodges, and so forth. At each place a character from the game (a counselor dressed as Mrs. White, Professor Plum, Colonel Mustard, etc.) would first require the cabin group to accomplish a task like inventing an RBC cheer, or everyone telling a joke, or untangling a human knot. After successfully completing the challenge task, they were given the clue that would send them on to the next location. Ultimately, after performing all the tasks and solving all the clues/riddles, the groups were led back to the dining hall for prizes and treats. Wow, what a game! It required great cabin group cooperation and imagination, and got the whole camp moving. Big fun on a Saturday night.

Full-Throated Fun

One of the activities offered each day at Rockbrook is something called “Nature.” While rather broadly defined as anything involving the plants, animals and forests of camp, it’s a real treat for the campers. The notion of exploration, of discovery, describes it pretty well also, because mostly the campers are tromping around through the woods and finding fascinating bits of the natural world. With more than 200 acres of Rockbrook property available, the counselors have come up with loads of really fun ways for the girls to be true naturalists. They take stream hikes, stopping to turn over rocks looking for crayfish and salamanders. Like in this photo, they take nets and capture tadpoles at the lake to compare their stages of development. Or, they may simply hike through the woods, perhaps bushwhacking off-trail, to marvel at some of the huge old growth trees on the property.  Of course part of the fun is getting a little dirty and truly feeling the grit and grime of what they find, but that’s one of the things that helps the girls appreciate the beauty of it all, and for us, is something we can feel good about because of the benefits outdoor experience provides.

During one of the swimming activities this morning, the counselors greased up a watermelon for the girls and organized several fun relay races. There’s still plenty of silt coming down the creek and into the lake making the water cloudy, and this made the watermelon a little more difficult to find when it went under. Having to hunt for a hidden, submerged fruit is surprisingly fun because it can appear far from where you expect it. On a bright sunny day, this is good old fashioned fun, and it comes with a sweet tasty watermelon treat.

Being Wednesday, the afternoon was our cabin day, a time when instead of each camper pursuing her individual schedule of regular activities, the cabin groups and their counselors stay together for special whole-cabin events. Each cabin decides what they would like to do. Many involve hiking, like along the gentle trail to Rockbrook Falls or the steep and severe trail up to Castle Rock overlooking the camp. Today, a few cabins played group games on the hill, a couple of Junior cabins played board games, and others relaxed on the porch of the Lakeview lodge making friendship bracelets. One cabin was caught doing outdoor yoga!

All of the senior cabins took a special trip right before dinner. Dressed in their bathing suits and with towels in hand, they loaded up the buses to head out to a special spot in the Pisgah Forest for a picnic. Our timing was excellent because when we arrived, we were the only people there to enjoy a wonderful grassy field, trimmed with awesome shade trees and just the right number of picnic tables. Rick packed us another amazing dinner of fresh corn on the cob, tortellini, warm rolls, and cool, bright red raspberries. The late afternoon sunshine was gorgeous and we had plenty of altitude to keep things breezy and comfortable. After eating, we couldn’t help but skip around the field and play an exuberant game of “Duck Duck Goose.” You might think teenage girls would be “too cool” for this kind of game, but not so with this crowd.

Our next stop on this outing was the main event: Sliding Rock. Always a favorite, this is the natural waterslide formed by Looking Glass Creek as it drops about 60 feet over a gently sloping rock into a deep pool. Going this late after the Forest Service lifeguards have left (we bring our own) is ideal because it avoids the typical crowds of summer, and thereby allows our Rockbrook girls to spend less time waiting in line and more time sliding.  Is the water cold?  You betcha!  That explains why most of the photos of the girls sliding end up showing them with their mouths open.  A few can remain poised enough to smile for the camera as they accelerate toward to bottom, but most are anticipating the plunge that awaits and just let loose with a wide-eyed, full-throated scream.  You can almost hear it in each shot.  Meanwhile, the rest of the girls waiting their turn are cheering their friends on, clapping and shouting.  It really is super exciting.

With our fill of sliding, there was one more stop to make, and it’s always a crowd pleaser.  On the way out of the forest we took that happy left turn into Dolly’s Dairy Bar so everyone could enjoy a cone of their favorite flavor of ice cream.  There were more screams and cheers of delight as we pulled into the parking lot and all the girls ran to join the line waiting to order.  Dolly’s has refined their serving so it took just a few minutes for everyone to be savoring (for some, gobbling) their treat. Yummy stuff.  It was dark by the time we made it back to camp, bringing our surprise night out to a close, but it was the kind of big group fun we love around here, and a really good time.

Activities Galore at Rockbrook

Miriam tries out her Yoga skills

Monday was quite eventful around Rockbrook Camp as our Third Session campers tried their first set of daily activities. They will do these chosen activities for three days and then have the opportunity to try a whole other set for the second half of the week. We have seen over the years that this concept of choice while away from home is a wonderful way to encourage independence and growth for every camper.

Two extra morning highlights included muffin break and free swim. Our resident baker Allison had wonderful chocolate sprinkle muffins waiting for the girls between first and second period. Then after second period, most girls headed down to the lake for a dip after this warm morning. They had their first opportunity to go on the water slide and swim laps for our Mermaid Club. With all of these bust active girls, there were smiles everywhere down at the lake!

Two thumbs up for the slide

After rest hour this afternoon, activities continued and our first white water rafters left for an overnight camp out experience at our Nantahala Outpost. Another group will join them tomorrow on the river for a day trip. As the only camp with an outpost at the Nantahala River, we love being able to let each camper decide which length of trip she would like to participate in.

We did have a little rainstorm this afternoon, but we did not let it slow us down. One of our favorite songs here at camp is the “Dewcoat Song.” We just think of rain as a little dew and keep on going! As we all filed into dinner, campers were greeted with a camp favorite: hotdogs with all the sides and fixings followed by key lime pie for dessert.

Even our youngest campers have the opportunity to weave on our Appalachian looms

Great new friends who met yesterday!

We hope that every camper picked up a new skill today, whether it be making a friendship bracelet, walking a horse or talking with a new friend. Each of these qualities is what makes Rockbrook so special and the campers will continue to build upon during the rest of their session here.

More than Entertainment

This morning we had to say goodbye to our friends in the first July mini session. Across the board, the campers and counselors have felt this session fly by. We’ve been having the kind of fun that’s completely absorbing, and the kind of days where it’s easy to stay busy. And when there are this many cool people around to play with, the days click by without you even noticing. This closing day is particularly difficult for everyone because some of us, the full-session campers (and all of the staff, of course), are staying behind for 2 more weeks of camp. The mini sessions are great for younger campers and girls who are new to Rockbrook, but after a few years of coming, it’s completely normal to start attending for longer if possible.  We hear it all the time from campers on closing day, “Next year I’m coming for the full session!”

During the check out procedure today, one mother made a thoughtful comment worth sharing. After seeing her daughter in the photo gallery, reading this blog and the letters from her counselor, she remarked that what was most valuable about being at Rockbrook was not the activities, but the warm relationships her daughter had with everyone here. She didn’t really care if her daughter went down the water slide or rode horses as much as she had hoped. What mattered was that she felt comfortable, safe and had plenty of good people to be with. She thanked us for providing such a wonderful community. That was great to hear! Sure we spend a lot of time offering top-notch activities everyday, and making sure that there is always something fun to do, but it’s true camp is so much more than all of this. Rockbrook is a beautiful place and it’s tons of zany fun, but it’s the people and feel of the place that make it truly special.  We’re focused on making Rockbrook a great experience for our campers, far beyond just entertaining them.

Also today, a group of full session Middlers and Seniors took a day trip down the Nantahala river. We took our time and left after breakfast with a lunch and several snacks packed in the buses. Peaches before rafting! It wasn’t long after lunch and we had five rafts of excited girls splashing down the chilly rapids of the river, learning to slap a “high five” overhead with their paddles, laughing and singing along the way.  While it was hot and sunny for the first part of the trip, it started to rain for the last 30 minutes or so.  It wasn’t thundering, so we just kept on rafting, and surprisingly, the rain was warmer that the river water, so the girls didn’t skip a beat.  It was just all the more fun!  We were all totally soaked by the end, but after changing into dry clothes it was a comfortable bus ride back to camp in time for dinner.

Rockbrook Here I Come

Wow, we have an excited group of girls here right now! Today we opened our main session of camp and welcomed a full house of 198 girls to Rockbrook. Finally, after waiting all this time— months and months in most cases— camp is here. From the very first moments they drove into camp, you could hear squeals and laughter all over the hill, counselors cheering, and plenty of chatting as returning campers reunited and new campers were introduced to everyone. One car was decorated with paint to proclaim all this enthusiasm… “Rockbrook Camp Here I Come” and “Cool, Amazing, Magical, Perfect” and “I Go to Rockbrook Camp for Girls.” I think I-85 up from Atlanta got the message there! Girls and their families arrived most of the morning. Everyone checked in with the nurses and office folks, moved luggage to their cabins, made up their beds, and still had some time to explore camp a bit.

To really kick things off, the bell rang and called everyone to the dining hall for some of Rick’s homemade mac-n-cheese, fresh fruit, and salad for lunch. A little comfort food can do wonders for any “butterflies” that might be lingering. It didn’t take long for the singing to start. It was a little timid at first, but grew louder as everyone realized that louder is better when it comes to singing silly songs. And that’s true throughout the session; the singing grows and grows. Right after lunch we headed out to the main hill of camp for an assembly. We introduced all the head counselors and directors and learned the songs for each line (age group), but the highlight was an enthusiastic skit/song about camp hygiene sung by the directors. Sometimes we’re having so much fun at camp, we might forget to shower or brush our hair, for example, so a funny song can be a great reminder.

Next we all walked down past the lake to the gym to watch the counselors perform their activity skits. These short presentations of songs, skits, dances or even demonstrations are to help the campers learn about the different activities offered at Rockbrook. They are also great ways for the campers to meet all of the counselors in camp. We heard plenty of funny songs and saw some great acting. The climbers demonstrated a few moves on the climbing wall, and the paddlers integrated a boat, paddles, helmets and PFDs into their skit. Later after dinner, the campers will sign up for their first set of camp activities, so these skits are a great way to get them excited about what’s available.

The rest of the afternoon, each line took turns coming down to the lake to do their “swimming demonstrations.” This is where all the campers and counselors review the important safety protocols in place at the lake. They demonstrate their swimming ability and if sufficient receive their very own buddy tag for the tag board, and this year, a special green bracelet that qualifies them to go down the new water slide during free swim periods. The Rockbrook lake is fed by a mountain stream, so the water can be quite chilly. For most everyone, it’s “refreshing” to say the least, but with a little getting used to it, the girls love it.

Meanwhile, cabins were taking tours of the camp and having cabin meetings. All of this preparation will let us launch right into regular activities tomorrow. Horses, Kayaks, Clay, Rifles! We’ve got a lot planned.

Be sure to check out the online photo gallery. We post photos everyday that you can see after logging into your parent account.

Oh, and please comment on these blog posts. We love to hear what you think!