July 2014

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July 31, 2014May 14, 2020 • News • Jeff Carter

Spontaneous Fun

Two things come to mind when considering meals at Rockbrook. First, there is the food. Obviously, eating the fantastic meals Rick and his crew prepare for us is the ostensible reason we gather three times a day in the dining hall. For example, tonight everyone was giddy with excitement because dinner included a special Latin American dish, authentic Tamales. Made with finely ground corn, lime, oil and stock mixed into a paste, then combined with meats, peppers or cheese as fillings, each tamale is hand-stuffed into a corn husk. The kitchen crew shredded the chicken and cheese, made a Guajillo red sauce and a green salsa, spending hours stuffing, folding, and then steaming all of the Tamales. Such a delicious treat!

Beyond a time to eat excellent food, our meals are also events. They are special times when spontaneous fun is bound to happen. A whole cabin might come to lunch dressed for a beach party or ready to perform a song or short skit they invented. Naturally, there’s always a silly song to sing, often with hand motions, clapping or even banging on the table. Occasionally, we’ll have a dance break, where everyone stops eating, jumps up to boogie down to a recent pop song. Today lunch included Chase giving everyone in the dining hall a chance to “Spin the Wheel” of Fun. You can see the wheel in this photo, but it’s basically a clicker that when spun lands randomly on one section (think of the game show “Wheel of Fortune.”). Our wheel has things like “Candy” and “Muffins,” but also “Dress a Director” (devise a crazy costume for a Director to wear at the next meal), “Joy Ride” (ride around with Chase in the golf cart), and “Polar Bear” (jump in the lake early before breakfast). We spin the wheel only occasionally making it very exciting when we do. The whole camp stands up, and then using a series of criteria (for example, though these vary every time: hair in a ponytail, visited Europe, wearing green, have blue eyes, etc.) girls sit down or remain standing until only one person is left. When that lucky person finally spins the wheel, the whole dining hall holds its breath with anticipation and explodes with cheering when we find out the result. Spinning the wheel is a blast for everyone, even when it’s just one person spinning.

One of the climbs on Castle Rock, the big outcropping of granite above the dining hall on the Rockbrook property, is called “Dragon Tail.” It’s a short climb (maybe 25 feet), but is quite difficult because it requires a strenuous climbing move called a “layback.” You can see it in this photo. The climber lays back pulling an edge of the rock with her feet out in front of her. Dragontail is even more challenging because it requires you to switch from the layback position to a very small edge at the finish. For our intermediate and advanced climbers, it’s a tough, but exciting route.

The Hi-Ups took an impromptu waterfall hike today in the Dupont State Forest. We hiked about 4 miles altogether and along the way stopped to check out Hooker Falls, Triple Falls, and High Falls (where this photo was taken; click it for a larger version). This part of Dupont Forest has become a very popular tourist destination, so recent improvements have made it easy to view these Falls from a distance and climb down to the base where you can feel the powerful, constant spray created by the falling water. It can be challenging to make your way over the slippery wet rocks— two girls slipped slightly, completely sinking one foot in the water! —but with extra care, we all made it past each obstacle… and now have some fantastic photos to prove it!

At the end of the session, on Wednesday afternoon (8/13), the campers will present a musical based on the movie “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” (which was in tern adapted from the 1964 novel by Roald Dahl). With auditions complete, now the main cast members are rehearsing during the first free swim periods before lunch. This photo shows them meeting in the Hillside Lodge and sitting in a circle while reading through a scene. The story of Willy Wonka has lots of characters (all those Oompa-Loompas!), some that sing, others that also deliver specific lines, and a few supporting roles. The directors have reserved a few of these roles for the mini session girls who will arrive on Sunday, making sure that we will have a full cast for the performance. Members of the tech crew have also started painting scenery, just as the vocal soloists are rehearsing their songs. It’s going to be a great show! If your daughter is one of the performers, our office will contact you so that you can make plans (if possible) to attend the camp’s performance (we nevertheless will also distribute to everyone a video recording of the performance).

Two other special events happened today, both of which were spontaneous, optional for everyone, and really fun for the girls who chose to attend. When cool, misty weather arrived during second free swim, the lifeguards announced a “Winter Wonderland Party” instead of swimming. Inside the Hillside Lodge, they built a glorious fire in the fireplace, had hot chocolate to drink, and broke out marshmallows to roast for s’mores. They played winter holiday music, cut snowflakes from colored construction paper, and had a wonderful time together, cozy in the Lodge. After dinner, during the “Twilight” period of free time, Kelly the camp gardener held a “Garden Gathering” down at the flower and vegetable garden. She introduced the girls to the plants growing and let everyone pick a few things. Soon we had a nice basket of carrots, squash, green beans, and a few cucumbers. Several girls also made bouquets of flowers to decorate their cabins back up in camp. It’s marvelous to stand next to a sunflower towering high above you, or to reach into the ground and pull out something you can eat. By the end, the girls were loaded down with produce and a true appreciation of gardening.

Here’s Amelia showing off what she gathered from the garden.

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July 30, 2014August 11, 2021 • News • Jeff Carter

The “Extra” in the Ordinary

An ordinary morning at camp is always extraordinary in some surprising way. It’s ordinary because the structure is predictable: rising bell and cabin chores, breakfast, morning assembly in each Line’s (age group’s) Lodge, the first activity period, muffin break (yum!), a second activity, and then an hour of free time, all before lunch. This is the schedule that moves our girls from place to place throughout the camp, some stretching into a yoga pose while others flexing their arms learning to roll a whitewater kayak in the lake, for example. All about the camp, our schedule makes outdoor adventure, sports, horseback riding and crafts available for the campers. What’s extra-ordinary are the details of this outline and what each camper feels throughout the day. It’s the heart-pumping thrill of climbing Castle Rock, or the satisfaction of being one of the last players in a game of Gaga. It’s befriending a special horse, or seeing a complex weaving pattern emerge on the loom. It could be a day hike to a new waterfall, your best hit of the tetherball, or a ride on our 450-foot zipline. What’s most extraordinary though about our ordinary days at camp are our companions. It’s the great girls, the inspiring, friendly counselors and the caring relationships knitting us together. The camaraderie of camp, no matter what the activity, makes it special.

If you go northwest about 12 miles from camp, and climb 3,700 feet in elevation, you reach one of the highest mountains east of the Mississippi River, Black Balsam Knob. Taking further advantage of the fantastic weather we’ve been enjoying, Clyde led a group of campers on a day hike this morning up and over this mountain. The drive up first takes you to the Blue Ridge Parkway, a wonderful scenic road that stretches for 469 miles through the southern Appalachian mountains between Virginia and North Carolina. The trail began by twisting through an old grove of balsam fir trees, but soon popped out into the open with grass and rock outcroppings covering the hillside. At the summit where there are no trees, the view was spectacular sloping off in all directions. This elevation, high above everything nearby (even many of the clouds in the sky), makes the distant mountains look like a green marbled carpet, and with very little wind today, the sun seemed especially warm and bright. This is an other-worldly place that’s both thrilling and memorable.

Instead of regular activity periods this afternoon, since it was Wednesday, we held “Cabin Day,” in this case all-age-group, special events. The Middler Line turned “country” and threw a “Southern Block Party” complete with painted decorations (e.g., a poster that simply read “More Butter!” and another, “Run Forest Run”), silly snacks like Cheetos and iced tea to drink, and games like the corn hole and bobbing for apples. Counselors and campers dressed up in overalls, straw hats, and boots. Two special guests, Cool Beans and Cloud Nine, two of our white ponies, also attended, happily ready to have the girls paint them with colorful hand prints (using easily washable paint). They had country music playing and several line dances soon sprung up, keeping it all pretty silly, but also great fun for the afternoon.

Meanwhile all the Senior Line girls and their counselors took a trip to Sliding Rock. We started with a picnic in the Pisgah Forest and afterwards played a huge game of “I’m a Rockbrook Girl” (a name game that sends everyone dashing across a circle of people). This was a fun way to digest our food a bit before hitting the icy water of Looking Glass Creek that flows over the Rock. Enthusiasm for this plunge down a natural water slide seems to never wane. Even tonight with slightly cooler than normal weather, these Senior girls loved it. For over an hour, slide after slide made for splashing, screams, shivering and a few blue lips, but also the kind of enthusiastic smiles that are hard to beat.

To “warm up” on the way home, we stopped at Dolly’s Dairy Bar for a cone of what many campers describe as “the best ice cream in the world!” Some girls ordered “Rockbrook Chocolate Illusion” or some other “camp flavor,” while others stuck to traditional favors like strawberry or soft-serve vanilla. Everyone found something sweet to enjoy. Energized, and at least a little warmed up, we had fun singing “Peel the Banana” and other songs, posing for a few group photos, and simply having grand evening together.

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July 29, 2014May 28, 2020 • Nature • Jeff Carter

Immersed in the Unfamiliar

Glancing through our online photo gallery today, you may have noticed that the girls are all wearing long sleeves. It might be a t-shirt or a sweatshirt, or likely a Rockbrook fleece, but all morning long we needed to bundle up a bit because it didn’t feel much like summer around here. It was more like the fall with the low temperature of 54 degrees when we woke up at 8am this morning. While odd for us in late July, this kind of cool, low humidity weather makes everything sparkle at camp. Waking up under warm covers in our open-air cabins, adding a layer of fleece while clicking the floor loom in Curosty, and biting into the fresh mint chocolate chip muffin, all felt especially good this morning. Up above was the deepest blue sky, not a single cloud anywhere, and the sun felt instantly warm when you stepped out of the shade, even as it warmed to about 75 degrees in the afternoon. Summer in the mountains can bring the most surprising and wonderful weather.

Yesterday, Bentley wrote about how camp has helped her daughters (and herself) gain social confidence when meeting new people or encountering unfamiliar social settings. She saw attending a sleepaway summer camp a perfect setting to develop that skill because, after all, it’s inevitable you’ll be doing unfamiliar things and meeting new people at camp— the girls in your cabin, in your wheel-thrown ceramics class, or in your whitewater raft on the Nantahala River. Everyday, there’s someone new to meet and something new to do and experience. (“Did you try that pineapple salsa at lunch today?”) From this angle, camp life means immersing kids in the unfamiliar— experiencing first-hand strange food like homemade ginger coleslaw, odd weather like this morning, quirky people like that counselor from out west, challenging activities like aiming a real gun, alien creatures like those HUGE wolf spiders occasionally found in the shower, and so forth. While camp is providing girls new experiences and offering a range of fun activities to try, it’s more importantly pushing them beyond what they know, confronting them with the exotic. Camp life happily leaps right out of every “comfort zone,” and in this way, is intentionally un-comfortable.

And that’s a good thing! Obviously, we don’t want camp to imitate the comforts of home. Many of the benefits of camp life spring from those differences— unplugging from technology, being active outdoors, and managing everyday decisions, for example. Personal growth, learning of the most profound kind, requires a little shaking up and a surprise now and then. We want our kids to have these novel experiences because they are unfamiliar and because they challenge them to grow more competent. For this reason it would be a mistake to insist we make everything “easy” at camp, for example to make sure the lake isn’t too cold or that she already know everyone in her cabin. As parents, we often spend our time helping our children be comfortable, keeping them happy, and providing everything we can to smooth their path, but that’s the paradox of camp. It’s both uncomfortable and fun. It makes our girls happy while safely challenging them. Camp is as joyful as it is unfamiliar.

What makes this paradox possible at Rockbrook is our camp culture. It’s our emphasis on community, and the values that support it like kindness, caring and generosity. We all know that everyone here (counselors and campers alike) will be quick to support our efforts and is more inclined to cooperate than compete. Enthusiasm and encouragement bubble up everywhere at Rockbrook strengthening our courage to let our true selves blossom. We celebrate silliness, creativity, and costumes! We love singing, dancing, playing, and doing almost everything together. In this kind of community, what’s unfamiliar becomes part of the fun, and what’s at first a challenge becomes another opportunity to experience something new regardless of the outcome. What makes camp “fun” is another whole topic to consider, but I think the Rockbrook camp community is a big part of it.

For about half of the camp, almost all of the Middlers and Seniors, today included a whitewater rafting trip down the Nantahala River. We ran 2 large trips, using our own equipment and guides: one in the morning and a second in the afternoon. Perfect sunny weather added to the excitement of rapids like “Delbar’s Rock,” “Whirlpool,” “The Bump,” and of course the “Nantahala Falls.” These are high-pitched trips, partly from the rapids but equally from the icy cold water splashing about. It was a great afternoon of whitewater adventure.

When we all arrived back at camp, a special jungle/animal themed dinner called “A Night at the Zoo” was ready to begin. We had just enough time to race back to the cabin to throw together an animal costume. Maybe that meant simply wearing a squid hat, or painting a few whiskers on your cheeks, but there was also a giraffe and several tigers in the dining hall too. Jungle-themed decorations and posters on the walls helped set the mood, while the girls had a great time singing animal songs (e.g., “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”) and dancing to a few related pop songs (like “Roar” for example). We gobbled up pizza and salad, and finished with chocolate chip cookie dough for dessert, making the whole dinner a special event.

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July 28, 2014June 1, 2020 • Children • rbc

Birds of a Feather— A Mom’s Perspective

Bentley Parker
Rockbrook Camper, Counselor, Camp Mom

It had never crossed my mind that new situations involving unfamiliar people or circumstances could be uncomfortable for some, especially friends I knew well. I thought this was a skill acquired by adulthood, one that came with age. I had obviously taken for granted these social skills that I acquired at camp, where I’ve been coming since I was 7, which required me to meet new people and try new things every summer.

I’ve realized I have been mistaken in assuming situations like this were easy for all, as I have often purposely met other moms outside of school, meetings, and sporting events to prevent them from feeling uncomfortable by walking in alone. I’ve recognized that the inexplicable confidence and laughter still comes naturally for me, as I was the only mom who stuck to the dress up plan and showed up to the premier of Hunger Games with pink hair. I’ve come to better understand that the unfamiliarity of people and situations surpasses the comfort zones of many, making the prospect of walking into a room with strangers and making a friend seem impossible.

I’ve now developed an even better appreciation of how these skills are developed as I’ve gotten the privilege to watch your children cultivate friendships and give birth to these character traits here at RBC. I recognize the confidence they develop when they come to camp not knowing anyone and yet leave with lifelong friends. As a mom of 3 girls, these are skills I can’t teach my children. These are skills that I’m grateful they have had the opportunity to gain here at Rockbrook.

I’ve also come to the realization that some of the tightest bonds I’ve formed have been with friends who were “camp girls,” long after our camper days were over. They were instantaneous friendships, because we immediately knew we were alike in so many ways. We had survived screened cabins, appreciated nature, respected various personalities, experienced new things, desired leadership, and possessed camp silliness.

If you are a parent of a camper reading this, let me assure you that you are providing a lasting legacy for your daughter. This opportunity is equipping her with a skill set that may seem invisible at first but that she will utilize throughout her lifetime. There are no words to adequately describe the bond camp creates or the traits acquired here, but the experience speaks for itself. She will continually reap the benefits of her camper experience throughout her life, and it will shape the person she becomes as a grown woman.

Camp birds are of one type of feather, and the bonds of the flock will always keep them together!

“How did we come to meet pal? What caused our paths to blend? ‘Twas fate we came to Rockbrook, and you became my friend.”

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July 27, 2014May 17, 2020 • News • Jeff Carter

Eager Introductions

Camp came alive again this morning as we welcomed 135 campers and opened the Third Session of Rockbrook. About 25% of these girls, those who are new to camp this summer, seemed extra-wide-eyed as they first stepped out onto the hill and were greeted by the mob of cheering counselors, the balloons, and the horses(!). The whole scene percolated as luggage was stacked and moved down the lines to cabins, campers and counselors introduced themselves to each other, and girls finished checking in and settling into their cabins. With campers arriving throughout the morning, soon there were groups of girls spreading out through the camp, some off on their first hike to Rockbrook Falls, others learning the basics of friendship bracelet making, and still others testing their Ga-ga ball skills. Everyone— campers, counselors and Directors alike —was really excited to get started. It’s time for camp!

Lunch was a delicious “comfort food” meal of Rick’s homemade mac-n-cheese (which has the most wonderful breadcrumb and cheddar crust on the top), salad, mixed berries and sliced watermelon for dessert. Combined with the two super-stocked salad bars, it was a perfect introduction to camp food— simple, wholesome, and equally yummy. Sarah made several announcements after the meal introducing everyone to some of the dining hall procedures… for example, where to find the vegetarian option, how to get extra milk to drink, what to do when your table needs seconds of something, and how to best stack your table’s dishes in a way that will help the Hi-Ups with their clearing job.

Instead of Rest Hour today, each cabin of girls and their counselors (and CIT in some cases) held a cabin meeting to play a few ice-breaker and name games, further introducing each other. They also discussed their cabin responsibilities, the daily schedule at camp, and learned about several important safety rules at Rockbrook (e.g., don’t run down the grassy hill… especially in the morning when the grass is wet… and doubly, when wearing flip flops!).

Meanwhile, as the cabins began their walking tours introducing them to the different activity areas of camp, each of the lines (Juniors, Middlers, and Seniors) took turns at the lake demonstrating to Chrissy, the Head of the waterfront, and the lifeguards everyone’s swimming ability. With all the directors and the entire team of lifeguards helping, Chrissy carefully explained to the girls our “Swimming Tag System,” the “Mermaid Club” and all the features of our lake, including the water slide, diving board, and shallow swimming area. Some say the most difficult part of the Rockbrook swim test is not the swimming (out and back about 50 feet each way) and treading water (for 1 minute) it requires, but rather the shock of the “refreshing,” cold water. This afternoon the weather was perfect for a dip in our mountain stream-fed lake: hot and sunny! After passing their test and receiving their green swim bracelet, the girls proudly added their swim tag, now with their name written on it, to the tag board, ready for when they arrive at the lake for a swim.

All dry and eager for the next event, everyone gathered on the grassy hill of camp for a quick assembly. Sarah greeted everyone again and introduced all of the Directors, the Line Heads, and the special Activity Heads at camp. All the age groups took turns singing their Line song, and the Hi-Ups (10th graders) led the crowd by teaching and singing one of their favorite Rockbrook songs, “Take a Little Bit of Ginger.” Shifting down to the gym, we next learned about all of the activities offered at camp by watching the counselors present short skits, often songs, about the different projects, trips, games and events they have planned for the session. These skits are chances for the instructors to show off cool equipment, entice the girls with new projects, and to demonstrate the enthusiasm they have for their activity. Later tonight, the girls will sign up for their first set of four scheduled activities, so knowing the options is an important first step.

We are settling in here at camp, quickly getting to know each other, already singing songs, wearing costumes to dinner (Hats!), and fully excited about the first day of activities tomorrow. Be sure to follow along by checking the online photos available each day in your parent account, subscribing to these blog posts, and perhaps liking our Facebook page or following us on Twitter or Instagram. These are the best ways to keep up with what’s going on at camp.

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July 25, 2014May 26, 2020 • Counselors • rbc

Tenisha’s Spirit Fire Speech

During the Spirit Fire that closed our recent Second Session, Tenisha was one of the first-year counselors who spoke about her experience on the staff at camp. She described her feelings as someone new to Rockbrook, and how the character of our camp community has affected her. We thought it was wonderful, and wanted to share it.

“Sitting at home and thinking about what I would do this summer, I knew I wanted to do something different, something new and extraordinary. I wanted something where I would make memories that I could reminisce about later, something that would teach me lifelong lessons, something that would teach me how to be a better person, but most of all I wanted something that had a positive environment where I could be happy.
After watching the camp videos over and over on the website, I knew I would find all those things at RBC. Seeing all the smiles and laughter, all the costumes and events cemented my decision to apply. When I spoke to Sophie on the phone I knew I made the right choice. Listening to her enthusiasm about camp, my first thought was she’s not real. There’s no way someone could be that excited about anything, but my second thought was that I have to see what sparked so much happiness and excitement.
From the moment I entered camp I was greeted with genuine welcome from the Directors and counselors I had never met before. Within the first week I had friends and by the third I knew I had found life long friendships. I remember one day I was walking down senior line being greeted by smiling faces and it wasn’t until I reached the end that I realized my cheeks were aching from smiling so much. I was genuinely happy. I realized that even though I reached the end of the senior line, I didn’t want to reach the end of my time at Rockbrook.
Rockbrook: where girls learn to grow. When I came here, I had no idea I would be one of those girls. With the help of the the Directors, my co-counselors, and other counselors who came to be close friends, I found that I grew into a Rockbrook girl who stops every chance she gets to take in nature and appreciate her, who laughs and smiles everyday because she’s surrounded by kindhearted people who care, who wakes up with a spider by her head and doesn’t panic but catches it and releases it outside, a girl who became a sponge wanting to soak up every song, every fact about the camp activities and traditions.
And most of all, thanks to Rockbrook, I became a girl who found her very own spirit fire that she had no idea she carried. It burns brighter than ever now. So thank you Rockbrook!”

Thank you, Nisha!

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July 24, 2014October 6, 2020 • News • rbc

A Single Afternoon

Emily’s made another short video, this time focusing on some of the fun packed into a single afternoon at Rockbrook. Take a look!

Gymnastics! Drawing! Archery! Riflery! Tennis! Swimming! Climbing! Pottery! Weaving! Dodgeball!

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July 23, 2014May 13, 2020 • News • Jeff Carter

The Richness of Our Days

There’s a strange time warp that happens at camp, a sense of time that’s accentuated during a long session like the one we are finishing today. It’s peculiar how time passes here because for some reason it seems to both speed by, but also creep along day by day. Oddly you hear both kinds of comments from campers and counselors: “Wait? It’s only Wednesday?” and “I can’t believe it’s already time for Banquet!” My best explanation for this points to the richness of our days, to the incredibly abundant range of activities, surprise events, conversations, and meals we enjoy everyday. Packed into each day are so many things that engage, thrill, and perhaps challenge us. Camp life means making things, being with people, and going places. One moment we might be breathing hard from climbing the Junior Hill, and another we’ll be wringing a few drops of water from our hair thanks to a passing rainstorm. With this much going on— “constant activity” is not an exaggeration —we’re never “wasting time.” We’re filling our days to the brim with nature, relationships with caring people, excellent food, and dose after dose of silly fun.

Life at camp slows the passing of time because it accomplishes all of this. Adding up the sheer volume of new and different experiences, reflecting on it just a bit, paying attention to its details, we simply have a lot of time to recall. At camp, it’s hard to ignore the daily abundance of novel experiences and that slows down our perception of time. Simultaneously, however, these experiences are also really fun. They’re exciting, stimulating and fully engaging. With the collective spirit of camp amplifying every moment, we’re not having fun sporadically; we’re having a blast virtually every minute of our waking day. Because the abundance of our experience at camp is also an abundance of fun, our sense of time speeds up. After all, time really does fly when you’re having fun. The time warp of camp life, its seeming speed and span, springs from this unique combination.

During our closing campfire tonight, our “Spirit Fire,” several campers and counselors stood to speak about what camp meant to them this session, recalling fondly the richness of their days at camp. For many, camp felt “too short” but also “the best summer of my life.” New campers described being nervous about camp at first, but quickly realizing that Rockbrook is a welcoming, encouraging, positive place ready to bring out everyone’s best. Returning campers talked about the incredible friendships they’ve formed at camp and how every summer they return, those friendships become more important to them.

Sitting together like this under the white oaks, circled around a blazing orange fire, the deepest meanings of camp come to the surface. Camp has brought us all closer together, just as it has challenged us to grow a “little in the spirit of Rockbrook.” The Spirit Fire is a beautiful ceremony in this way, celebrating all that we’ve experienced together. After hearing from the campers and counselors, and Sarah’s reflections on the session, everyone lit a small white candle and slowly formed a line around the lake. We stood for a few minutes looking out at the many reflections of candlelight in the water. It was a marvelous scene, and the perfect way to close the Spirit Fire.

Thank you everyone for your enthusiasm and support over the last few weeks. It’s been a phenomenal session, and we’re so proud how everyone helped make that possible. We look forward to welcoming you back the “Heart of a Wooded Mountain” soon!

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July 22, 2014May 17, 2020 • News • Jeff Carter

It Just Feels Good

Wandering into Curosty, our fiber arts activity cabin, is like stepping into a working artist’s studio, maybe even a artists’ cooperative, because greeting you are colorful materials, finished and partly finished projects, and many hands busily creating. It’s a wondrous place. The cabin itself is built from 19th-century, hand-cut logs. It has a wood floor and a stone fireplace on one side, and draping its double-hung windows are bright red curtains. In one corner there are three 36-inch floor looms, and along two walls there are small tables with tabletop looms. The walls, though, are the most interesting because almost everything is covered with finished weavings, shelves with spools of thread, balls of yarn and strips of cloth. Embroidery floss, cane, reeds, kudzu vines, twigs and feathers are stacked or hung nearby. Three different areas display example projects the girls can make, things like bright baskets, complex loom weavings, lanyards, dream catchers, pot holders, hats, scarves, purses and wallets. Leading this creative whirlwind of weaving is Melanie Wilder who comes to us from Warren Wilson College where she is a supervisor of the Fiber Arts Program there. You can see Melanie in the background of this photo spinning yarn. She seems to always have a new project in the works for the girls. For example, they have a large group weaving that uses different bits of yarn, cloth and other fibers to create a mountain scene rather than a geometric pattern. She’s having some girls hammer a leaf between two pieces of cloth to transfer color from the leaf into the cloth leaving a neat design. The overall atmosphere in Curosty is joyfully creative as girls experiment with all these different materials and techniques. Sitting with friends, creating with your hands, twisting, threading, and tying different colorful strands, all while having time to chat, tell stories and laugh— being in Curosty just feels good.

At the Alpine Tower, our 50-foot High Ropes Course located in the woods behind our gym, the girls are working with a different sort of fiber, an 11 millimeter braided climbing rope. Instead of weaving, these girls are tying their harnesses to the rope so a staff member can belay them while climbing one of the 30 or so different routes to the top platform. The rope stretches from the climber up and over a pole above the platform and back down to the belayer on the ground. The tower is an excellent introduction to rock climbing because it requires the same balance, smooth motion, concentration and focused strength. Likewise the equipment and safety protocols are the same. With some routes being designed for a complete beginner and others requiring both polished climbing skills and strength, the Tower is an adventure activity that keeps girls coming back for more. After reaching the top platform, the climber is slowly lowered by the climbing staff members belaying. It’s possible— and a lot of girls do this intentionally for fun —to flip upside down on the rope, the belayer suspending you with your head a few feet from the ground. It’s a goofy stunt. After climbing the tower, and perhaps our climbing wall in the gym or one of the five climbs on Castle Rock, don’t be surprised when your daughter asks you to go climbing with her at the local gym. Not only will it be fun, it’ll be because she wants to show you she’s good at climbing, and knows what she’s doing.

Tonight our 28 CA campers, our 9th graders, unveiled the theme of their secret banquet, and it was a great one: the 1950s. They called the banquet “1950s Diner.” The painted decorations, the floor-to-ceiling posters which lined every inch of wall space, referenced not just the music, the movies and television shows, and the fashion of that decade, but also diner food. In fact, for dinner they served classic hamburgers and french fries, with root beer, ice cream floats. Some of the CA girls wore poodle skirts, while others dressed like greasers and “Pink Ladies” from the movie Grease. One girl zipped around the dining hall on roller skates delivering plates of food. We also saw Marilyn Monroe, Lucile Ball, Debbie Reynolds, Ernest Hemingway, and a special guest appearance by Elvis. The skits were dance numbers with a giant cast of CAs reproducing dances like the “Hand Jive” and the “Twist,” for example. Alternating with songs from the 50s (“Jailhouse Rock,” “Rock Around the Clock” and “Johnny B. Goode”) and modern day pop songs, much of time was spent as a celebration dance party.

It’s hard to explain why, but campers and counselors alike often remark the banquet is the highlight of their entire session. Considering all of the zany fun of camp, this is extraordinary. Yes, the banquet is really fun. The surprise might be a big part of that, as is the thrill of having candy decorating your dinner table. More significantly though, I think the banquets are a true expression of the relationships we’ve formed while at camp, the true friendships and connection we now feel with so many wonderful people. It’s that, combined with an awareness that this is our last crazy celebration together before the session closes. That’s why there is so much hugging at the banquet, and often tearful embracing. It’s an emotional time for must of us. We can feel that this is a very special time of our lives.

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July 21, 2014May 13, 2020 • News • Grace Wallace

A Calm at Twilight

Tonight, during Twilight, I took a walk. Ordinarily, in that quiet hour just after dinner, I’m holed up in the office answering emails or returning phone calls. But tonight, after two gloomy days of drizzling rain, I decided to walk out beneath the clearing skies and see what there was to see.

Twilight is always a bit of a hodgepodge—you never know quite what you’ll get. There could be an all-camp event, like a dance or auction; there could be an impromptu gaga ball tournament, or a meeting of Rockbrook Readers on the Hillside Lodge porch; or there could be no organized events at all, just campers milling about and choosing their own way to fill the time until the bell rings for Evening Program.

Tonight was that third sort of Twilight—the best sort, in my opinion. Campers ranged across the hill in the waning light. Clusters of girls sat on the still-damp grass, making friendship bracelets, chatting about their day, and watching the sun set.

A line of older campers, wearing workout clothes and kneepads, trooped down the hill to the gym, to play some volleyball. They talked and laughed as they made their way down the hill—some linked arms, some called up to their friends, sitting on the hill, asking them to come and watch the game.

During this particular Twilight, the Dining Hall was being cordoned off by the CA’s. They’ll spend tonight and all of tomorrow transforming our everyday Dining Hall into another world of their creation. Their excited laughter seeped out from beneath the sheets they’d hung over the building’s screens and doors (to guard against curious eyes). Already, I could feel the anticipation for tomorrow night’s Banquet beginning to build.

I sat with two Juniors on Hiker’s Rock for several minutes, watching as they built a fairy house (I tried to help, but I don’t have quite the knack for fairy architecture that they do). Their focus was admirable, and their conviction was complete that this structure would indeed be the home of Rockbrook fairies—and who am I to say that they were wrong?

The whole of Twilight was like this—peaceful, quiet, and happy. Mixed into the atmosphere, I think, was the knowledge that things would begin to speed up again soon. Tomorrow, there will be a steady increase of energy and anticipation, leading to Banquet. Wednesday will be a blur of packing, moving, plays, and Spirit Fire. Thursday, camp ends.

But tonight, we all took a breath together. We relished one last time the quiet and the ease of camp, and didn’t allow anything to make us to feel hurried or anxious. We sat beneath the dripping trees, and watched as night settled into place around us, content simply to be with one another.

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