RBC | Rockbrook Camp Author Collective

July 11, 2018May 2, 2020 • News • rbc

Full-bodied Excitement

Tetherball. It’s one of the simplest pastimes at Rockbrook, but also one of the most popular ways for the girls to spend a few spare minutes between activity periods, right before meals, or during one the three designated slots of “free time” each day. There are two tetherball courts at Rockbrook, one by the gym and the more prominent spot near the hillside lodge. Made from a 10-foot tall locust tree pole, that tetherball court has a cool open feel to it, and since it’s centrally located, seems to always be in action. Look over the hill and you’re bound to see a colorful ball swinging around the pole on a rope.

The game of tetherball is simple —hit the ball and wrap the rope around the pole as your opponent tries to hit the ball in the opposite direction… whoever wraps the ball completely is the winner. When someone wins, that’s called a “tether.” The other day a few girls explained some of the other game terminology. If a player grabs the rope instead of hitting the ball, that’s called a “ropey,” which is a foul of sorts, as is something called a “holdy,” which means grabbing the ball altogether. When one player commits either of these fouls, the other player is allowed to employ the same foul. In addition to a regular single hit, there are two more hits that more advanced players use: the “double tap,” which simply means hitting the ball once before hitting it a second time, and “popcorn,” which means tapping the ball multiple times before hitting it around toward the other player. In a tetherball match, the winner of a game keeps playing until defeated by a challenger. The challenger always serves, which is a slight advantage. This may all sound like serious stuff, and to an extent it is for some of the girls, but playing tetherball is also a fun game of skill perfect for playing with friends at camp.

Today the adventure staff announced a trip for the girls up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and a hike that included a stop at Devil’s Courthouse. This is a spectacular destination. At an elevation of more that 5700 feet, it has a panoramic view of the surrounding mountains. On a clear day, you can see 4 different states! This photo shows a girl crouching behind the marker that allows you to identify far off mountain peaks by sighting over the brass cones. It’s quite a steep hike to reach the summit, but this view is really incredible and definitely worth the trip when the weather is nice like it was today.

This afternoon, we paused our regular activities for “cabin day,” a time when each cabin sticks together and enjoys a special activity as a group. Ordinarily the girls sign up for individual activity schedules, so this is a nice time to bond with bunk mates and do something special. One group decorated t-shirts with markers, while another used paints to design colorful glass jars. There was food involved for some— decorating cupcakes for the kitchen, using a scoop to make a huge bowl of watermelon balls, or shaping cookie dough for baking the evening’s cookies. Another group played games like an egg toss, and another took a hike to Rockbrook Falls for a wet-n-wild creek hike.

All of the Senior girls stuck together for a picnic dinner in the Pisgah Forest followed by a trip to Sliding Rock. This trip has become a tradition of sorts at camp because it’s so popular. The girls love loading the buses and riding high up into the forest to eat dinner and play a few games before screaming their heads off while sliding down the chilly natural water slide. One glance at the photo gallery and you can tell by the looks on the girls’ faces— an extraordinary combination of wide-eyed trepidation and full-bodied excitement —that sliding rock is a true thrill. It was impressive how many girls slid down the rock multiple times, each time getting just a little colder and even more excited for the ride. The end of night brought all of us (almost 100 people in all) to Dolly’s Dairy Bar, the one and only ice cream stand. This too is a loved tradition, a must-do part and the perfect cap to this thrilling night out.

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July 4, 2018May 4, 2020 • News • rbc

A Colorful Extravaganza

It’s the 4th of July! As the sun rose behind the hill and the morning fog begin to lift, the girls were surprised to hear, “The British are coming! The British are coming!” yelled from the riding staff while on horseback. That staff woke and decorated their horses for this fun tradition of riding down the cabin lines for a unique wake up call. The whole camp then assembled around the flag pole to raise the colors, recite the Pledge of Allegiance, and sing “America the Beautiful.” The Hi-Ups had decorated the dining hall with all sorts of banners, streamers, and other red, white and blue decorations. The campers were ready with their own colorful outfits as well, so when we gathered for breakfast, it was a multi-layered extravaganza of those three colors.

After a regular set of activities in the morning, which were made even more fun and colorful given all the red, white and blue being worn, our 4th of July celebration kicked into an all-camp series of contests and relays. We first squared off for a pie eating contest, with campers and counselors from each age group trying to be the first to gobble up a small apple of cherry pie.

All the girls next took turns racing to be first in relays at the lake and in the gym. There was the crab walk, the wheel barrow, and the three-legged race relays, dizzy-lizzy bat relay, a hula hooping challenge, and a hilarious egg toss. Another funny relay was the costume race where each team had to put on several articles of clothing and then race to let another team member remove and wear those same clothes.

At the lake, the athleticism and spirit of the day continued with more relays. There was a classic swimming relay, and another where the girls used kickboards and kicking to move through the water. We had to have a greased watermelon race also. There was the sponge relay across the water and another fun challenge that got the girls swimming with one arm as they held up a newspaper to keep it dry. All this action meant the snow cone machine ran constantly as we all cheered for our lines.

You can see from this last photo that another part of the event was a chance for very elaborate face painting, again using those three familiar colors. Legs and arms (and in some cases both!), as well as faces were their canvases. As the afternoon rolled on, it was hard to find someone without some kind of red, white and blue proudly displayed.

Dinner was out of this world good! Rick had spent the last three days slow roasting beef brisket to make barbecue sandwiches. He had corn on the cob, fresh cool watermelon, homemade coleslaw to round out the plate. Following and old RBC tradition, he also served cans of Cheerwine chilled in the creek near Curosty. For dessert they brought out “spirit pies,” small, individual pies of whipped cream, a strawberry, and blueberries decorating the top. Light and delicious!

The finale of the day came after dark when all the campers brought their Crazy Creek chairs out to the hill for a dance party and fireworks show. Chase passed out glow sticks for everyone, and with fun, dance music pumping, the 30 minutes of amazing fireworks really topped the day.

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July 1, 2018August 13, 2020 • News • rbc

A Pioneer Sunday

The Sunday schedule at Rockbrook takes on a more relaxed pace. We sleep in a little extra, come to breakfast still in our pajamas (often with an extra layer given our cool mornings), and enjoy a special treat of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. We assemble on the hill to raise our flag, walk silently out into the woods for a chapel ceremony (today focused on the theme of “friendship”), and then enjoy a big Sunday meal. Today Rick had baked chicken, roasted potatoes, and a broccoli casserole, with blackberries and fresh whipped cream for dessert. It was delicious and kept the girls coming back for more chicken and potatoes.

Sundays are a chance for an all-camp surprise special event as well, and during rest hour many plans begin to unfold. And today was no exception because we had “Pioneer Day,” a multi-station event of exhibitions, costumes, games, crafts, rides, activities, food and music.

First the girls took this event as a chance to dress up, to don their bonnets, their simple dresses, boots, flannel shirts, overalls and bandanas.

Dressed and ready, groups of girls bopped along the tennis courts for sack race relays. They tested their skill tossing horseshoes, and had a grand time wrapping dozens of colorful ribbons to make a maypole.

One of the activities was making butter. Using real heavy cream and salt, the girls churned the cream in mason jars by shaking them for several minutes (about 10, I’d guess). When the butter started to clump and separate from the liquid (the buttermilk), the girls could`remove the butter, squeeze out any excess liquid and then eat the butter on a small homemade biscuit that the kitchen had baked for us earlier.

Another exciting and unusual activity was interacting with several live sheep and learning about wool sheering, carding and spinning. The campers loved petting the sheep and feeding them, laughing at their bleating.

There was a hay ride too! With our red tractor pulling, the girls could ride on a trailer loaded with bales of hay. The staff members had decorated the trailer and fashioned a few seats for the riders. Each round trip lasted about 10 minutes.

In the hillside lodge, two counselors used hot wax to show the girls how to dip candles. They had enough red and blue wax for everyone to make their own thin candle… many dips slowly building up. In the Goodwill cabin, two other counselors provided quill feathers and special tips so the campers could try writing with ink on paper.

Over the whole afternoon, the old time traditional music of the Crooked Pine Band kept everyone entertained. The band’s hometown is Brevard, so they are well known and popular around here, playing contra dances and concerts throughout the year. The girls had a great time dancing to the fiddle, guitar, banjo and upright bass, and later taking turns playing along on the washboard.

With fresh apple cobbler as a snack and lemonade to quench our thirst, we kept the event charged up all afternoon… true mountain fun in the mountains.

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June 20, 2018May 4, 2020 • News • rbc

Focused and Celebrated

Producing and performing a stage musical ordinarily takes a group of people hours of rehearsal over several months, unless, that is, it’s a group of Rockbrook Camp girls at work. Today we witnessed the powerful talent of these girls when they presented their production of “The Wizard of Oz.” With only about two and half weeks to prepare, the girls put on an amazing show complete with characters, costumes, music, singing, and stage acting. The familiar storyline made it even more enjoyable to see our friends from camp —”I know her!”— dress as Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin man, the Lion, and the Wicked Witch of the West… and Toto too. Likewise, it was delightful to hear the girls sing favorite songs like “Follow the Yellow Brick Road,” “Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead,” “We’re Off to See the Wizard,” and “If I Only Had a Brain.”

During the intermission, more campers took the stage as the different age groups took turns performing a choreographed group dance. There was such enthusiastic support for all of these performers, as the crowd of campers watching cheered and clapped spontaneously.

Both in the dance performances and in the play, the girls seemed poised and relaxed, happily following the choreography and delivering their lines. It was clear they were having a grand time, slyly giving each other a smile at times, laughing at their minor missteps, and loving the attention and admiration from the audience. Wonderful!

Later in the evening as the sun began to set, the whole camp gathered at Vesper rock dressed in their uniforms for the closing campfire of the session. It’s a tradition, our “Spirit Fire,” that goes back to the very first summer when Nancy Carrier founded Rockbrook. She knew, and we continue to acknowledge, that when girls spend this much time together, build this much meaning together, grow this close, they need a way to express their feelings about camp before departing. The program of the Spirit Fire, for this reason, is a series of traditional camp songs, and speeches delivered by campers and counselors, with Sarah wrapping everything up. The setting is gorgeous— nearby the lake, surrounded by huge trees, with crickets and frogs chirping their calls over the crackling fire. Tonight it was also emotional as several speakers described Rockbrook as the only place were they feel accepted enough to be fully themselves. But mostly, we heard about how the people here at camp are so special, in ways vastly different than friends at home. For these girls, camp is different. And that’s a very good thing.

The final part of the Spirit Fire program is a candle lighting ceremony. Sarah lights a white candle from the fire and then passes that flame to every camper as they file by. Slowly, with lit candles in hand, the whole camp then forms a line around the lake. Facing inward, singing softly, it’s a last moment of quiet reflection to end the night.

Looking out over the candle reflections in the water, we all felt it tonight. We all knew this has been a wonderful session. The spirit of Rockbrook, focused and celebrated during the campfire, has affected us all, connecting us profoundly to this place and to each other.

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June 19, 2018May 4, 2020 • News • rbc

Stranded at the Drive-In

Ask any of the older campers at Rockbrook if they remember their first banquet, and they’re bound to answer with a wholehearted “yes!” A Rockbrook “banquet” is an all-camp party held at the end of each session. It always has a surprise theme selected by our CA (9th grade) campers, who also design, plan and implement the details of the party. The banquet is a huge celebration that combines amazing decorations, special fun foods, performers in costumes (the CA girls and their counselors), skits, music and dancing— all revolving around the theme. Usually, there are about 20 CA campers working on this over the course of the session, so you can imagine how elaborate it can all become.

That’s why banquets are so memorable. There’s the element of surprise, and the sheer amazement arising when the girls finally enter the dining hall to see how it has been transformed according to the theme. It’s a transformation that changes almost every interior surface: painted posters covering all four walls, tablecloths and table decorations, lights, streamers and balloons on the ceiling, and even posters decorating the floor at times! With characters dressing in full costumes dancing about, the music combines with the decorations to create a whole new environment. It can be almost mind-blowing for young children when they first see it. Then, between skits and choreographed dances performed by the CAs, it’s a loud, excited dance party for everyone. Soon, we’re all hot and sweaty, thrilled to be having this kind of high energy party with all of our camp friends.

Tonight’s banquet, our first session 2018 banquet, was entitled “Stranded at the Drive-in.” Essentially a movie theme, the girls selected favorite movies and dressed as specific characters as they presented music and dances from particular films. We saw characters from Grease, Clueless, Shrek, Mean Girls, Monsters, Inc., Annie, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and the Incredibles. Take a look at the photo below to see all the CAs in their costumes. They were so well done! The tables had red movie ticket stubs scattered about. The wall posters were colorful detailed representations of other films like Moana, Up, Tangled, Cars, Inside Out, Wonder Woman, Finding Nemo and Gone with the Wind. …films that most of the other campers would know. With the theme, the girls decided to serve movie popcorn, along with chicken nuggets, mozzarella sticks, corn dogs, and fresh fruit on the side… ice cream and brownies for dessert.

What a great banquet! Dancing and singing together at the top of our lungs, I’m sure every single person had a complete blast. It will probably take some work to wash all the glitter out of our hair, but I suspect this banquet will be unforgettable.

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June 18, 2018June 1, 2020 • Children • rbc

Classic Camp Movies

Here’s something fun! You might be anticipating your camp session later this summer, or you might be feeling nostalgia about time at camp, but you are definitely needing a little dose of camp life to get you by. If so, it might be time to pull out a classic camp movie. But which kid-friendly movie to choose?

Thinking about the classics, Corrine Sullivan at Popsuger makes several great suggestions.

Meatballs (1979)
Troop Beverly Hills (1989)
The Parent Trap (1998)
The Parent Trap (1961)
Ernest Goes to Camp (1987)
Camp Nowhere (1994)
Heavyweights (1995)
It Takes Two (1995)
The Baby-Sitters Club (1995)
Addams Family Values (1993)
Camp Rock (2008)

You may have already seen several of these, but take a look again and you’ll be reminded of what’s important about being a kid, and how that blends with life at camp. When you’re feeling “campsick,” it makes perfect sense to watch any of them again. Enjoy!

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June 15, 2018June 17, 2021 • News • rbc

Two Awesome Surprises

Among the many surprises at Rockbrook, the tradition known as the “Biltmore Train” has to be an all-time favorite. The tradition started years ago (before widespread refrigeration) when dairy products were delivered to camp from the Biltmore Estate’s Farm. On a regular basis, trucks from Asheville would make the trip to Brevard to keep camp supplied. Once a session, the Biltmore dairy truck would pull up to camp, and the girls would indulge in the sugary goodness of an ice cream cone on a hot day.

As the need for regular milk deliveries declined, the Biltmore Dairy closed (now it’s a winery and tourist destination), but both the ice cream tradition at camp and the name have carried on.

In recent years, “Biltmore Train” meant counselors would line up with tubs of ice cream, ready to serve hundreds of scoops to a long line of wide-eyed campers. At some point, a new tradition arose where the girls could finish the ice cream in their cone, and then get back in line to get a second scoop. As long as the cone survived and wasn’t eaten, they could continue to get refills of ice cream. With each trip through the line, the cone disintegrates making it impossible to get another scoop, but girls can end up with four or even five scoops if they are strategic (Don’t worry; the scoops aren’t all that big!). At the very least, it’s fun to get a second scoop and sample a different flavor.

This summer, we’re switching things up and returning the tradition to its roots, but with a fun twist. Dolly’s Dairy Bar, our favorite ice cream shop in Brevard, now has a food truck, an ice cream truck, that can arrive anywhere ready to serve up to 30 tubs of ice cream— the “Dolly’s Trolley.” So today, for the first time, our Biltmore Train was the Dolly’s Trolley serving the campers right under the same maple tree where the original Biltmore Dairy trucks served ice cream. It’s always a treat to have Dolly’s ice cream, but to eat it in the sunshine of the Rockbrook hill is even better. Super cool!

Tonight’s optional twilight activity was a high-octane, hilariously messy, shaving cream fight and slip-n-slide. The call was to meet at the landsports field dressed in swimsuits and ready to smear. As the girls arrived, we handed each a large can of plain shaving cream pointing them to the grass where the “fight” would take place. After about five minutes, 50 children were eagerly spraying, wiping and racing wildly after each other. Ten minutes later, another 50 had joined in and we had shaving cream everywhere! And while there were mostly Juniors and Middlers joining the slippery white commotion, there were plenty of Seniors too, enjoying the chance to style each other’s hair and pose for group photographs. The slip-n-slide became popular after there was no more shaving cream to squirt. Two by two the girls hurled themselves down the gently sloping hill covered with a sheet of plastic. Already slippery from the foam, all we needed was a little spray of water to make a surprisingly fast ride. As some girls slid, others continued to mess around with their shaving cream, everyone laughing and having a blast.

Two awesome surprises in one day— the Biltmore Train and a shaving cream fight. This must be Rockbrook!

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June 12, 2018December 28, 2020 • News • rbc

The Adventure of Rafting and Dancing

Rafting is always a big deal at Rockbrook, and we proved it again today as we brought another 70 people down the Nantahala River for a thrilling whitewater trip. Ever since the early 1980s when Rockbrook received one of the few rafting permits awarded organizations (We’re still the only girls camp with a Nantahala rafting permit.), our camp girls have paddled the Nantahala. Over these years, it has become THE outdoor adventure trip most girls sign up for during their camp session, and while only Middlers and Seniors can go due to a Forest Service restriction, probably 90% of these eligible girls chose to go rafting.

We took two trips down the river with two different groups. The first drove over on Monday afternoon to our outpost campsite located just a short drive east of the river’s put in. The outpost has tent platforms, a small bathhouse, dining hall, and campfire ring. After arriving and setting up their sleeping platform arrangements (who “gets to” sleep by the door), the girls enjoyed a quick dinner of quesadillas, refried beans, salsa and chips, while saving room for roasting marshmallows and making a s’more around the campfire. Wood smoke, crispy toasted sugar, and the cool air of a cloudless night sky of stars combined beautifully. As the girls finished their goodnight circle song, everyone appeared happy and content heading to bed.

The next morning a quick breakfast of bagels, cream cheese and fruit charged us up before hitting the water around 10am. With our Rockbrook adventure staff guiding the boats, the morning group enjoyed a beautiful sunny trip down the river. The whole run lasted about two hours, which was just enough time to bump, splash and laugh through the rapids without getting too cold in the 53-degree water.

The final rapid of the trip is a Class-III drop called the Nantahala Falls. It’s quite narrow and has two sections that can make it challenging to run, so it’s guaranteed to the best rapid of the day. Click on these photos to see what I mean.

The second trip of the day also had excellent weather as they paddled, floating and singing down the river. Rafting is a fun mix of physical activity, goofing around with friends in the boat, moments of scream-inducing fear, and plenty of shocking cold— feet-numbing cold —water. No wonder it’s popular!

Arriving back at camp in time for a picnic dinner on the hill, everyone was surprised to learn that tonight’s evening program was a camp dance with the boys of Camp Carolina. Here too, we created two groups with the Senior girls traveling by bus over to Camp Carolina, and their younger boys coming to Rockbrook to meet our Middlers and Juniors. Having two simultaneous dances makes managing about 450 children a lot easier, and more fun for both age groups. At Rockbrook, DJ Marcus kept everyone moving by playing pop songs and well-known group dancing songs. The girls happily formed conga lines, danced all over the gym, and had no trouble stopping to pose for photos with their friends and counselors. Camp Carolina also played mostly “radio hits” popular with the girls while keeping the lights low to show off their mirrored disco ball spinning near the ceiling.

I guess we could say, like rafting, there’s a bit of adventure involved in camp dances as well. Dances often require a special location (dance floor), equipment (amplified music), and clothing (the clean things). There’s a certain amount of skill, both physical and social, involved at camp dances. Also though, there’s excitement mixed in, the thrill of interacting with the opposite gender, especially for the older girls. It’s that kind of adventure that makes for memorable fun.

It’s been a very full day for these Rockbrook girls. They’ve done extremely well, enjoying themselves every step of the way.

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June 9, 2018August 27, 2025 • News • rbc

A Real Camaraderie

Our kayaking camp girls, the “Rockbrook Rapids,” just completed their week-long kayaking trip camp today with a run on the Upper Green River. Altogether this week they paddled the Tuckasegee, the Nantahala, the Broad, the Chattooga, and the Green. The group spent the night out a couple of times camping, and returned to camp the other nights. The water levels were high everywhere, but not too crazy, and with no rain all week— nothing but sunshine! —the trips enjoyed excellent boating conditions. It was fun hearing the excitement in the stories the girls told after arriving back at camp, accounts of specific rapids, odd things seen in the river (for example a picnic table and a swing set!), and the personal quirks that become funny when a group of girls spends this much time together. It was obvious that they were enjoying a real camaraderie as well as the thrill of all that whitewater. It was a great week of adventure.

We’re about a week into this first session, and to the experienced eye, it would be possible to guess that by measuring the number of finished craft projects appearing around camp.

There seem to be examples everywhere, and if it’s something that can be worn, then those colorful handmade crafts are now part of the landscape. Of course, almost every wrist has a friendship bracelet or lanyard adorning it, for example. I’ve also seen delicate and elaborate beaded necklaces coming from the jewelry making activity. Pottery is being glazed, and tie-dye t-shirts rinsed and dried for wearing. Woven placemats and potholders, cross-stitch designs, sequined headbands, leather bracelets, and knitted hats are now proud possessions (perhaps later gifts). The girls have also been painting small smooth stones, using acrylic paint to blend colors. They’ve been making post cards, ready now to be mailed home. You too will be impressed when you seen these crafts.

One quick reminder about mail… It’s a BIG deal to receive mail at camp. Everyday after lunch the girls check their mailboxes on the porch, ending up excited that they have something waiting for them, or a little disappointed that “maybe next time” they’ll have a card or letter to read during rest hour. You know the address, and you have this resource about what to write, so keep that mail coming!

Camp is feeling really good. The girls are happy and engaged, excited and active. They are growing closer as friends, to each other and their caring counselors. There’s a daily enthusiasm for the simplest things, from muffin break to free swim. Friendly greetings punctuate every walk we take. A genuine community is taking shape with everyone involved. It’s beautiful to witness and a joy to share.

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