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June 10, 2015May 12, 2020 • News • Jeff Carter

Lifelong Inspiration

The many looms of the Curosty cabin are starting to really warm up as the girls spend more time weaving. Both the table-top and large floor looms all have completed work on them now. Our master weaver Melanie, who serves as the Fiber Arts Program supervisor at Warren Wilson College during the school year, has been teaching the girls several different geometric patterns that are created by lifting groups of warp fibers as the weft is passed between them. This geometry, added to carefully selected colors for the yarns and thread used, magically creates beautiful cloth. Of course, part of the fun is watching the pattern emerge with each added row. Weaving is an example of a specialty activity that’s not ordinarily taught to kids nowadays, but despite being “traditional,” is still very cool because it’s truly creative, deeply satisfying, and for some, a craft that can become a lifelong hobby. In our 19th-century log cabin in the woods, your Rockbrook girls are experiencing firsthand something that may inspire them for years to come.

Whitewater kayaking is really catching on around here as well, with more and more girls choosing to paddle during one of their activity periods. Jamie, Leland and Andria are happily teaching more and more girls about how fun it can be. After an orientation to the equipment and how to use it (properly fitting a PFD, paddle, and spray skirt, for example), the girls first learn how to slip out of their kayaks if they flip over upside-down. It’s a simple technique called a “wet exit” that involves tucking forward, pulling a loop on the spray skirt, and pushing out of the boat. Most girls pick it up right away, and move on to learning how to maneuver the boat in the water. This morning Leland and Jamie taught girls the next, and more advanced skill in kayaking, the “eskimo roll,” which is a technique that uses the kayaking paddle to roll up-right when a kayaker tips over. This takes practice to learn, but with this kind of enthusiasm from the girls, we’ll soon have some popping right up. Like weaving, kayaking can be a source of lifelong inspiration for these girls.

This afternoon was “Cabin Day,” a time when we pause our regular activities to give the campers a chance to do something with their cabin as a group. This could mean making a special treat in the dining hall like homemade ice cream, going for a hike to one of the waterfalls on the camp property, having flip flop races in the creek by Curosty, having a squirt gun battle, or playing another group game of some sort. Today, for example, one of the Middler cabins played a wild game of “Color Tag.” This game is messy. It’s a complicated contest involving colorful (and washable!) paint, little sacks of flour, and enough open grassy space to charge around trying to splash paint on the other players. As you can see, the flour is also thrown, eventually, proudly marking everyone. While not necessarily something we’d recommend trying at home, this is good camp fun.

Meanwhile, all of the seniors in camp, plus their counselors, took a trip into the Pisgah National Forest for a supper picnic and visit to the famous Sliding Rock. Grilled hotdogs and all the trimmings… plus Watermelon! …made an excellent meal high up at one of our favorite grassy spots in the forest. We played a group game of “I’m a Rockbrook Girl” —which is a bit like musical chairs, only played with shoes— before loading up the six buses and making it to the rock.

Sliding Rock is a natural water slide formed by Looking Glass creek as it rolls about 60 feet over a smooth rock and then plunges into a deep pool at the bottom. It’s been an attraction for years, and a perpetual favorite of Rockbrook girls. There’s really nothing quite like it. The crashing roar of the cold water, combined with the piercing screams of the girls sliding down, makes it intensely fun. The girls plunge into the water at the bottom, and pop up wide-eyed and intent on swimming as fast as possible toward the waiting lifeguards. The thrill for some campers becomes addictive, and soon we had a few girls heading back up to slide again and again.

Perhaps the highlight of the night for everyone, though, was our last stop: Dolly’s Dairy Bar. With dozens of (54 to be exact!) unique flavors to choose from, including “Rockbrook Chocolate Illusion,” it didn’t take long for everyone to be holding sweet cups and cones of what some campers call “the best ice cream in the world.” Ice cream after the chill of Sliding Rock? Sure! It’s just that good. And that fun— to be out at night, happily away from the ordinary, and surrounded by your friends. It’s easy to see why it’s great.

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August 6, 2014March 24, 2023 • News • Jeff Carter

Hands in the Real World

Paging through the Rockbrook photo gallery, it’s quickly obvious that our girls are extraordinarily crafty. In the Curosty Cabin, one end of the dining hall (“Hodge Podge”), Hobby Nook Cabin, the two pottery studios and several of the porches around camp, we’re being creative and making things. It might be with fibers or clay, and it might require a brush or a loom, but dozens of girls have arts and crafts projects in the works.

Throughout every day, in other words, Rockbrook girls are working with their hands. They’re twisting (friendship bracelets), braiding (basket reeds), tying (and dying t-shirts), painting (still life compositions), rolling (coils of clay), gluing (paper collages), sewing (stuffed animals), and weaving (loom fabrics). Here, take a look:

This is great stuff for several reasons. Working creatively with different materials like this encourages kids to experiment, try unusual combinations, and “see what happens.” There’s a joyful attitude toward the process and the end result. Also, though, I think there’s a benefit from simply working with real stuff, as opposed to what modern life ordinarily requires from us, namely a daily experience built upon abstract constructions and virtual representations (think about all those screens!). Perhaps, as we’ve lost our “manual competence” (recalling Matthew Crawford’s argument), we’ve also diminished a basic satisfaction of being human, the feeling of making something useful and beautiful. If so, then camp is a welcome return, making all the arts and crafts at Rockbrook concrete opportunities for girls to be creative while recalling the deep pleasures of interacting with the real world.

This photo shows a few girls playing Ga-ga Ball in our octagonal Ga-ga pit located near the gym. If you haven’t heard of it, this game is all the rage. It’s essentially a form of dodgeball (sometimes called “Israeli Dodgeball”) where players hit a small ball with their hands instead of catching & throwing it. Any number of girls can play, and the goal is to hit other players in the leg without being hit yourself. It’s fast paced, as the ball flies around the pit bouncing off the walls, girls jump wildly out of the way, and players who are hit hop out of the pit. Like other forms of dodgeball, the game continues until one player remains. At that point, of course, everyone hops right back in the pit to start another game. During free times at camp, before lunch and dinner, for example, you can count on a crowd down at the Ga-ga pit.

Our head kayaking instructors, Leland and Andria, have been working with lots of girls at the lake preparing them for river trips. In addition to learning about the gear, the girls are practicing basic kayaking techniques like how to “wet exit” (escape the boat when it flips), and different paddle strokes to maneuver the boats. They are very excited to master these basics and were even more so to sign up for the trip to the Tuckaseegee River today or the Green River tomorrow. These girls can kayak!

Later this afternoon, for our Cabin Day activity, all the Middlers and their counselors took a ride into the Pisgah Forest for a picnic up near the Blue Ridge Parkway. We brought hot dogs (and grilled veggie dogs), pasta salad, fruit and potato chips to eat for dinner, and afterwards spent a little time digesting by playing a huge game of “I’m a Rockbrook Girl” on the grassy field. This name game was even more fun tonight with a group this size (almost 90 campers and staff members). Our next stop took us to Sliding Rock, where the girls had a blast zipping down the 60ft, natural water slide. As you might guess the water of Looking Glass Creek that forms the slide is a “refreshing” mountain temperature (i.e. really cold!), so part of the fun is belting out a scream to match the intensity of sitting down in that water. Just about everyone was daring enough to take the plunge, and some went down 6 or 7 times in all. Very exciting fun… but there was one more stop to top things off— Dolly’s Dairy Bar. With their combination “Camp Flavors” like “Rockbrook Chocolate Illusion” and traditional ice cream flavors, Dolly’s offers a sweet treat for everyone’s taste. The girls happily lined up to select their flavor and then, after that first yummy lick, enjoyed sitting and chatting with one another on the porch or at the tables nearby. When Rockbrook arrives at Dolly’s, like tonight with our big group, it becomes quite a party with the girls singing songs, laughing and posing for photos. Now dark outside and our hair still wet, but happy and excited, we loaded up the buses and headed back to camp finishing an excellent outing.

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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 15, 2014February 3, 2024 • News • Jeff Carter

Independence with Responsibility

It has always been part of Rockbrook’s mission to go beyond simply entertaining our campers and to focus also on how we can provide more lasting benefits to the girls who attend camp. We certainly work to make sure everyday here includes something delightful, surprising and fun. If you merely look at the variety of activities available, all the free time options, and daily special gatherings (Twilight periods, Evening Programs, dining hall skits, assemblies, and all-camp events), it’s clear Rockbrook girls are having a blast. They’re outside, they’re actively engaged with creative, adventure, and athletic interests, and they’re laughing their heads off along the way.

But of course camp is much more than a series of amusements. It’s almost cliché to say it— partly because we (and others) talk about it a lot! —but there’s no doubt that a positive sleepaway camp experience helps build important character traits that serve children well later in life, traits like those “21st Century Skills” you may have heard about: Communication, Confidence, Compassion, Cooperation, Collaboration, Creativity, Courage, and so forth.

There are many aspects of camp life one could name that contribute to this transformative power: its emphasis on positive human relationships and the friendly, tight-knit community we enjoy, coming immediately to mind. There’s a starting point, however, I would say even a prerequisite to this character growth, something that if missing will reduce the camp experience to merely a vacation, or some other fleeting form of entertainment.

At the most fundamental level, camp is a powerful environment for character development because to provides children an opportunity to act independently. On a daily basis, kids at camp can exercise their independence. Without being tightly managed by parents or teachers, they get to make their own choices about what they’ll do, where they’ll go and ultimately, who they’ll be. This is quite a lot of freedom for kids when you think about it, and it might even make a parent nervous! What if she doesn’t brush her hair, or wears the same dirty shirt over and over again!? What if she doesn’t take tennis and finds rock climbing more her style? What if she stays up late and sleeps less (or more!) than usual? What if the freedom of camp meant “Do whatever you want?”

This would be a legitimate worry if not for the structure of camp life. Keep in mind that at camp the campers can’t do simply anything they chose. The freedom camp provides to act independently without parental authorization comes with significant limitations as well. There are, for example, clear procedural rules at camp— a daily schedule of activities, safety protocols, and how to clear dirty tableware after a meal, to name a few. Perhaps even more importantly, there are likewise social expectations where the girls realize the importance of treating each other with kindness, caring, generosity, honesty, and respect, for example. The camp environment, our culture and community, is built upon the support of these structural and social limits, and the camp staff, our cabin counselors primarily, serve as nurturing role models who embody the ideals from which they are derived.

Girls waving while in whitewater rafting boat

What we have at camp is freedom with limitations, or to put it differently, independence with responsibility. This is important because one without the other would critically fail our campers’ developing character. At one extreme, unstructured independence would lead to an “anything goes” form of chaos, and kids would fail to grapple with the 21st Century skills mentioned above. At the other extreme, rigidly scripted behaviors would rob kids of their decision making power leaving them with mere recipes for life poorly suited to cope with the complexities of a changing world.

Camp life finds that balance by providing girls the freedom to make their own choices while also taking great care to guide those decisions appropriately. And it’s this balance that teaches kids how to be responsible. So while she’s choosing to go whitewater rafting, or to spend a quiet afternoon decorating a memory box in KIT, or perhaps chatting with a friend on the hill after dinner instead of taking a shower, she’s exploring how to act responsibly as well. By absorbing the positive values of camp— things like respect for others, appreciation of Nature, and courage to try new things —she’s developing qualities that will help her navigate responsibly in the future.

Well, I may have gotten a little carried away here, but I wanted to report that your girls aren’t just eating pancakes on the hill in their PJ’s, or learning to build a fire, or blasting through the Nantahala Falls, or singing ’till their their throats hurt, or zipping down sliding rock— all things we enjoyed today. They’re making independent decisions all day long, and you’d be very proud, maybe even a little surprised, to see how confidently and responsibly they are making their way.

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July 2, 2014May 14, 2020 • News • Jeff Carter

The Breadth and Depth of Camp

In yesterday’s post I was struck by the abundance of activity at camp, the simple fact that a sleepaway summer camp like this has so many things occurring simultaneously. We saw that there is zipping and stretching, riding and shooting, jumping and flipping, knot tying and plenty of decorating. And of course these are just some of the clear examples that stand out from the more day-to-day routines of camp life. Think of all the conversations, the songs being sung, the meals prepared and enjoyed… all the materials and supplies. Throughout the day, we are all trucking up and down the hills of Rockbrook, negotiating the rocks and roots that define each path through the woods. There are trips to the cabin to change for Free Swim, down to the gym for a game of Ga-Ga, and up from the lower pottery studio. We have the rush of falling water all around us, the cheers of excited groups of girls, and the regular tone of our 100-year-old bell marking the change of activity periods. Also most days, girls are leaving camp on trips for kayaking one of the local rivers, for hiking in the Pisgah National Forest or the nearby Dupont State Forest (like High Falls in the photo above). From the earliest moment of the day to the last giggle at night before drifting off to sleep, there is a true breadth of experience at camp. It’s an incredibly rich life we lead at Rockbrook.

But anchoring that breadth is a more fundamental dimension of experience, a depth that makes all the daily action of camp more meaningful.

The depth of camp experience rests firmly on the positive relationships we enjoy among all the members of this tight-knit community. There is a collective spirit here that inspires everyone to be kind, generous and compassionate, to respect and care for each other. It’s an ethos defining our culture and community, a basic attitude— Sarah calls it a “sweetness” —that leads naturally to encouragement and support for those around us. That’s the depth of camp. That’s the “Spirit of Rockbrook” that makes everything we do better.

I saw a wonderful example of this spirit at work tonight when we took our Mini Session Middlers and Seniors on a trip to Sliding Rock. We first hauled everyone up into the Forest for a picnic of hotdogs, Rick’s homemade cole slaw, chips and peaches. Then after each cabin group and their counselors finished eating, we held a massive game of elbow tag in a grassy field. As they raced from pair to pair, the “cat” chasing the “mouse,” the girls were so supportive, cheering and clapping for each other. It was a game completely free of criticism and competition, played simply for the fun of it. Some runners were faster and others slower. There was plenty of silly confusion, but what mattered was how much fun everyone was having together.

Then at Sliding Rock, the girls did it again. Filled with excitement, they took turns stepping into the chilly mountain water and sliding in pairs or threes down the rock. Almost instinctively they held hands to support each other during the wild, squeal-inducing ride. Each trip evoked laughter and encouragement from the other girls watching, making the whole experience really great, and proving once again how much they enjoy doing things together. You can’t help but be proud of these girls! Be sure to check out the photo gallery of this event. There are several really great shots.

We topped off the whole evening with a stop at Dolly’s Dairy Bar so everyone could enjoy a cup or cone of their wonderful ice cream. Cold rushing water and a frozen sweet treat on summer night; that’s pretty good stuff. But together with all these wonderful friends, it’s the best.

Camp Kids eating Ice Cream at Dolly's Dairy Bar

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June 18, 2014May 14, 2020 • News • Jeff Carter

Happy and Excited

Ordinarily at camp the wake up bell rings at 8am giving the girls time to dress and do a few cabin chores before the breakfast bell at 8:30am. Today though, we surprised everyone with a special pancake breakfast held in each Line’s stone lodge. The kitchen gave us a head start by making a few hundred pancakes, but then teams of counselors, armed with griddles and huge bowls of batter, poured and flipped hot pancakes starting around 8. When the breakfast bell rang, the girls went to their lodges and found sausage and pancakes, milk and juice, but also a pancake toppings station loaded with all kinds of yummy sweet syrups, chocolate chips, marshmallow spread, butter, blueberries and cut strawberries. The girls spilled out into the sunshine around the lodges, sat in their crazy creek chairs, or lined up in the red porch rockers chatting while they watched the fog lift from the mountains in the distance. It was a lovely morning, and a big hit with the campers.

Lunch today turned toward the deep south with Rick and his team in the kitchen frying up sliced green tomatoes for everyone to make sandwiches. With a dab of his homemade rémoulade sauce, or a slice of cheese for the truly bold, this made a delicious sandwich. As a side, Rick prepared several pans of summer squash casserole made with a perfect balance of breadcrumbs, fried onions, cheddar cheese and butter. Cut cantaloupe, strawberries and grapes balanced out the table. Of course, the super-stocked salad bars saw plenty of action too, as did the peanut butter and jelly station.

When it’s your birthday at camp, as it was for Frances today, it’s a big deal. Before breakfast begins, the counselors will secretly decorate your cabin’s table with a colorful painted banner— Happy Brithday Frances! —to surprise everyone about your special day. Then at lunch, we interrupt the meal to carry out one of Katie’s (Rockbrook’s fabulous baker) delicious cakes, highly decorated for the occasion and lit with candles. The whole camp, which is close to 280 people, then sings a big boisterous version of “Happy Birthday” followed by chanting “Tell us when to stop!” Clapping in unison, one clap for each year old, everyone counts out until the birthday girl waves us off at the right number. Also, for birthdays we happily make an exception to our “No Packages” policy, making it even more exciting to receive a few presents from home. Sharing your birthday (and your cake!) with so many friends, is really a special experience.

This afternoon, as is the case most Wednesdays, we paused our regularly scheduled individual activity periods and enjoyed special all-cabin and whole-line trips. It’s our “Cabin Day” (Have you seen this glossary of camp terms?) Some cabins were having “Paint and Polish Parties” where fingers and toes gained fresh color. Others had letter writing projects, cabin name plaques to paint, or had plans to hike the steep climb up to Castle Rock. The Juniors had a silly costume fashion show in the Hillside Lodge. The photos of that event are hilarious!

Late in the afternoon, all the Middlers and their counselors took a ride into the Forest for a picnic, a few chilly rides down sliding rock, and a frozen ice cream treat at Dolly’s. The girls had a great time playing groups games in the grassy field after our dinner of hotdogs, chips and fruit. The “I’m a Rockbrook Girl” game seemed to be the most popular as it got everyone dashing across the huge circle a group this size (about 85) required. Our timing at sliding rock was again ideal because we found the place deserted, leaving us free to slide as much as we wanted. The water is cold enough, and by now it was late enough, that most girls slid 2 or 3 times, even as a handful braved the plunge 8 times. Good fun. And an extra large scoop of Dolly’s ice cream made the evening complete. A little chilled, but happy and excited to sing on the bus, we made our way back to camp in the dark and called it “another wonderful day” at camp.

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June 11, 2014May 14, 2020 • News • Jeff Carter

It’s Good Like That

This photograph was taken this morning during “Muffin Break,” that time between our first and second activity periods when just about everyone in the camp treks to the dining hall porch to grab a freshly baked muffin. And yes, it truly is everyone in camp— campers, counselors, activity instructors, and directors alike. The muffins are just that yummy. Muffin Break happens at 10:45am, just about the time when a little snack feels particularly good. The flavor, of course, is a surprise. One day it might be something traditional like Lemon Poppyseed, and the next, a strange flavor like Chocolate Chocolate Chip. It’s perfectly normal late in the morning to ask someone, “Hey what’s the muffin flavor?” even if you might guess from the delicious smell drifting out of the kitchen. Today, our excellent baker Katie, wowed us all with her banana muffins. It’s a pretty good bet your girls will be talking about muffins after camp!

Have you written a letter to your Rockbrook girl yet? Please remember that everyone here loves receiving mail, and handwritten, “old-fashioned,” paper letters are the best. Sure you can pound out a quick email, but nothing beats a thoughtfully written letter from home. Here is the info you need to stay in touch.

Yesterday, I wrote about how whitewater rafting is popular at camp, but it’s also true that whitewater kayaking is gaining steam. This can largely be attributed to the fine instruction provided by Leland Davis and Andria Baldovin Davis. Leland and Andria have worked with Rockbrook for the past four summers both as raft guides and expert kayaking instructors. They are both veteran whitewater boaters having paddled all over the world and literally “written the book” on whitewater kayaking in America. They are also great with the girls… kind and encouraging, patient and enthusiastic, consistently successful inspiring even the youngest girls to love kayaking. It’s neat to see so many girls at camp digging into this more technical adventure activity.

The big trip of the day gathered all of the Senior Line girls (the 7th, 8th and 9th graders) and combined three events in one, a triple treat for an evening of food, games, an exhilarating mountain pastime, and a sweet dessert. The first stop for our convoy of five buses was a picnic dinner of hotdogs and all the trimmings up in the Pisgah Forest. We ate and then spent some time playing “I’m a Rockbrook Girl” in a grassy field. Akin to musical chairs where one chair is missing, this game gets everyone dashing about when they have something in common. It’s a fun way to digest a bit before the next stop— sliding rock. Here again, the “refreshing” mountain water common to these parts makes this natural water slide (It’s about 60 feet long with a deep pool at the bottom.) all the more exciting. Most of the girls took several rides down the rock, and as it began to get dark, and rain a little, we all packed up to drive down the hill to Dolly’s Dairy Bar located at the entrance to the Forest.

Sure, we were cold. Sure, we were wet. But that’s not enough to keep us from enjoying our favorite flavor of ice cream from Dolly’s. It’s too delicious, and we were having too much fun to miss this perfect way to end the evening. I do remember turning up the bus’s heat on the drive back to camp. Life at camp in the mountains. It’s good like that.

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July 31, 2013February 11, 2024 • News • Jeff Carter

Inspirational Fun

The other day, I overheard a couple of campers claiming the strangest thing. “I used Wonder Woman! and I used Beyoncé,” they said. Apparently there are girls also using Michelle Obama, Joan of Arc, Pocahontas, and the Queen of England. “How?” you ask? Well, these are the names of our showers this year. On all three lines, the counselors have chosen to name each shower for a strong, powerful woman. You can see the Middler line showers in this photo. Mostly this is just for fun, but also I suspect, as is true for a lot of the fun at camp, there’s inspiration and imagination to be found as well. Playful ideas like this make even something ordinary— like a shower stall —so much better.

Muffin Break! That’s the time between the first and second activity periods when everyone at camp enjoys a delicious, often warm, muffin freshly delivered from Katie’s oven in the kitchen. It’s always a surprise to find out the morning’s flavor because Katie is a master at creating one-of-a-kind combination flavors. Today she wowed us with “Banana Pudding,” a muffin reminiscent of banana bread but, like a bowl of pudding might be served, with a vanilla wafer poking out the top. So Yummy! Thinking about tomorrow’s flavor, I wonder what that case of Nutella I saw being delivered will be for…

After making plenty of clay pinch pots, rolling coil after coil, and carefully slipping together slabs of clay to make sculptural vessels, girls taking pottery are next excited to learn how to throw on the wheel. The first step is to dress in a white apron (spinning cray and water can throw off a spray) and sit down on a bench behind the electric wheel with your foot on the pedal control. That pedal allows you to adjust how fast the wheel spins. With a ball of clay ready, the next challenge is centering it on the wheel. This can take some practice to get just right. Once you open up the center of the spinning clay and slowly pull up the walls— steady hands here — you feel a great sense of accomplishment because you’re really using the wheel. Trimming the base of the piece is the last step, releasing it from the wheel and placing it proudly on the shelf to begin drying. Both of our pottery studios have girls making these strides, quickly becoming more adept at these advanced ceramics skills. Cool stuff!

Tonight all of the Middler campers took a trip out of camp to one of our favorite picnic areas in the Pisgah Forest, to Sliding Rock, and to Dolly’s Dairy Bar to top it off. This is a big exciting event that brings together 61 campers, 22 counselors, 4 lifeguards, 3 vans, 3 buses, 2 camp directors, and 3 extra bus drivers, not to mention the picnic food and other necessities. The girls, dressed in their swim suits and water shoes, with towels flung over their shoulders, and loaded the vehicles for the quick ride into the forest. We arrived and had time before dinner for a huge game of “Ride That Pony” (a funny group song with dance moves). But the main event was our next stop, the always-thrilling Sliding Rock. This is a classic mountain experience that combines icy-cold water rushing down about 60 feet of smooth rock, and the perfect pool at the bottom for a soft (and extra chilly!) splash landing. For many of these Middler girls, this was their first visit to Sliding Rock, and from their screams of delight I think they loved it.

Our final stop of the evening, Dolly’s Dairy Bar, never fails to get the whole bus screaming. I just have to put on the turn signal of the bus and the roar from the girls is powerful. Our entire crew made a line last night stretching from the window where you place your order, down and off the porch far along the edge of the parking area. Rockbrook always brings a crowd! It’s fun to see how many girls choose “Rockbrook Chocolate Illusion” or one of the other “camp flavors” for their cup or cone. When the ice cream is this delicious, it can be dark and you might have just been swimming in 58 degree water, but you will love it nonetheless. By the way, Dolly’s will be open on our Closing Day next week, yes, even early in the morning. You might want to plan on stopping.

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July 24, 2013May 25, 2020 • News • Jeff Carter

Terrific Trips

Let’s begin with breakfast, as we did this morning at 8:30am. Our Kitchen Manager and Head Chef, Rick, draws upon his 5 years of experience planning meals and cooking for Rockbrook (plus 9 years at other organizations) to surprise and delight us everyday with yummy meals. His goal is to provide healthy foods, made mostly from whole and natural ingredients (not pre-processed), that strike a balance between being “kid friendly” and “unfamiliar.” For example, this morning Rick started simply with hot scrambled eggs with yellow corn grits and fried country ham. But to mix it up a bit, Katie, our baker, brought out trays of homemade, freshly baked biscuits to go with the slightly sweet and spicy red-eye gravy Rick brewed (yes, it did have a little coffee in it!) as well. With orange juice, and a small bowl of fruit and yogurt from the breakfast bar, this was a complete— beyond complete —breakfast. And it was delicious! By the way, have you seen Rick in our video about the food at camp?

You may have heard about the special snack we serve between the first and second activity periods each morning around 11am: freshly baked muffins. Katie tries to surprise us every day by alternating between traditional flavors like Lemon Poppy Seed or Pumpkin Chocolate Chip and more creative, one-of-a-kind recipes like Peach/Mango and Carrot/White Chocolate. It’s a big event to swing by the dining hall porch when the bell rings for “Muffin Break” and sample the day’s surprise flavor. Being able to catch up briefly with a friend before heading to a different activity, and to enjoy a soft, sweet muffin each day, is a wonderful Rockbrook moment we all love. When your girls return home in a couple of weeks, be sure to ask them what flavor of muffin was their favorite.

Here is one of the stars of the Rockbrook horseback riding program this summer. He’s Hula Hoop, an 18 year old Belgium Warmblood who comes to us from St. Andrews University and their Therapeutic Riding Program “Ride Like a Knight.” When he was younger, Hula was a top-ranked show horse competing in everything from Grand Prix to 3’6″ hunter shows. He’s won many top prizes, but for our girls, he’s a gentle, steady mount. Overall, we have 29 horses and ponies comprising the Rockbrook herd this summer. The girls are getting to know them in the stable club, grooming them and learning about other aspects of horse care, and then when it’s time to ride, friends with names like Hula, Lacy, Tony, Onyx, Gordon, or maybe Cool Beans are happy to oblige. Despite the rainy weather we’ve been having lately, Riding is still a popular activity at camp.

If you’ve looked at the map of Rockbrook, you’ve probably noticed that the French Broad River creates the western boundary of the camp. The French Broad begins in Rosman, NC when four creeks come together. From there, it travels more than 200 miles northeast and then west to Knoxville where it joins the Holston River to form the Tennessee River, which eventually flows into the Ohio River and the Mississippi. So, yes, you can launch a boat at Rockbrook and (after several miles of paddling!) come out in New Orleans.

This morning a group of Rockbrook girls set out in Rosman and paddled canoes 3 miles of that long journey. After pairing up and deciding who would paddle the bow and stern of the canoes, Emily reviewed for the group paddling strokes, cautioned everyone about avoiding trees along the edge of the river, and instructed them what to do if they tip over and end up in the water. Once underway, she also demonstrated how to cross from one side of the river to the other (“ferrying”) and how to stop in a calm area of water behind an obstacle (“catching an eddy”). As you can see from this photo, the weather was gorgeous and the girls spent the whole morning enjoying themselves on the water. Several of the girls commented that canoeing was their new favorite activity. It was that kind of perfect trip.

2 camp girls taking a ride down sliding rock

The entire Senior line, all 84 campers, took a different trip this evening. They loaded into buses and vans for a picnic in the Pisgah National Forest, a ride down Sliding Rock, and a cup or cone of their favorite flavor of Dolly’s ice cream. One highlight during the picnic was getting everyone to skip and play together in the grassy field. We must have played “I’m a Rockbrook Girl” for almost a half hour! At Sliding Rock, we found the water to be a little higher than usual (another indication of the wet weather these last weeks), but also a little colder too. That’s a big part of the fun though… the bone-chilling shock of icy water splashing up your back when you first sit down to slide. Plunging into the pool at the bottom and going under the water feels almost electric. It instantly evokes an urgent need to “get out of this water, NOW!” For some girls, this is fantastic fun, shivering, blue lips and all, while for others one trip down the rock is plenty. For everyone, this is the kind of mountain experience they look forward to at camp… likewise, for our stop at Dolly’s. This lovely ice cream stand, located at the entrance to the Pisgah Forest, serves more than 20 unique flavors of ice cream, combinations of ingredients really, named after each of the local summer camps. The Rockbrook flavor, for example, is called “Rockbrook Chocolate Illusion,” and is chocolate ice cream, fudge, brownie bits, with peanut butter cups. Every camp flavor is different, so it can take a while just to read the menu! You might think that after freezing ourselves in the water at Sliding Rock we wouldn’t be interested in ice cream, but this is, as one camper put it, “the best ice cream on earth!” With ice cream to top it off, this was another terrific trip.

Camp Girls eating ice cream at Dolly's Dairy bar

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June 26, 2013May 25, 2020 • News • Jeff Carter

One Silly Camp

How silly can we be? Around here we enjoy answering that question on a daily basis. It’s another special aspect of camp; it encourages children to celebrate their goofy side, to forget briefly the personal decorum they so carefully guard, and which parents and teachers so urgently strive to form. Camp provides a license to relive the freedom of childhood experimentation, to twist things around, to feel good about letting your inner creative energy express itself however it may. And significantly, being goofy at camp is something we do just for the fun of it, not to achieve some goal or to be recognized as “the best.” Around here, we— and yes, all of us campers, staff members and directors alike! —are quick to make a silly face for photos, to throw on a crazy costume, to take on a bizarre character in a skit, to sing a nonsense song during lunch, or perhaps bust into a wild dance move waiting for the dinner bell. All of this feels really good too. It’s remarkable when there are this many fun-loving people together, all within a broad camp culture that inspires creative silliness. Sure we have our serious sides too, but I hope you can see why Rockbrook has has been called a goofy camp, and why we think that’s a very good thing!

Did you know that everyday between the first and second activity periods, the entire camp converges on the dining hall porch for “Muffin Break?” It’s true, Katie, the Rockbrook Baker, begins each morning by baking a surprise flavor of muffin for everyone. That means powering up her giant mixer, then scooping and baking 300 yummy treats. Her flavors are fun and creative (maybe a little silly?). For example, today she made “White Chocolate Chip and Apricot,” and other days she’s baked us “Confetti,” “Up-Side-Down S’mores,” “Key Lime Pie,” and a big favorite, “Pumpkin Chocolate Chip.” This is a wonderful treat, easily a favorite part of everyone’s day.

One of the old (circa 1888) log cabins at Rockbrook is called “Curosty” and it is the home of our fiber arts activities. It’s wonderful to wander in during the day and see girls weaving, working away on several floor looms, tabletop looms, and lap looms, creating complex patterned material using yarns and strips of cloth. Kimberly, Carol and the other instructors are helping the girls this summer make headbands, bookmarks, straps, and large table mats. Weaving is such an ancient art, and in this historic cabin, it’s neat that these quite modern Rockbrook girls really take to it, ask great questions, are learning all the basic skills, and making some very cool projects. Weaving has always been an activity at Rockbrook, so it’s also neat to see it so popular even today.

Emily and Christina, two of the women on our adventure staff this summer, took a group of girls canoeing down the French Broad River this morning. With snacks packed (some of the morning’s muffins!) and all the necessary equipment loaded on a trailer, they put onto the river upstream from camp in Rosman, NC. This section of the river is just right for a leisurely paddle with its wide course, gentle curves and manageable current. There is also the occasional (class I) rapid to keep things exciting. Large trees line most of the river making it the perfect habitat for water birds like the Belted King Fisher, for example. The weather for today’s trip was ideal too. Cool air and warm sun made it an magnificent day on the water.

Since this afternoon was cabin day, a day when we switch gears from our regularly scheduled activities and instead do things together as cabin groups, we gathered all of the Senior cabins and took a gigantic trip to Sliding Rock. It was gigantic because when we added everyone up, this trip included 111 people! Like a train of white vans and buses, including a couple of cars for extra staff members, we drove our group into the Pisgah Forest for a picnic dinner and a few field games before arriving at the Rock. Zipping down a natural water slide formed by an icy mountain creek… Maybe freezing cold creek, would be more accurate … and plunging into a deep pool at the bottom might sound unbearable, but for the Senior girls tonight it was all thrills. Screams, splashing, chattering teeth, a few blue lips, but also wide, enthusiastic smiles were true to form all night.

The last stop for the evening was to “warm up” with a cone of Dolly’s ice cream, proclaimed by many campers as “the best ice cream ever!” This is a chance to try one the flavors named after the many camps in the area, like “Rockbrook Chocolate Illusion” or “Carolina Iceberg Blast.” Warmed and energized by this blast of sugary cream, we enjoyed singing the Senior Song, posing for a few photos, and having a grand time together.

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