A Day of Discovery and More!
Dear Parents & Friends,
It’s been a great first day of program here at camp and we’ve had good weather the day through. It’s been cool in the morning with some clouds and the sun poked its head out later in the afternoon. Discoveries started this morning and there were lots to choose from. Check out these possibilities:
Jr. Lifeguarding, Mountain Biking, Archery, Climbing, SUP boards, Acting, Pottery Wheel Throwing, Farm/ Mill, Creek Hiking, American Sports, Darcy’s Survival School, Soccer, Creek Stomping, Navy Seals, Blacksmithing, Whitewater Kayaks, Candles, Weaving, Marbling, Rainbow Pottery, Horses, Set Design and Backstage, Tie Dye-Orama, and Baskets. Whew ….. and that’s a lot of offerings and it’s just for the morning.
I checked in with our bikers as they were going through some work on shifting gears and learning to peddle in a seated and attack position. This is a skill that not every child comes to camp with but our grassy Green in front of the Dining Room is a great place to learn in case one comes off their bike. From there they rode a couple of trails around Main Camp and back to the bike shed.
I also visited with horses where children were working at both ends of the riding ring on different skills. One group was walking their horse over cavallettis. These are poles laying on the ground that they have to step over. The other group was learning to keep their horse moving in an ever-tightening circle and also turning back 180 degrees to go the other way.
Blacksmithing was forging ahead as usual and campers were using their strength, artistic talent and coordination to shape, flatten, smooth, curve and twist very hot metal. Protection and safety is a key ingredient in this activity and campers are asked to wear a leather apron, long pants, safety glasses, gloves and closed toed shoes. Blacksmithing is tucked away near the pool and next to a cool clear creek where it’s cool most of the day. This is a rather unusual activity for 99% of our campers and not many have had any experience doing this before. It’s amazing what heat and the right tools can shape and form into very useful objects. You need to be 10 years and above to participate. It’s an activity to look forward to when you’re younger.
Today after lunch we held our first sign-ups and there were a plethora of activities available for the PM. The weather stayed mighty fine and the lake was a popular outlet for energy and fun. The Zip Line, Tension Traverse, WaterMat and Rope Swing were in high demand. The farm was also a good place to be this afternoon since it was such a cool afternoon. Piglets were getting a lot of attention and baby calves are growing from all those bottles of formula being fed to them twice a day by our campers. The farm is an amazing part of Gwynn Valley that captures our imaginations and the reality of actually picking your own food and have it served sometimes that same day. No grocer can offer that advertising for fresh food from the garden. Like an army, we run on food and it’s good food prepared by hands that really care. More on that later.
Campfire for Brookside tonight was Mountain Dancing and for Hillside it was real campfires with s’mores. Mountainside went down to the farm tonight and Riverside began their climbing component today over in Tennessee. All is well here at GV so stay tuned!
