Adventures Ahead for Mountainside and Riverside!
Greetings from Gwynn Valley,
We’ve had another gorgeous day at Gwynn Valley, which wrapped up with one the most beautiful sunsets yet of the summer! As I watched the sky turn pink this evening, I’m reminded of all the simple joys that make up a day at camp. From laughter around the dinner table to catching fireflies with your cabin group, each day at camp is jam packet with magical moments that form the memories of an amazing summer.
In Main Camp today, campers wrapped up their last day of Discoveries! This marked the 3rd visit to their B day activity areas and the end of their project or skill progression. With sign up activities in both the morning and afternoon next week, some campers will choose to build on the foundations they laid in their discoveries this week. For example, everyone who participated in the Fine Arts Discovery will continue to visit Fine Arts for rehearsal or set building until their performance on Monday evening. For those who participated in adventure activities (climbing, biking, kayaking and camping skills + nature) there will be opportunities for off camp trips next week. For other campers, they’ll use all the sign up periods next week to explore new activities they haven’t yet had the chance to try out. The fun and learning doesn’t end when discoveries do!!
Riverside had a busy day preparing for their upcoming backpacking trip. Those campers will depart tomorrow morning for 4 days of hiking in nearby Pisgah National Forest. After their previous climbing and canoeing trips, campers are feeling confident in their campsite management and are both nervous and excited about the added challenge of carrying everything they will need on their backs. These campers will return to GV in 4 days with many great stories and pictures to share from their days in the field.
On Mountainside, the Adventure Fairy delivered adventure placements overnight and campers woke up to find a note for each of them posted on the clothes line of their cabin. Nearly every camper was placed in their 1st choice adventure, and mountainside campers were buzzing with excitement about placements! They were also busy with preparations for their trips which will depart Gwynn Valley on Monday morning. Mountainside campers also had some time to play this morning during sign ups, which included craft activities like tie dye as well as more active options like soccer on the MS green.
This evening, Mountainside welcomed all of Brookside up to the Mountainside Green for the Brookside-Mountainside visit! During this time, the two groups play traditionally ‘mountainside’ games like predator + prey and ships + sailors. After a few games, Brookside cabins split up into small groups with both camper and staff representatives from the Mountainside program. Brookside campers learned about some of the main differences in the older programs, namely the community focus and the adventures. We also talked about some of the ways you stay connected to Main Camp when you are part of the older programs during meal times and through visits to program areas like the farm or crafts. Brookside campers asked great questions and it was fun to see Mountainside campers step into a peer-mentor role as they advised their younger friends.
Tomorrow is SPECIAL DAY in camp! We sleep in an extra 30 minutes and serve pancakes for breakfast…. and more importantly there are themed activities all day long that follow a totally wacky and different schedule. Special days are always action packed with lots of fun, new games and activities for campers. We balance out the day with a quieter evening program: Vespers. Campers won’t know the theme until breakfast… so I guess you’ll have to wait until tomorrow’s blog post (or photographs) to learn theme as well!
Stay tuned for more news tomorrow.
